Solar Cycle 24 is near its peak right now and it continues to rank among the weakest on record, says Ron Turner of Analytic Services, Inc.

Space Weather
by Dr. Tony Phillips.

SOLAR 'MINI-MAX':

Last month at the Space Weather Workshop in Boulder, Colorado, solar cycle expert Doug Biesecker of NOAA announced that "Solar Maximum is here, finally." According to his analysis, the sunspot number for Solar Cycle 24 is near its peak right now.

Spoiler: It's not very impressive. "This solar cycle continues to rank among the weakest on record," says Workshop attendee Ron Turner of Analytic Services, Inc. To illustrate the point, he plotted the smoothed sunspot number of Cycle 24 vs. the previous 23 cycles since 1755:

In the composite plot, Cycle 24 is traced in red. Only a few cycles since the 18th century have have had lower sunspot counts. For this reason, many researchers have started calling the ongoing peak a "Mini-Max."

"By all Earth-based measures of geomagnetic and geoeffective solar activity, this cycle has been extremely quiet," notes Turner. "However, Doug Biesecker has presented several charts showing that most large events such as strong flares and significant geomagnetic storms occur in the declining phase of the solar cycle."

In other words, there is still a chance for significant solar activity in the months and years ahead. Let's just hope it is not too significant.

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Earth will pass through a stream of debris from Comet 209P/LINEAR, between 30 and 200 meteors per hour,on May 24th

 Space Weather

by Dr. Tony Phillips.

METEOR SHOWER ALERT:

Next weekend, Earth will pass through a stream of debris from Comet 209P/LINEAR. The encounter could spark a new meteor shower. Forecasters aren't sure how many meteors will appear; anything is possible from a complete dud to a magnificent meteor storm. Best estimates fall between 30 and 200 meteors per hour on May 24th between 0600 UT and 0800 UT on May 24th. Get the full story from Science@NASA

ScienceCasts: NASA on the Lookout for a New Meteor Shower

ScienceAtNASA

Published on May 5, 2014

Visit http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/... for more.

Sky watchers in North America could witness a new meteor shower on May 24th when, for the first time, Earth passes through a cloud of dust from periodic comet 209P/LINEAR.

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NEW METEOR SHOWER ON EARTH AND THE MOON:

Anticipation is building as Earth approaches a cloud of debris from Comet 209P/LINEAR. This weekend, meteoroids hitting Earth's atmosphere could produce a never-before-seen shower called the "May Camelopardalids" peaking with as many as 200 meteors per hour. The best time to look is on Saturday, May 24th, between 0600 UT and 0800 UT (2 a.m. and 4 a.m. EDT).

Earth won't be the only body passing through the debris zone. The Moon will be, too. Meteoroids hitting the lunar surface could produce explosions visible through backyard telescopes on Earth. The inset in this picture of an actual lunar meteor shows the region of the crescent Moon on May 24th that could be pelted by May Camelopardalids:

According to NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, the best time for amateur astronomers to scan the Moon for lunar meteors is after 0800 UT (4 a.m. EDT) on May 24th.

There is much uncertainty about the strength of this shower, both on Earth and on the Moon. In recent history, our planet has never passed directly through a debris stream from Comet 209P/LINEAR, so no one knows exactly how much comet dust lies ahead. A magnificent meteor shower could erupt, with streaks of light in terrestrial skies and sparkling explosions on the Moon--or it could be a complete dud. Stay tuned!

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Meteors streak from the Perseids meteor shower above the Wyoming countryside north of Cheyenne in this time-elapsed photo taken Aug. 13, 2013.(Photo: Blaline McCartney, AP)

A first-of-its-kind meteor shower is expected to occur Friday night and into early Saturday morning.
The Camelopardalid meteor shower is a first because Earth has never run into the debris from this particular comet.

The Comet 209P/LINEAR is a very dim comet that orbits the sun every five years and was discovered in 2004.

MORE: New meteor shower could turn into meteor storm
Unlike other meteor showers expected to be visible around the same time of year, the Camelopardalid is unique because its debris is strongly influenced by Jupiter's gravity, which constantly alters the orbit of this comet's debris, said William Cooke, head of the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.


Read More Here
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Saudi Arabia has reported five new deaths from the MERS respiratory virus,

Saudi Arabia reports five new MERS deaths

May 18, 2014 09:19 AM 

Particles of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus that emerged in 2012 are seen in an undated colorized transmission electron micrograph from the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). REUTERS/National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases/Handout via Reuters
...

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has reported five new deaths from the MERS respiratory virus, bringing the death toll in the world's worst-hit country to 168.
In its latest tally, issued Saturday, the Health Ministry said the total number of infections in the kingdom from the coronavirus since it first appeared in 2012 now stood at 529 people.
Among the latest fatalities were two men aged 67 and 55 and an 80-year-old woman in Jeddah, the port city where a spate of cases among staff at King Fahd Hospital last month led to the dismissal of its director and the health minister.
In addition, a 71-year-old man and another aged 77 died in Riyadh and Medina respectively, the ministry website reported.

Read More Here
.....

Al Jazeera

Saudi Arabia records more MERS deaths

Three more people die from coronavirus, days after an emergency WHO committee called on countries to improve prevention.

Last updated: 17 May 2014 10:16

The World Health Organisation called for better prevention measures [AFP]

Health authorities in Saudi Arabia have reported three more fatalities from the MERS respiratory virus, taking the death toll in the world's worst-hit country to 163.

The health ministry website also revealed on Saturday that 520 cases have been recorded in the country since MERS appeared in Saudi Arabia in 2012.

It said three women died on Friday; a 48-year-old in Riyadh, a 67-year-old in Taif, and woman in Jeddah whose age was not disclosed.

