A big storm erupted on the sun today (Sept. 10), and Earth was in the crosshairs.
The sun unleashed an X-class solar flare — the most powerful type — at 1:45 p.m. EDT (1745 GMT) today from an Earth-facing sunspot known as Active Region 2158, which also fired off another intense solar flare yesterday. Both space weather events were captured on camera by NASA’s sun-watching Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft.
Today’s solar flare qualifies as an X1.6 storm but poses no danger to anyone on Earth or the astronauts living aboard the International Space Station, NASA officials told Space.com. However, some people’s lives could be affected by the solar tempest.
"Impacts to HF [high-frequency] radio communications on the daylight side of Earth are expected to last for more than an hour," researchers with the National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) wrote in an online update today.
Further effects could be felt later in the week if the sunspot also fired off a cloud of superhot plasma known as a coronal mass ejection (CME). CMEs often accompany powerful flares and can trigger geomagnetic storms when they hit Earth, typically two to three days after erupting.
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Thursday, 11 September 2014
Sun Unleashes Major Solar Flare at Earth (Video)
Wednesday, 10 September 2014
WATCH LIVE: Join the Yahoo News team for a special news...
WATCH LIVE: Join the Yahoo News team for a special news livestream of President Obama’s national address on the Islamic State.
Tuesday, 9 September 2014
'Fox & Friends' jokes about Ray Rice video spark outrage
"Fox & Friends" host Brian Kilmeade says he and co-host Steve Doocy weren’t making light of domestic violence when they joked that the lesson from the video of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice knocking his then-fiancee unconscious in an elevator was to "take the stairs."
"Comments that we made during this story yesterday made some feel like we were taking the situation too lightly," Kilmeade said on Tuesday. "We are not. We were not. Domestic abuse is a very serious issue to us, I can assure you."
While discussing the footage on Monday’s show, Kilmeade said, “I think the message is, take the stairs.”
"The message is, when you’re in an elevator, there are cameras," co-host Steve Doocy added.
Those comments sparked considerable outrage on Twitter.
Monday, 8 September 2014
Dalai Lama says no need for successor
The Dalai Lama has told a German newspaper that he should be the last Tibetan spiritual leader, ending a centuries-old religious tradition from his Himalayan homeland.
His comments to the Welt am Sonntag newspaper echo his previous statement that “the institution of the Dalai Lama has served its purpose”, but were even more explicit.
"We had a Dalai Lama for almost five centuries. The 14th Dalai Lama now is very popular. Let us then finish with a popular Dalai Lama," he said.
"If a weak Dalai Lama comes along, then it will just disgrace the Dalai Lama," he added with a laugh, according to a transcript of the English language interview.
He also said: “Tibetan Buddhism is not dependent on one individual. We have a very good organisational structure with highly trained monks and scholars.”
'Shaky' Ukraine ceasefire holding, president to visit frontline city
A ceasefire struck between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists was largely holding on Monday in eastern Ukraine, although Kiev accused the rebels of sporadic violations overnight, especially near the port of Mariupol.
The ceasefire, which took effect on Friday evening, is part of a peace plan intended to end a five-month conflict the United Nations’ human rights envoy said on Monday had killed more than 3,000 people. It has also caused the sharpest confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cold War.
The plan envisages an exchange of prisoners, and on Monday a senior separatist leader was quoted as saying the rebels expected an “all-for-all” exchange on Wednesday.
"Overall the ceasefire held even though it is still shaky," Ambassador Thomas Greminger of Switzerland, the current chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said, adding the next days would be crucial.
Local officials in Mariupol said Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko would visit their city on Monday afternoon. Mariupol, a port on the Sea of Azov near the Russian border, is vital for Ukraine’s steel exports.
Saturday, 6 September 2014
Animals have the purr-fect life These animals seem to have the...
Dinner and the newspaper for this cat. (Caters News/Svetlana Valyiskaya)
A cat taking a nap? That's different but with a magazine. (Caters News/Svetlana Valyiskaya)
A cat looks like he bit off more than he can chew with this turkey leg. (Caters News/Svetlana Valyiskaya)
Animals have the purr-fect life
These animals seem to have the PURR-fect life living just like their human owners. The cute critters - dogs, cats and even hamsters - have seemingly decided to try out things usually only reserved for humans.
