mysterious ray of light have ‘emerged’ near the town of Palotino, Brazil

Huge, mysterious pillars of light have ‘emerged’ near the town of Palotino, Brazil on the 17th of December, 2012. What are these things? They look a bit like the jumbo spotlights that are sometimes used to grab attention at night but these clearly aren’t. Is this a 2nd Sun emerging from previously chemtrailed skies? YouTube is blowing up with theories, some of them being: looks like multiple suns across the sky; I have the impression one can not see it touching the earth; seems to come up behind a distant cloud, which could mean the place u refer to is very, very far away; the light is not illuminating the underside of the clouds therefore it is being projected from the sky above the clouds… hard to explain, but amazing; and things get stranger and stranger all the time. awesome vid many thanks. Any ideas from Beforeitsnews readers? I’d love to know your opinions.

http://beforeitsnews.com/strange/2012/12/mysterious-pillars-of-light-emerge-from-ground-in-brazil-2446186.html

Scientists find violent weird underwater volcano near Baja California

December 14, 2012 – CALIFORNIA , UNITED STATES - Scientists have discovered one of the world's weirdest volcanoes on the seafloor near the tip of Baja, Mexico. The petite dome — about 165 feet tall (50 meters) and 4,000 feet long by 1,640 feet wide (1,200 m by 500 m) — lies along the Alarcón Rise, a seafloor-spreading center. Tectonic forces are tearing the Earth's crust apart at the spreading center, creating a long rift where magma oozes toward the surface, cools and forms new ocean crust. Circling the planet like baseball seams, seafloor-spreading centers (also called mid-ocean ridges) produce copious amounts of basalt, a low-silica content lava rock that makes up the ocean crust. 

But samples from the newly discovered volcano are strangely rhyolite lava, and have the highest silica content (up to 77 percent) of any rocks collected from a mid-ocean ridge, said Brian Dreyer, a geochemist at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The results were presented last week at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Researchers with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) discovered the volcano this spring, during a three-month expedition to the Gulf of California, the warm stretch of water that separates Baja from mainland Mexico. A remote-control vehicle explored the volcano, which is 7,800 feet (2,375 m) below the surface, and brought samples back to the ship. “When we picked up the rocks and got them back on the ship, we immediately noticed that they were very low density, and they were very light, glassy and gray.

They were not the usual dark, black, shiny basalts,” Dreyer told OurAmazingPlanet. “So we immediately knew that something was unusual.” The volcano is primarily rhyolite and a silicic lava called dacite, said MBARI geologist Jennifer Paduan. “To find this along a mid-ocean ridge is a total surprise,” she told OurAmazingPlanet. Boulders and blocks the size of cars and small houses littered the steep slopes of the dome, the robot's video camera showed. Of more concern is the evidence for explosive volcanism, which is typical of rhyolite volcanoes, Paduan said. “It's only 100 kilometers [60 miles] from land. When the sun is setting, you can see Cabo,” she said. Both the Baja Peninsula and mainland Mexico near Alarcón Rise have cities and luxury resorts. The Gulf of California is also home to endangered sea life. Rhyolite lava carries more gas and volatiles (things that are likely to cause explosions) than basalt, and when magma meets water, it vaporizes instantly, driving an even more explosive eruption. 

Two violent earthquakes hit the southern cost of California

December 14, 2012 - UNITED STATES - Two violent earthquakes hit the southern cost of California this Friday morning at approximately 2:30 a.m. The first to hit was a 6.3 magnitude quake 262km SSW of Avalon, California the second quake was a 6.1 magnitude reading with an epicenter 142km SW of Avalon, California. The second earthquake was later downgraded to a 4.7 by the USGS. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Mag: 6.3 – Depth: 10 km – off the west coast Of Baja California – and the 4.7 magnitude earthquake. 175 km from Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, United States.

Witnesses in Anaheim say they felt a slow smooth whirlpool rolling shake. Another witness in Ocean Beach, San Diego, was quoted as saying “Been through many, this was the longest feeling one, my 2nd story 100 year old apt, the floor swayed and twisted. In Hillcrest they’re saying they felt a strong seemingly long quake. Inglewood says “It was crazy it didn’t wake me up but the dog did. Pico Rivera, say they felt a subtle sway and shake. Lamp and windows shook. Coronado witnesses say nothing fell off walls but certainly the house shook. here in San Diego, just felt my couch shaking from that quake a little while ago… very eerie! Folks in La Jolla say they felt a gentle shake. Spring Valley witness says it woke her up. An Anaheim witness told us she was awake for odd reason then started feeling the earthquake. She says it frightened. In her words: “I hope the world doesn’t really end. There were many more disturbed by these two quakes. Earthquake shaking in the eastern United States can travel much farther and cause damage over larger areas than previously thought, but these quakes were south west of that part of the U.S. U.S. Geological Survey scientists found that last year’s magnitude 5.8 earthquake in Virginia triggered landslides at distances four times farther—and over an area 20 times larger—than previous research has shown. There are no reports of damage or lost of life. While we were yet compiling this report another 5.1 quake hit the southern coast of California. - Guardian Express.

