Blogosphere by K. C. Rhine

Strong East Coast Quake Highly Unusual: Scientist

By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent

(Reuters) - The strong earthquake that rattled the eastern United States on Tuesday was highly unusual in its severity, though it was centered in a part of Virginia known for smaller quakes, seismologists said.

The initial earthquake, which registered a magnitude of 5.9 just before 2 p.m. EDT, was felt from the Carolinas to New England.

"One of this size is highly unusual," said Karen Fisher, a professor of seismology at Brown University and president-elect of the seismology section at the American Geophysical Union. "This is the largest earthquake by far that I am aware of occurring there in recent history."

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Earthquake on U.S. East Coast Damages Historic Sites in Washington D.C.

Moonbows Over Yosemite Waterfalls Offer Dazzling Full Moon Sight

 

A rare moonbow, or lunar rainbow, is shown over a Yosemite National Park waterfall in this still from a park service video in July 2011. Moonbows draw out photographers during full moons at Yosemite, officials said.
CREDIT: Yosemite National Park View full size image

 

This month's full moon on Friday (July 15) may have been the center of attention for many skywatchers, but in California's Yosemite National Park, the full moon is just a tool for another amazing night sky sight: Moonbows.

According to a video released by park officials this month, the time around full moons are the best time to spot nighttime moonbows, also known as lunar rainbows, over some of Yosemite's most famous waterfalls.

"A lot of people don't realize that we even get rainbows at night in Yosemite," filmmaker Steve Bumgardner explained in the YouTube video, which he created for the Yosemite Nature Notes series. " If there's a full moon and the sky is clear, the moon, which is just reflected sunlight, is actually enough light to generate a rainbow at a place like Yosemite Falls."

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