Using her adorable style of photographer Svetlana Valyiskaya poses up common pets in everyday situations - from a hamster going to the gym to a cat ordering a meal. Her well-behaved subjects can be seen in this colorful collection of pictures she has been putting together for past six years in her native Russia.
In her spare time from her job as a commercial photographer Svetlana loves nothing more than creating these hilarious environments. Making all the costumes and designing the scenes herself, the photographers work has become a sensation in her native Russia. (Caters News)
Photography by Svetlana Valyiskaya.
Find more news related pictures on our photo galleries page.
Friday, 5 September 2014
Fast-food workers protestsPolice handcuffed several protesters
A protester is removed by police from blocking traffic near a McDonald's restaurant on Mack Avenue in Detroit, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Protesters block traffic on Mack Avenue in Detroit as part of a national protest to push fast-food chains to pay their employees at least $15 an hour, Sept. 4, 2014. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Police handcuff protesters blocking traffic in Detroit as part of a national protest to push fast-food chains to pay their employees at least $15 an hour, Sept. 4, 2014. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Protesters picket in front of a McDonald's restaurant on 42nd Street in New York's Times Square as police officers move in to begin making arrests, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Police handcuff protesters blocking traffic in Detroit as part of a national protest to push fast-food chains to pay their employees at least $15 an hour, Sept. 4, 2014. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Carmalita Johnson drums as protesters participate in a rally outside a McDonald’s on Chicago's south side, Sept. 4, 2014. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Protesters march on a McDonald's restaurant in Detroit as part of a national protest to push fast-food chains to pay their employees at least $15 an hour, Sept. 4, 2014. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Fast-food workers protests
Police handcuffed several protesters in New York and Detroit on Thursday as they blocked traffic in the latest attempt to escalate their efforts to get McDonald’s, Burger King and other fast-food companies to pay their employees at least $15 an hour.
The protests, which are planned by labor organizers for about 150 cities nationwide throughout Thursday, are part of the “Fight for $15” campaign. Since the protests began in late 2012, organizers have switched up their tactics every few months. (AP)
Thursday, 4 September 2014
When lightning strikes In an electrical storm, the storm clouds...
Lighting strikes over Saint Joseph cathedral during a storm in Hanoi July 14, 2012. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria)
Lightning strikes over buildings during heavy rainfall in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, September 2, 2014. (REUTERS)
Lighting strikes over a barn surrounded by a soybean crop in Donnellson, Iowa, July 13, 2012. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)
Volcanic lightning or a dirty thunderstorm is seen above Shinmoedake peak as it erupts, Kirishima city January 28, 2011. (REUTERS/Minami-Nippon Shimbun)
In an electrical storm, the storm clouds are charged like giant capacitors in the sky. The upper portion of the cloud is positive and the lower portion is negative. How the cloud acquires this charge is still not agreed upon within the scientific community, but the following description provides one plausible explanation.
See some dramatic images of these occurrences. (Reuters)
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Wow - this dog ate 43 socks! Do you have any videos or pictures...
Wow - this dog ate 43 socks!
Do you have any videos or pictures of crazy things YOUR dog has done? Email ABC.WorldNews@ABC.com.
http://abcn.ws/1gLQ7j6
Monday, 11 August 2014
Microsoft Debuts Entry-Level Nokia 130 Handset
Microsoft today announced the Nokia 130, a simple, inexpensive handset meant for first-timers and emerging markets. The candy bar-style phone runs the Series 30 platform and includes a 1.8-inch screen, stereo headphone jack, Bluetooth 3.0, and support for memory cards up to 32GB. According to Microsoft, the Nokia 130 supports both video and audio playback, and includes an FM radio. The phone has a flashlight, but no camera. The Nokia 130 will reach select markets this quarter. Pricing is expected to be about $25 and it will be sold in single- and dual-SIM variants. Microsoft Devices Group includes the handset division of Nokia, which Microsoft acquired earlier this year. Microsoft's Jo Harlow said though the company is killing off Nokia's Android/X devices, it still believes there is a good market opportunity for entry-level phones in addition to its Lumia Windows Phone devices.