Meteor Falls Into The Sea In Turkey! Caught On Video!

Hundreds of dead Humboldt squid washed up on beaches Sunday along Rio Del Mar in Santa Cruz County, California

Someone ready a deep-fryer and aioli. Hundreds of dead Humboldt squid washed up on beaches Sunday along Rio Del Mar in Santa Cruz County, according to the Santa Cruz Patch. There is no immediate explanation for why so many of the large invertebrates would die suddenly and in this location. Humboldt squid have not been native to the Monterey Bay area for very long. The squid have been seen further north - which can be confusing for some, since the squid are named for Humboldt Bay, where they can also be found - since the 1997 El Nino event, according to the Patch, and apparently like the Monterey Bay area for its plentiful food. 

The squid grow to as big as four feet long thanks in part to the bounty of fish in the Monterey Bay - itself a notable area for the deep Monterey Canyon just offshore. Squid have washed up on California beaches before. In 2009, dead squid were found in the sand after an earthquake. 

BeforeItsNews.com

3-mile wide asteroid set to zip past Earth December 12, 2012

December 12, 2012 – SPACE - The asteroid known as Toutatis will make its closest approach to Earth tonight. From Tuesday night to Wednesday morning, the 3-mile long asteroid will be about 18 times the distance of the moon from the Earth. And if you miss it Tuesday night, don’t worry. The asteroid should be visible if you have the right conditions, the right telescope and a good star chart — through the end of the week.Even at its closest approach you won’t be able to see Toutatis with the naked eye. You’ll need a small telescope. Of course, even if you find it, it will still appear as a small point of light moving across the night sky. To see what this asteroid really looks like, you’d need something really, really big, such as the Goldstone Radar, which looks like a whopping satellite dish 230 feet across. Scientists who work at the Goldstone facility near Barstow have been tracking Toutatis since Dec. 4 and posting images of the asteroid on the Internet. The images are a little fuzzy, but they give you a sense of the asteroid’s oblong shape and its lumpy topography. Lance Benner, a Jet Propulsion Laboratoryresearch scientist, said the asteroid is rotating very slowly and that at 3 miles long it is one of the bigger objects that have come within 18 lunar distances of the Earth. But he wouldn’t consider it humongous or gigantic. Since Toutatis’ erratic orbit takes it by Earth once every four years, scientists have been able to study it pretty closely since it was rediscovered (and named) in 1989. As for the all-important question of whether Toutatis’ orbit will ever put it on a collision path with Earth, Benner said it is unlikely. “There is no risk of it colliding with Earth” for hundreds of years, he said. But Benner can’t predict hundreds of thousands of years into the future. Still, he is not worried that Toutatis will ever collide with Earth. “Almost 9,400 asteroids have been found so far, and none of them have a significant chance of hitting us,” he said. “It’s the ones we haven’t found yet that are of greater concern.” –LA Times

Earth prepares for a double flyby of asteroids in the next day

December 12, 2012 - SPACE - As Earth prepares for a double flyby of asteroids in the next day, astronomers have created this unique view of the earth - from an asteroid as it passes close by.  This animation shows the Sun and the Earth as observed from the asteroid 2012 XE54, which alongside a long-studied giant space rock named Toutatis will pass close to Earth later today.  Luckily, there is no danger of either hitting Earth - but scientists say the unique occurrence could help them learn a lot about asteroids. 

Asteroid 2012 XE54 was only recently discovered, and will safely pass between the Earth and the Moon’s orbit at a distance of about 226,000 km (141,000 miles) or about .6 lunar distances. However, it will have a unique path. 'A close analysis of the trajectory of this asteroid reveals that it will likely cross the Earth's shadow, causing a partial eclipse of the asteroid a few hours before reaching its minimum distance with the Earth,' said Pasquale Tricarico of the Planetary Science Institute, who created the animation above.  Asteroids eclipsing during an Earth flyby are relatively rare, with the first known case of asteroid 2008 TC3 which was totally eclipsed just one hour before entering Earth's atmosphere over Sudan in 2008, and asteroid 2012 KT42 experiencing both an eclipse and a transit during the same Earth flyby in 2012. 

