Mexico Volcano of Fire eruption caught on camera - Video

Dramatic video caught on webcam showed eruptions with clouds of smoke rising above the crater of the Volcan del Fuego (Volcano of Fire), set between the states of Colima and Jalisco.

Three separate bursts were seen on Wednesday (January 21), Sunday (January 25) with a nocturnal one on Monday (January 26). Webcams de Mexico.com captured the dramatic images.

The 9,939-feet above sea-level (3,860-meters) Volcan del Fuego, one of Mexico's most active, has frequent moderate explosions.

Activity at the volcano was also reported in January.

NASA's TRMM satellite analyzes Mexico's soaking tropical rains

Rainfall totals were calculated using NASA's TRMM satellite data for the period May 29 to June 6, 2014 that included Tropical Storm Boris and System 90L. 

Over 535 mm (21.6 inches) where tropical storm Boris came ashore in southern Mexico. 

Credit: SSAI/NASA, Hal Pierce

The movement of tropical storm Boris into southern Mexico and a nearly stationary low pressure system in the southern Gulf of Mexico caused heavy rainfall in that area.

NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite acts like a "rain gauge in space" and calculated that one area received almost 2 feet of rainfall.

The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland monitors rainfall over the global tropics using data from the TRMM satellite.

TMPA rainfall totals were calculated for the period May 29 to June 6, 2014 that covered the time that Tropical Storm Boris made landfall in southwestern Mexico and System 90L soaked eastern Mexico.

TRMM data showed the highest rainfall totals of over 535 mm where tropical storm Boris came ashore in southern Mexico. System 90L, located in the Bay Of Campeche for most of that time brought more heavy rain in southeastern Mexico before it dissipated on June 7.

On June 7, there was good and bad news about System 90L. The good news was that it moved further inland and was dissipating so it no longer had a chance to develop into a tropical cyclone.

The bad news was that it moved further inland and continued to produce gusty winds and heavy rains along with life-threatening flash flooding over eastern and southeastern Mexico.



TRMM satellite data showed that some areas in southwestern Mexico received over 12 inches of rainfall (red) from Boris, while System 90L on the eastern side of Mexico brought similar totals to parts of the Yucatan. 

Credit: SSAI/NASA, Hal Pierce

At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, the NASA/NOAA GOES Project created an animation of satellite imagery from NOAA's GOES-East satellite imagery.

The movie shows the movement of System 90L over land and dissipating between June 6 and June 7 at 2000 UTC (4 p.m. EDT).

The Mexican Weather Service reported the city of Veracruz recorded 7.1 inches (180 mm) of rain! Huixtepec in Oaxaca reported 2.9 inches (73.4 mm) of rain.

On June 7, the National Hurricane Center noted that the low was centered near 18.0 north and 96.5 west. By June 9, System 90L had dissipated.

Mexico volcano ash disrupts US flights for second day

Frustrated passengers stood in long lines at Mexico City's airport as US airlines canceled flights for a second day after the Popocatepetl volcano spewed a new column of ash.

United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Alaska Airlines and AirTran voluntarily scrapped 15 flights Friday as a precaution, but the airport did not restrict travel as it did not consider the ash a risk, airport spokesman Jorge Andres Gomez told reporters.

On Thursday, six US airlines had canceled some 60 flights, stranding 600 passengers, with many of them still looking for a way out of the Mexican capital Friday afternoon.

"They can't even give us chairs," Mexican traveler Gabriela Garcia said as she stood in a long line at a Delta counter with some 200 other people. "Nobody knows anything, nobody says anything, we've been standing for six hours."

Another Mexican traveler, Eusebio Pacheco, said that he had also been waiting in line for six hours with his wife, hoping to finally take off to the Canadian province of Quebec.

"We don't know anything, they don't tell us anything, we're desperate," he said, adding that two flights were canceled. They hoped to fly out on Saturday.

A Slovenian couple who were heading to Paris with Delta said they were advised to book a hotel and return in two days, with the airline saying it wouldn't pay for food or lodging since it was a weather event.



The airport spokesman said operations were getting back to normal later in the day and that flights from Europe and other regions had been landing all day.

The National Disaster Prevention Center had reported early Friday the 5,452-meter (17,887-feet) high volcano had blown a 1.5 kilometer (one mile) high column of ash that was heading west-northwest and produced low-intensity tremors in the last 24 hours.

In an evening bulletin, the agency said the volcano had spewed more gas, steam and ash which had dispersed as it blew west.

Authorities flew over the crater and saw molten rocks that were blown one kilometer into the air before falling on the mountain's slopes, it added.

Volcanic activity at the snow-capped Popocatepetl, located 65 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of the capital, has intensified since May, prompting authorities to raise the alert level to "yellow phase 3" for 27 days, just short of evacuation orders.

The disaster prevention center advised people living around the volcano to wear long sleeves and use masks or cover their mouths and noses with a cloth.

ESA Arianespace: Satellite launch Kit for UK MOD and Mexico

Arianespace’s seventh and final Ariane 5 launch of 2012 has received its “green light” for liftoff with today’s successful launch readiness review performed at the Spaceport in French Guiana.

