Happy #EarthDay! We compiled images of Earth from different perspectives . Take a moment to appreciate the fragility and beauty of our home. 🧵
See the full list of images ranging from 12,000 feet under the sea to 4 billion miles in space by @KashaPatel: bit.ly/3AgM1xp
🛰️Bering Sea, from a satellite 440 miles above Earth
High vantage points often reveal large-scale marks on our planet. These colorful pockets are often blooms of microscopic marine algae called phytoplankton, from the Greek words phyto (plant) and plankton (wanderer).
👨🚀Auroral beads, as captured from the International Space Station 250 miles above Earth
The aurora can sometimes be obscured to sky watchers on the ground by clouds, but astronauts on the International Space Station can have a front-row seat to aurora activity from above.
🛰️Moon "photobomb" as captured from a spacecraft orbiting 1 million miles away from Earth
🪐Seen from Saturn by a spacecraft 898 million miles away from Earth. Can you spot Earth in the lower righthand corner?
🌌Our Pale Blue Dot, from about 3.7 billion miles from Earth
"That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever lived, lived out their lives." - astronomer Carl Sagan
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So much NOT NORMAL in DC this February:
* Tidal Basin cherry blossom buds already developing
* Biggest February tree pollen explosion on record
* Leaf out on area trees is occurring earliest in at least a a generation
Reporting by @islivingston: bit.ly/3ItPhu5 (1/x)
Here's the map which shows where spring leaves are emerging... it's already happening just south and east of Washington -- and is the earliest in at least 40 years per @USANPN. (2/x)
On Feb. 8, DC's tree pollen count hit 487 grains per cubic meter of air -- the highest on record so early in the year. While the time series is short, instances of very high pollen counts seem to be trending earlier. (3/x)
EXCLUSIVE: U.S. tracked China spy balloon from launch on Hainan Island along unusual path by @nakashimae@shaneharris w/ CWG's @JSamenow. Weather model from @NOAA helped Wash Post simulate the balloon's bath.
Full article: bit.ly/3HZLhjx (1/x)
NOAA Hysplit tool, which can simulate atmospheric steering currents, showed a balloon launched from Hainan Island around Jan. 20 would have reached Aleutians around Jan. 28. (2/x)
What's very interesting is that steering currents before late on Jan. 20 and after Jan. 21 would not have directed the balloon toward Alaska (and eventually the Lower 48) but probably instead toward the Central Pacific. (3/x)
In an average January, there are 36 tornadoes. So far this year? 124. Studies show climate change will probably increase winter tornadoes. This winter (and last winter) could well be a harbinger of what's to come... bit.ly/3CUDvpq 1/x
Yesterday -- east of Des Moines, where temps were 20 degrees above normal, Iowa saw its first January tornadoes since 1967, and the earliest on record. Recall central & western Iowa saw first December tornadoes on record last winter. 2/x
Last Thursday, before tornado outbreak that killed 10 people in the South, hurled debris 20,000 feet in the air and tossed a truck 125 yards, water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico were WAY above average. 3/x
Some reports from historic storm in western Alaska--
Wind gusts have topped 70 mph, storm surge of at least 7 feet, damage and power outages in coastal communities. Updated storm briefing: wapo.st/3BoPni4
Map of peak wind gusts in western Alaska so far...
Nome, Alaska tide gauge shows water level over 7 feet above normal:
“Apocalyptic.” “Unprecedented.” “A monsoon on steroids.”
Officials have struggled to put into words the flooding across Pakistan. More than 1,000 people have died, and tens of millions more have been affected.
The flooding turned catastrophic over the past few weeks as the monsoon season rainfall overwhelmed low-lying areas near the Indus River. Water spilled from its banks into the surrounding plains, destroying infrastructure and homes.
The country has experienced 190 percent more rainfall than average from mid June to the end of August. The map below shows just the last two weeks of rainfall.
In recent days, aurora sightings in the U.S. were reported from Michigan, Washington, North Dakota and more. More activity is possible - the Northeast, Rockies and northern plains may have min. clouds tonight.