 The asteroid is one of two set to pass by Earth.  4179 Toutatis, with a shape that has been described as a 'malformed potato' will pass 6.9 million kilometers (4.3 million miles) away from Earth, or more than 18 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon.  At 4.46 kilometers (2.7 miles) long and 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) wide, astronomers say it is considered a potentially hazardous asteroid because it makes repeated passes by the Earth, about every four years.  In comparison, the asteroid that is thought to have destroyed the dinosaurs was approximately 10 km (6 miles) wide.  It's passing will be streamed online by the Slooh Space Camera  At its maximum brightness, experts say Toutatis might be barely visible through binoculars. - Daily Mail. 

Russian Prime Minister Confirms Aliens Are Here

Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the tenth and current Prime Minister of Russia, incumbent since 2012. He previously served as the third President of Russia, from 2008 to 2012. At the age of 43, he was the youngest Russian President.  Medvedev said there are top secret files on aliens that have landed in Russia

Staggering off the air Dmitri Medvedev comment confirms aliens are here.. After the recording of a television program, the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation did not realize that his microphone was still open and let go of the statements that  stunned journalists and professionals in the studio: “I believe in Santa Claus, but not too much, “Medvedev began, but then continued: “Aliens .. I can not tell you how many of them are among us at this time, otherwise it would trigger panic.

footage recorded Friday after a television interview, the former president said that each Russian leader gets two folders with information about extraterrestrials that visited our planet — and stayed here.

According to the Washington Post, he joked more details could be found in Barry Sonnenfeld’s “Men in Black” films.

Craft recovered in the Russian Roswell

Mystery Booms Heard Across the U.S. Within 24 Hours

Georgia  (Dec 4th, 5th and 6th)

Columbia County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) director Pam Tucker tells WJBF News Channel 6 there have been several loud booms reported in the county over the last couple of days.

On Tuesday, Tucker tells us there was a distant loud boom reported in the the Pinebrook area off of Hereford Farm Road between 9:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, at 9:07 p.m., a county resident heard a loud rumble and he says his driveway is now lifted up with cracks in in and the road and sidewalks near his home are now cracked.

Then, Thursday morning at 5:00 a.m., a man and his neighbor both heard a loud boom on the 200 block of Louisville Road.

Tucker tells us officials are looking for the cause of the booms and rumbling.

Source

Arizona (Dec 4) -

Jean Swesey was doing homework with her son in Cottonwood when it happened.

"It was a whole series of booms," Swesey said. "Up to six or seven. It was fast, it went loud. We were quiet and then my daughter down the hall screams really loud, ‘Did you hear that?' I sat there for a second and I heard another set."

Swesey wasn't alone. Residents in communities in and around Verde Valley and as far as Flagstaff called 911 or their police and fire departments to report the strange booming sounds.

"It sounded like thunder, but underground," Swesey said. "Like muffled thunder. And all the dogs in the neighborhood, all of them that were outside all started barking at once."

CBS 5 News first received reports of the explosion-like noises shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday and began checking with law enforcement and government sources. The U.S. Geological Survey reports no significant earthquake activity in Arizona that could have created the booms.

The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office had deputies in the area who either heard it or tried to respond to resident calls. They found nothing.

The Sedona Fire District dispatched a crew to check a report of a strange odor, but that was unfounded and may not be related to the sounds.

The Camp Verde Marshal also received a number of phone calls about the booms. Officers found no evidence of any explosions.

But the Verde Valley contains large expanses of uninhabited land. "Maybe when the light comes back they'll find something," said Gary Johnson of Sedona Fire.

Swesey sure hopes so. "It was just, ‘boom-boom-boom-boom-boom all over the Verde Valley."

Source

Texas (Dec 4)

“We started getting calls at 3:09 p.m. (Tuesday),” said Eric Meyers, Navarro County Emergency Coordinator. “The first calls were north of Corsicana in the Hickory Hollow area with two separate residents out there reporting unusual tremors being felt along with a rumbling type of noise.”

“About two hours later, approximately five o’clock, there were additional reports in the same area of heavier tremors, the same vicinity, the same residents,” Meyers said. Another report came from the western part of the county, near Navarro Mills.

After the second round of reports, Meyers posted it on Facebook and suddenly there were more reports, but coming from all over, including Streetman, Purdon, Pursley and Dawson. Some of the reports came from as far away as Freestone and Limestone counties. The line runs about 50 to 60 miles long, and the tremors didn’t act like any other thing except perhaps earthquake booms, which are shallow sometimes undetectable tremors similar to what’s been happening locally.

“This is an unexplained event likely of a natural origin,” Meyers said. “We can’t come up with a point of origin or a cause or explanation of why this is happening.”

“We were trying to determine what was going on, any type of military exercises at a higher level than locally, we worked on this throughout the night and we eliminated everything we could think of and continued to do some through today,” Meyers said.

“We went through the process of elimination on what it could be and ruled out all these different things,” he said. “Whatever it was hasn’t occurred since 4 a.m. Wednesday. It’s unusual, to say the least.”