The review is held prior to each Ariane 5 mission, ensuring that the heavy-lift launch vehicle and its payload are flight-ready, along with the Spaceport’s infrastructure and the network of downrange tracking stations.

Click on the Image to see the full PDF document

This approval clears the way for Ariane 5’s rollout tomorrow from the Final Assembly Building to Ariane Launch Complex No. 3 at the Spaceport – positioning it for liftoff on Wednesday, December 19 during a launch window that opens at 6:49 p.m. and continues to 8:08 p.m., local time in French Guiana.

This flight will orbit a dual-passenger payload of the Mexsat Bicentenario telecommunications satellite for the Mexican Secretariat of Communications and Transport, along with the Skynet 5D secure military communications relay platform for the European operator Astrium Services, on behalf of the British Ministry of Defence.

Skynet 5D was built by Astrium Satellites of Stevenage, England, and will be the 38th military payload lofted by the Ariane launcher family.

Weighing approximately 4,800 kg. at launch and based on the Eurostar E3000 platform, it has an expected lifetime of 15 years and will be the 89th Astrium satellite launched by Arianespace. The spacecraft will be operated from a geostationary orbital position of 25 deg. East following its deployment.

NASA ISS Astronaut's photo shows Mexican wildfire at night

A photograph snapped from the International Space Station shows the bright lights of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, across the border in Mexico, with smoke from wildfires wafting to the right.

The photo was taken on June 2, and appears to show the Whitewater-Baldy wildfire. A docked Soyuz TMA spacecraft is seen in the foreground.

The smoke likely comes from the Whitewater-Baldy fire, the largest in New Mexico's history, which has chewed through 465 square miles (1,205 square kilometers) of forests near Glenwood, N.M., since it was ignited by lightning on May 16, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The fire is about 225 miles (362 kilometers) to the northeast of El Paso, and is now 87 percent contained.

Although it's not possible to distinguish the border of the United States and Mexico in the photo, a line of lights along Interstate 10 —which is slightly north of the border — is visible, according to a release from NASA's Earth Observatory.

NASA Shuttle Image: Socorro Island in Gulf of Mexico

A cloud wake appears on the downwind side of Isla Socorro, Mexico - 2/12/2000

Image courtesy of the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center

Popocatepetl Volcano: Eruption Covers 30 Communities In Mexico With Ash

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Mexico's famous Popocatepetl volcano experienced one of its largest explosions in years, causing its eruption to cover about 30 communities with ash, according to reports.

According to Wired's Eruptions blog, the ash ranges from a light dusting to up to seven centimeters thick.

Popocatepetl means "smoking mountain" in Aztec. At 17,802 feet (5,426 meters) it is the second highest volcano in North America.

It was reported that the eruption coupled with a plume of steam and ash and increased seismic activity, prompted authorities to raise the volcano's alert status. Mexican authorities have since advised people to stay at least seven miles away from the summit.

Eruptions Blog author Erik Klemetti, a professor of geosciences at Denison University in Ohio, said that a raised alert level means that local authorities are preparing for potential evacuations should the volcano have a major eruption.

It was also reported that the National Disaster Prevention Center stated, a lava dome is growing in the volcano's crater and that Popocatepetl could experience "significant explosions of growing intensity that hurl incandescent rocks significant distances."

Large ash showers and possible flows of mud and molten rocks down the volcano's flank could also occur.

UFO alert as Space debris burns up over Mexico City - YouTube

Handheld video of object breaking up in Earth's atmosphere leads to claims of UFO activities and other non-scientific speculation.

The Whale Shark

A diver swims in front of the mouth of a massive whale shark as it feeds on plankton in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Whale sharks, the planet's largest fish, are actually vegetarian.

Picture: Mauricio Handler/Handlerphoto.com/solent

Kompsat-2 Image: Yucatan Peninsula Yalahau Lagoon and Holbox Island

Holbox Island and the Yalahau Lagoon on the northeast corner of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula are featured in this image, acquired by the Korea Multi-purpose Satellite (Kompsat-2) of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).

ESA supports the Kompsat series as a Third Party Mission, meaning it uses its ground infrastructure and expertise to acquire, process and distribute data to users.

Credits: KARI

NASA SeaWiFS Image: Honduras from Space

Honduras: This SeaWiFS image of Central America shows what looks like smoke coming from Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras.

The smoke can be seen drifting over the Campeche Bank and over Belize's barrier reef

Picture: NASA / REX FEATURES

Swine flu: The predictable pandemic

THE swine flu virus has been a serious pandemic threat for years but research into its potential has been neglected compared with other kinds of flu.

New cases are being reported far from the original outbreak in Mexico. The clusters of milder infections in the US suggest the virus is spreading readily among people. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says this strain is so different from existing human flu viruses that most people have no immunity to it. Despite the claims, there are no existing vaccines.

All this means the virus could go pandemic. Or it might not: it could be self-limiting. If the virus spreads less readily than is feared, it might not be able to maintain itself in the human population and could fizzle out.

Vaccines such as Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) and Relenza (Zanamivir), are not totally effective against viral strains

The WHO is only now taking measures to produce an effective vaccine against the new H1N1 virus. This will between four to six months to develop, test and produce in sufficient numbers.