A spate of cases among staff at King Fahd Hospital in Jeddah last month sparked public panic and the dismissal of its director and the health minister.

Other nations including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the Netherlands, the UAE and the US have also recorded cases, mostly in people who had been to Saudi Arabia.

On Wednesday, the World Health Organisation said its emergency committee, which includes global medical and policy experts, had flagged mounting concerns about the potentially fatal virus.

Read More Here

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A Team of Scientists is Exploring A Dangerous Underwater Volcano in Caribbean to Determine if it Could Cause a US Tsunami

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Could Dangerous Underwater Volcano in Caribbean Cause a US Tsunami?

May 14, 2014

By GIO BENITEZ, MICHAEL CAPPETTA and LAUREN EFFRON

View from "Hercules," a 5,000-pound submersible used by Robert Ballard and his team.

National Geographic

Next Video Rare Video Shows Underwater Volcano

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A team of scientists is exploring the darkest corners of a huge underwater volcano in the Caribbean in hopes of better understanding the mysteries of earthquakes and tsunamis, ultimately saving lives.
Kick'em Jenny is a dangerous and active volcano sitting roughly 6,000 feet below the surface of the Caribbean Sea, and located off the coast of the island of Grenada, south of St. Lucia.
Robert Ballard, famous for discovering the Titanic 12,000 feet below the surface of the icy North Atlantic in 1985, set his sights on exploring the Kick'em Jenny to study its eruption history and learn more about how underwater volcanoes can pose a threat.
Ballard, the president of The Ocean Exploration Trust and the director of the Center for Ocean Exploration at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, said the Kick'em Jenny volcano has a history of explosive eruptions, which could have the potential to trigger tsunamis, the effects from which could be felt as far away as the northeastern United States.

Read More Here

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Serbia and Bosnia : More than 20 people have been killed in the worst floods in more than a century.

• NBC News

Balkans Submerged by Historic Floods Threatening Thousands

More than 20 people have been killed in the worst floods in more than a century in Serbia and Bosnia.

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  Alexa Stankovic / AFP - Getty Images

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  A group is evacuated on an amphibious vehicle over flooded streets in the town of Obrenovac, Serbia, on May 17, 2014.
  
  Landslides triggered by unprecedented rains in Bosnia have left hundreds of people homeless, while thousands more have fled their homes in neighboring Croatia and Serbia as Balkan countries battle the region's worst flooding since modern records began.
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  Marko Djurica / Reuters

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  Children sit in a bus after being evacuated from the flooded town of Obrenovac, Serbia, on May 17.
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  Kemal Zorlak / Anadolu via Getty Images

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  Homes sit submerged due to overflowinh rivers in Doboj, a northern city of Bosnia and Herzegovina on May 16.
  
  More than two dozen people have died, said authorities, who warned the death toll could rise.
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  Marko Djurica / Reuters

  4
  

  Serbian army soldiers evacuate people from a flooded house in the town of Obrenovac, Serbia, on May 16. Rapidly rising rivers surged into homes, sometimes reaching up to the second floors, sending people climbing to rooftops for rescue.
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  Marko Djurica / Reuters

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  People stand in their apartments as they wait to be evacuated in the flooded town of Obrenovac, Serbia, on May 17. Authorities said 25 people have died but warned the death toll could rise.
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  Alexa Stankovic / AFP - Getty Images

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  A group is evacuated on a boat over flooded streets in the town of Obrenovac, Serbia, on May 17.
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  Marko Djurica / Reuters

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  Serbian army soldiers evacuate a boy from a flooded house in the town of Obrenovac, Serbia, on May 17.
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  Ismail Duru / Anadolu via Getty Images

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  Houses sit damaged from heavy rains in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on May 17. Throughout hilly Bosnia, floods are triggering landslides covering roads, homes and whole villages. About 300 landslides have been reported, and stranded villagers often are being rescued by helicopter.
  
  Read More and View Additional Photos Here

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More than 20 dead, thousands evacuated in Bosnia, Serbia floods

By Marko Djurica

OBRENOVAC, Serbia Sat May 17, 2014 2:14pm EDT

1 of 11. People stand in their apartments as they wait to be evacuated in the flooded town of Obrenovac, southwest of Belgrade, Serbia May 17, 2014.

Credit: Reuters/Marko Djurica

(Reuters) - More than 20 people have been killed in the worst floods in more than a century in Serbia and Bosnia, authorities said on Saturday, with thousands evacuated from towns still under threat from rising rivers.

The death toll in Bosnia alone reached 19, including nine found on Saturday when waters receded from the northeastern town of Doboj.

Thousands of volunteers joined soldiers, police and fire-fighters in building flood barriers made of sandbags in the Serbian capital Belgrade and the western town of Sabac.

The River Sava hit its highest-recorded level in Serbia, the army said, rising at a rate of three centimeters (one inch) per hour after several days of the heaviest rainfall in almost 120 years.

Three people were confirmed dead in Serbia by Friday, and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said there were more fatalities in the town of Obrenovac, 30 km (18 miles) southwest of Belgrade, where soldiers deployed huge amphibious vehicles to rescue hundreds of people crammed into a primary school.

Authorities in Serbia said they would not give a death toll for Obrenovac, a town of some 30,000 people, until the waters had receded and the extent of the damage was clear.

A Reuters photographer said the entire town center was submerged under two to three meters (seven to 10 feet) of water.

Tens of thousands of homes in Serbia were cut off from electricity and around 150,000 in Bosnia, where Doboj suffered the most.

Read More Here

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"It's wet, cold, there's no electricity, no running water" - Serbian flood victim

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