Source

Alabama (Dec 4) -

At approximately midnight around Gentilly Mobile Home Park, a mysterious loud bang was heard.

Phone calls to The Plainsman office suggested that the bang was heard over a far larger radius than Gentilly Park.

Residents around the area do not seem to believe the sound was a gunshot or fireworks, as the sound was described as far too loud.

Capt. Tom Stofer of the Auburn Police Department said the department received a call about the noise, but after sending officers out to the area could not find a source or evidence of damage.

"We were really never able to indicate where the sound came from," Stofer said. "As far as we know, nothing was reported afterward as being damaged."

Stofer could not offer any possibilities of what caused the sound.

"The source of the noise or sound is really unknown at this time," Stofer said.

More information will be released as it becomes available.

Source

Rhode Island (Dec 4)

Just before midnight on Monday, reports of a loud boom flooded police stations and social media sites alike.

Sources from the Warwick Police Department said they received nearly 100 phone calls reporting a loud noise that some thought was an explosion. Some residents called to say it shook their homes.

On the other side of Narragansett Bay in Barrington, residents also reported the noise, and a few said a flash of light accompanied it.

The calls prompted an initial police and fire search of the areas, and then marine crews took to the waters between Conimicut and Bullocks Point to search for the source of the sound. Senior Chief Jamey Kinney, from the southeast sector of the Unite States Coast Guard, said one of their boats from Castle Hill joined four other local boats to comb Narragansett.

Initially, the Coast Guard made calls to T.F. Green to see if they had any missing planes, but the FAA confirmed all was status quo. They also reached out to National Grid to see if any transformers had exploded, but they, too, confirmed all was well. The Coast Guard then tossed around the idea that the noise could have been a vessel in distress, but Kinney said their foray into the waters was more as a precautionary measure.

“It’s better to respond earlier,” said Kinney.

But there was no vessel, and after combing the waters for an hour and 50 minutes the Coast Guard returned their team to shore empty-handed.

To add to the mystery, residents further reported a low, droning, humming noise coming from the water that began about an hour or so after the initial boom was heard, about the same time crews took to the water to comb for a source.

Some on social media said the hum sounded like a distress signal, while others said it didn’t sound like anything they’d heard coming from the bay before. One person said it sounded like it could be a tugboat. But Kinney said the source of the hum is just as mysterious as whatever caused the initial boom.

Locally, reports of the boom came from local neighborhoods like Buttonwoods, Hoxsie, Conimicut, Lakewood, Edgewood, Warwick Neck, Gaspee and Governor Francis Farms. Other media outlets have reported that the noise was heard as far away as Somerset, Mass. Yet, there were still some residents of those communities that missed the boom altogether.

Though Kinney said, “strange stuff happens all the time,” he has never heard of mysterious boom like this in this area.

Source

Japan: Massive earthquake off coast Honshu

December 07, 2012 - JAPAN - A tsunami alert was issued for Japan's northeast coast Friday after a powerful 7.3-magnitude undersea earthquake struck, setting buildings in Tokyo swaying violently. Media reports said a one-metre-high wave could sweep ashore in Miyagi prefecture, an area badly hit by the March 2011 tsunami that devastated a large swathe of coast in the northeast, killing thousands.

Broadcaster NHK, quoting the national meteorological agency, said the tsunami is expected to hit at 5:40 pm (0840 GMT). The United States Geological Survey measured the quake's magnitude at 7.3. NHK said the Japan Meteorological Agency had issued a tsunami warning, one notch lower than a tsunami alert, for the Pacific coast of Iwate, Fukushima, Aomori and Ibaraki . A 50-centimetre tunami was expected to hit the coast of Iwate at 5:40 pm, Fukushima at 5:50 pm, and Aomori and Ibaraki at 6:00 pm. Nuclear plant operator Tokyo Electric Power told AFP there were no reports of further damage at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. The powerful 7.3 earthquake did not generate a Pacific-wide tsunami, a US early warning agency said. There was no threat of a tsunami in the wider Pacific Ocean, according to the US-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, but it warned an earthquake of that magnitude could generate a tsunami that can be destructive for local coastlines. - Channel News Asia.

M 7.3 earthquake off the coast of Japan!

December 7, 2012 At 08:18 UTC and 09:18 Italian 'been an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the richter scale in off the coast of Honshu in Japan , after the earthquake and 'was an alarm tsunami.

Unusual tremors felt in Texas experts puzzled

December 6, 2012 – CORSICANA, TEXAS  — Reports of earthquake-like tremors starting Tuesday afternoon and continuing until early Wednesday can’t be confirmed as true earthquakes, but experts can’t say what it is, either. “We started getting calls at 3:09 p.m. (Tuesday),” said Eric Meyers, Navarro County Emergency Coordinator. “The first calls were north of Corsicana in the Hickory Hollow area with two separate residents out there reporting unusual tremors being felt along with a rumbling type of noise.” After checking with the U.S. Geological Survey website, Meyers also checked with the National Weather Service and state emergency management offices. “About two hours later, approximately five o’clock, there were additional reports in the same area of heavier tremors, the same vicinity, the same residents,” Meyers said. Another report came from the western part of the county, near Navarro Mills. After the second round of reports, Meyers posted it on Facebook and suddenly there were more reports, but coming from all over, including Streetman, Purdon, Pursley and Dawson. Some of the reports came from as far away as Freestone and Limestone counties. The line runs about 50 to 60 miles long, and the tremors didn’t act like any other thing except perhaps earthquake booms, which are shallow sometimes undetectable tremors similar to what’s been happening locally. The range and the description of houses “popping” and shaking didn’t seem to fit anything, including the disturbances reported around fracking drill-sites. “This is an unexplained event likely of a natural origin,” Meyers said. “We can’t come up with a point of origin or a cause or explanation of why this is happening.” Still, the National Earthquake Information Center, part of the U.S. Geological Survey, located in Golden, Colo., didn’t see anything on its monitors, according to Don Blakeman, an earthquake analyst at the center. “We had a call earlier, apparently folks have been feeling something out there for about a day, but we couldn’t find anything, we didn’t see anything on our records,” Blakeman said. “That doesn’t mean something hasn’t happened, but we don’t know what it is.” If the tremors had been as large as the small quakes that took place around Dallas they would have been detected on their equipment, Blakeman said. “Little earthquakes don’t automatically trigger the computer’s earthquake location,” he said. “If we have an exact time, though, we can scan the records for it.” Many tremors aren’t necessarily earthquakes but can have man-made causes, both men said. “We were trying to determine what was going on, any type of military exercises at a higher level than locally, we worked on this throughout the night and we eliminated everything we could think of and continued to do some through today,” Meyers said. “We went through the process of elimination on what it could be and ruled out all these different things,” he said. “Whatever it was hasn’t occurred since 4 a.m. Wednesday. It’s unusual, to say the least.” –Corsicana Daily Sun

Attack on Syria: 8000 U.S. troops near Syrian shores of aircraft carrier Eisenhower

DAMASCUS - Thursday, the American aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower, carrying 8,000 soldiers and eight squadrons of bombers arrived off the coast of Syria in the middle of a storm. According to the website of RT reports this morning that the news is likely to be a prelude to military action against the Syrian government. According to the Times, the Obama administration is preparing to launch the attack against the Damascus government even if the Whitehouse has not said anything about it. According to the explanations of the Times the U.S. government would come into action if Assad was using the chemical weapons. But the question is how did you send forces into Syria and is prepared to intervene to take a chance, it is as if you already knew, then, that Assad will use them. In fact everything is a farce and probably someone will use chemical weapons blaming Assad, should this be the casus belli wanted by the U.S.. According to the Israeli website DEBKAfile has reached the aircraft carrier the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, which includes marine 2500. "We have special forces for operations in the right place and we should not send other", said an anonymous U.S. official who said that U.S. forces are ready in and which are already close to Syria. According to DEBKAfile, if the U.S. decides to attack Syria would at this very moment at least 10,000 men available, 17 warships, 70 fighter-bombers, 10 cruisers equipped with cruise missiles. Some of these ships are also equipped with the AEGIS system, able to break down the missiles with which Syria would respond. "The muscles are already there ready for the fall," said a U.S. official at the London Times By the way the American military presence in the vicinity of Syria. "It's premature to say what can happen and if a decision was made ​​to intervene. Has not been done, we have not reached that decision. There are so many options but military action can be launched quickly, in a matter of days."

Readers report unusual object in the sky over Malta

Several readers contacted our website this evening to report an unusual object, possibly a comet, crossing low in the night sky. 

Edward Zammit, who lives in Mellieha, said that at about 8.45 he saw a comet in the sky crossing from north to the west of Malta. "It wasn't a shooting star, I saw it passing for about 15 seconds until is was hidden by nearby building," he said. 

Markatia Bugeja reported that she had just seen 'the most wonderful asteroid passing over Malta at enormous speed.' 

"I think it fell into the sea. It was a huge ball of fire with a long tail, it was amazing," she said, hoping that somebody had grabbed a picture. 

Robert Bonello, said he had seen what appeared to be a 'mega shooting star or meteorite with a yellow tail behind it...extremely fast, beautiful but scary. 

He asked if anyone could give an explanation. 

Christopher Azzopardi said he had seen a ball of fire flying overhead. He said he was not sure whether it was a meteor but it was big and fast. 

Marianna Petropoljac said she was in Sliema when she saw an object at about 9.05. "It appeared from the side of the tower and headed towards Valletta. We live on the 6 th floor and it looked quite large, like a bright reddish ball with a very short and thin tail. After about 15-20 sec it disappeared into the sky." 

A reader also reported sighting the unusual object from Pembroke. 

The police confirmed that they had received similar reports but had no further information. 

No unusual aircraft movements were reported.

http://www.sott.net/article/254368-Readers-report-unusual-object-in-the-sky-over-Malta

Two enormous sinkholes swallow roads in Bay Area, California

Two giant sinkholes formed in separate Bay Area communities during the heavy rain from a powerful storm that passed through the Bay Area over the weekend. 

In one instance, a giant sinkhole swallowed two lanes of a street in a residential neighborhood in Lafayette Sunday. 

High water levels and a clogged storm drain in Lafayette Creek destroyed a portion of Mountain View Drive Sunday, creating a sinkhole where the road once was, Lafayette City Manager Steven Falk said. 

Erosion of the road accelerated when the heavy current of the creek clogged the storm drain with large debris, including branches and a bureau, some time between 7:30 a.m. and 9 a.m., Falk said. 

Water began to run over the top of the road, forcing its closure soon after. Around 3 p.m. Sunday, the road collapsed onto the storm drain and left a hole 80 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 15 feet deep, Falk said. 

GIant sinkholes: Signs of Geological changes along the New Madrid Fault?

December 04, 2012 - UNITED STATES - The most powerful earthquakes in the history of the United States happened along the New Madrid Fault in 1811 and 1812.  Those earthquakes were reportedly felt more than 1,000 miles away.  Scientists assure us that one day we will once again see very powerful earthquakes along the New Madrid fault.  It is only a question of when it will happen. Today, the New Madrid fault zone covers portions of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi.  However, a major earthquake of magnitude-8.0 or greater would likely have a dramatic effect all the way from the Great Lakes all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico.  When most Americans speak of the “big one”, they think of what may happen along the coast of California someday, but the truth is that a New Madrid earthquake could potentially do far more damage.  So is there evidence that the New Madrid fault zone is waking up?  Yes, there is.  According to Bloomberg, there has been “a sixfold increase in the number of earthquakes that have shaken the central part of the U.S. from 2000 to 2011″.  

Ohio Sinkhole Devours Four Football Fields Of Land, Stretch Of State Highway 516 Near Dover.

That is why so many people are so concerned about the monster sinkholes that have appeared in the region in recent months.  For example, a massive sinkhole down in Louisiana is now over 8 acres in size and it has forced hundreds of people to flee from their homes.  You can see video of the Louisiana sinkhole right here.  Over in Ohio, a giant sinkhole has suddenly formed that is more than 30 feet deep and that is the size of four football fields.  That sinkhole caused part of State Route 516 to collapse and authorities say that it will likely be closed for many months.  You can see video of the gigantic sinkhole in Ohio right here.  Are these monster sinkholes an indication that major earth changes are coming along the New Madrid fault?  

The sinkhole down in Louisiana is of particular concern because it has been venting natural gas.  A few days ago it reportedly “burped” which sounds kind of ominous.  Could we see some kind of an “explosion” at some point? Many of those living in the area may not be able to return to their homes for quite a long time.  The following is from a recent Huffington Post article…

At the eight-acre, Bayou Corne sinkhole in Assumption Parish, owners of slab houses are waiting for methane-gas monitors to be installed in December. The sinkhole deepened in November and coughed up debris and hydrcarbons late in the month. Cypress trees fell into the gap. Residents are watching natural gas being flared from the site and are ventilating homes while bayous around them bubble.

Sadly, even most Americans that are living in that part of the country don’t really understand how incredibly massive and how potentially destructive this fault zone actually is.  The following is from a recent report from WREG in Memphis, Tennessee…

Many people don’t realize that north Alabama lies in the impact zone of the New Madrid fault line, a sleeping giant that is approximately twenty times larger than California’s famed San Andreas fault.  The biggest earthquake in U.S. history happened in the New Madrid seismic zone in 1812, and in just the last few weeks, activity along the fault line is starting to heat up. 

If the earthquakes that happened along the New Madrid fault zone in 1811 and 1812 happened today, the devastation would be unimaginable.  Back then, there were not that many people living in the area.  But even so, the destruction was incredible…

Accounts of the 1812 quake vary since there were no measuring instruments at the time, but most geologists say evidence shows it was at least a magnitude 8 earthquake, and possibly a 9 or higher.  The shaking was so intense that church bells started ringing as far away as Boston and New York. Chimneys toppled from the Deep South to Canada, and President James Madison was awoken by the violent shaking as he slept in the White House. Eyewitnesses said it even caused the Mississippi River to flow backwards for a time.

Unfortunately, there are now indications that the fault zone is becoming more active as a recent Examiner article explained…

Tuesday evening, two shallow earthquakes, although small, were felt in Mt. Carmel, Ill. as well as five miles outside Edmond, Okla. Illinois had the largest at 3.6 magnitude, leaving Oklahoma with a smaller 2.9 magnitude quake as reported by the USGS.

The fact that both of these quakes were shallow and follow on the heels of Kentucky’s 4.3 just 10 days ago makes the questions begin to fly. Is the New Madrid waking up? Is it gearing up for ‘the big one’? When Ky. Experienced a 4.3 two weeks ago, it was felt across 10-12 states. Although it didn’t knock runners off their feet, it did alarm many. Knoxville was among the cities that felt the quake. The shaking was not minor in many areas, and it scared people as walls shook and many began to pray.

This is something that I have written about previously, and we all need to keep our eyes open for more reports about earthquakes in the middle part of the country.  When the “big one” does finally hit the New Madrid fault zone, it will be one of the biggest news stories ever. We are talking about a catastrophe that would be so immense that it would be hard to imagine.  According to ABC News, a study by the Mid-America Earthquake Center found that in the event of a major earthquake along the New Madrid fault, “nearly 750,000 buildings would be damaged, 3,000 bridges would potentially collapse, 400,000 breaks and leaks to local pipelines and $300 billion in direct damage and $600 billion in indirect losses would occur.” You can ready much more about the New Madrid fault right here.

All of this is even more frightening when you consider that there are 15 nuclear reactors along the New Madrid fault zone. In the event that the “big one” strikes, we could be looking at Fukushima times 15.

We have been blessed to have avoided a major earthquake like that for so long in the middle part of the country, but there is no guarantee that the New Madrid fault zone will always be stable. There are even some that believe that eventually we will see an earthquake of magnitude-9.0 or higher along the New Madrid fault.  Such an earthquake could literally change the face of the entire continent.  We are talking about an event that could potentially change the course of the Mississippi River and create bodies of water where none existed previously. We seem to be moving into a time of increased seismic activity on the earth, and many scientists are convinced that the New Madrid Fault zone is definitely overdue for a major earthquake.

So will we see one in the coming years? - Market Daily News.

Widespread reports of spectacular multi-colored fireballs in the skies over the earth

December 03, 2012 - SKY - Here are several initial eye-witness reports of spectacular multi-colored fireballs from across the globe courtesy of the Lunar Meteor Hunters.

"MULTI-COLORED" "FULL MOON-SIZED" FIREBALL OVER NE UNITED STATES - 28th of November, 2012.

28 November 2012 - Benjamin Lipiecki, Brighton, Massachusetts, USA 2340.

Half a second duration, maybe a whole second. Saw it when looking Northeast as it traveled right to left at a very steep angel. The fireball started blue, then increased in size and changed to red. I was outside for several more minutes and did not hear any sound. Bright enough to see VERY clearly in a major urban area. The fireball at least appeared larger than the moon. Did not see any fragmentation, but the fireball did get very large and looked like it exploded or burnt out. Was unlike anything I've ever seen or expected to see in the night sky. At first I thought I must have been seeing things, but a friend of mine across town saw it too, and three or four people on twitter seem to also have seen it.

28 November 2012 - Rick Shaffer, Reading, MA, USA 23:40:00.

1-2 seconds duration - East-Northeast. Light green color, no sound. Bright as the moon, moving in opposite direction I was travelling in. It appeared very large and close.

28 November 2012 - Christopher Gillis, WOBURN, MA 2340 hrs.

2-3 seconds duration. I saw it in the Northeast sky. I was facing East in my backyard with no lights around, looking slightly downward, and this ENORMOUS blue/white streak fell earthward in a distinct arc while trailing white evanescent particles. Easily as bright as the full moon. There was fragmentation and the streak took up a third of the sky lengthwise. The ball of this object was the same size as the full moon, and at least as bright. I have seen dozens of meteorites in my life, and this was by far the biggest. Please contact me by email or phone, because this should be a major event. Hundreds of people in New England must have seen it.

"RED FIRE" FIREBALL OVER GEORGIA, UNITED STATES - 29th of November, 2012.

29 November 2012 - Brendan, Snellville, GA 22:48 EST.

4 seconds duration - Observed falling almost straight down in the western sky. White colour. 10x brighter than Venus. It appeared to be like a bright oval, wobbling as it fell.

29 November 2012 - Teresa Cronon, Calhoun, GA 22:45 EST.

4 seconds duration - Facing South. It was traveling SE. Bright white w/ red fire following. Bright as the moon. It was the largest and closest meteor or fire ball that I have ever seen.

Bill Cooke of NASA confirms:

"Confirm bright event on November 30 at 03:35:50 UTC (November 29, 22:35:50 EST).Confirm slow and low event, seen in 4 cameras. Trajectory solution is as follows:

Start location: 86.267 W, 33.959 N at an altitude of 75.0 km

End location: 86.178 W, 33.757 N at an altitude of 37.5 km

Initial speed of 16.0 +/- 0.7 km/s

Decelerated to 9.2 km/s

"BLUE-GREEN" FIREBALL OVER HUNGARY AND POLAND - 29th of November, 2012.

29 November 2012 - Lukasz, RACIBORZ, POLAND 17:50:00.

6 seconds duration. I was facing SSE, it went from left to right (the meteor bearing was SW). There was no sound, it was bright white, with some green and a little blue. It looked like car headlights from about 200m away. 3-4 fragments fell off during its flight. It looked like it was going pretty slow (though I've never seen a meteor before). Its flight path was very flat, almost horizontal. It flew for 6 seconds and then suddenly disappeared (maybe hidden behind clouds).

The meteor over Hungary on 29 November 2012 has been categorized as a bolide by several local websites, with around 15 people reporting it HERE. 

The bolide was seen in a central part of Hungary, over an area marked by Ocsa, Tokol, Oroshaza, Nyiregyhaza, Budapest, Jaszapati, Jaszbereny. All witnesses describe fragmentation into 3-4 parts. The color was reported as bright white (xenon), with some green and blue. A report says its size was equivalent to the moon. Weather conditions at this time included a full moon and clear sky in the region. The most popular Hungarian news site also reported the event HERE. 

WATCH: Fireball over Hungary.

"BRIGHT GREEN" FIREBALL OVER SOUTHEASTERN AUSTRALIA - 30th of November, 2012.

30 November 2012 - Joanne Nabiac, NSW, Australia 10.46pm.

4 seconds duration - Southwest direction. Bright green and small explosion noise. Same brightness as the moon. Super fast, looked like it had a tail but it was the glow behind it. I have never seen anything like this. The "poof" noise sounded far, far away.

30 November 2012 - Jacquelyn Linnett, SURFERS PARADISE, GOLD COAST, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA. approx. 22.20AEST.

Approx.1 second duration - I was looking from the coastline, facing West. Seen from overhead high in sky, approx 45 degree azimuth, trajectory N to low SSW, 10 degree azimuth. Lime green [glow stick green colour], very bright [firework bright, but definitely not a firework, trajectory like a meteor]. No fragments seen. Round shape, no tail noticed, fast moving.

"LOUD HUM," AND "LIGHTS" OVER NARRAGANSETT BAY - 04th of December, 2012.

Rhode Island and Coast Guard officials say they haven't found anything after receiving reports about an explosion in Narragansett Bay. People on both sides of the bay in Barrington and Warwick and as far away as Somerset, Mass., reported hearing what sounded like an explosion at about 11:30 p.m. Monday. Some also reported seeing a light. Area police and firefighters tried to find the source of the noise and light during land and water searches, but officials say nothing was found. Coast Guard crews and local officials also searched Monday night for a boat reported to be in distress, but didn't find anything. TV stations reported receiving reports of an explosion followed by a loud hum. A Coast Guard spokesman says the Conimicut lighthouse near Warwick emits a hum pattern. - South Coast Today.

UNUSUAL OBJECT IN THE SKY OVER MALTA - 04th of December, 2012.

Several readers contacted our website this evening to report an unusual object, possibly a comet, crossing low in the night sky. Edward Zammit, who lives in Mellieha, said that at about 8.45 he saw a comet in the sky crossing from north to the west of Malta. "It wasn't a shooting star, I saw it passing for about 15 seconds until is was hidden by nearby building," he said. Markatia Bugeja reported that she had just seen 'the most wonderful asteroid passing over Malta at enormous speed.' "I think it fell into the sea. It was a huge ball of fire with a long tail, it was amazing," she said, hoping that somebody had grabbed a picture. Robert Bonello, said he had seen what appeared to be a 'mega shooting star or meteorite with a yellow tail behind it...extremely fast, beautiful but scary. He asked if anyone could give an explanation. Christopher Azzopardi said he had seen a ball of fire flying overhead. He said he was not sure whether it was a meteor but it was big and fast. Marianna Petropoljac said she was in Sliema when she saw an object at about 9.05. "It appeared from the side of the tower and headed towards Valletta. We live on the 6 th floor and it looked quite large, like a bright reddish ball with a very short and thin tail. After about 15-20 sec it disappeared into the sky." A reader also reported sighting the unusual object from Pembroke. The police confirmed that they had received similar reports but had no further information. No unusual aircraft movements were reported. - Times of Malta.