Oct 27 - Is Earth on Fire?

October 27 Is Earth on Fire? by:

Global fires detected in August 2018 compared to August 2019. The European Space Agency's Sentinel-3 World Fire Atlas recorded 79,000 wildfires in August 2019, in contrast to just over 16,000 fires during the same period in 2018. Image via ESA.

Is Earth on fire? The European Space Agency was asking this question late last week, as multiple fires burned in Lebanon and California. ESA wrote: "These are just some of the many fires 2019 has seen. Fires in the Amazon sparked a global outcry this summer, but fires have also been blazing in the Arctic, France, Greece, Indonesia as well as many other areas in the world." One new way experts track fires is with ESA's Sentinel-3 World Fire Atlas, whose prototype product and algorithm were presented at an international conference in Rome on October 3. Read more about 2019 fires and fire-tracking via satellite.  What are the seasons like on Uranus? Uranus lies nearly sideways with respect to the plane of its orbit around the sun. That sideways tilt makes a huge difference between winter-summer on Uranus, and autumn-spring. Read more. What we're reading   From the L.A. Times … Blackouts take effect across northern California as Kincade fire grows and winds kick up Nearly a million homes and businesses in California were thrown into darkness Saturday as fear that monster winds could down power lines and spark wildfires prompted Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to shut off power across large swaths of the state. The threat of wind-propelled conflagrations also prompted the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to order more than 90,000 Sonoma County residents to leave their homes as the Kincade fire grew to 25,000 acres. “The next 72 hours is going to be challenging,” Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters Saturday. “I can sugarcoat it, but I’m not.” Read more.

EarthSky lunar calendars are back in stock We're guaranteed to sell out, get one while you can! Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep going. Purchase here.

Uranus is closest to Earth today This image shows a crescent Uranus as seen by Voyager 2 in 1986, just after its flyby. Image via NASA/JPL. As seen from Earth, even through the most powerful telescopes, Uranus never appears as a crescent. Right now, during the time of year when Uranus is closest, telescopes would show the planet as fully illuminated. Read more.

Cosmic saguaro Sean Parker in Arizona captured this saguaro cactus on October 22. He said: “Pretty stoked on this shot I got tonight! It's something I've always wanted to get, but never had a 50-foot [15-meter] ladder or any other way of backlighting the saguaro from so high. So I took the drone up with the lume cubes and was able to snag it in a single shot." Thanks, Sean! Read more about saguaros. Submit your photo to EarthSky here! Did a friend forward EarthSkyNews to you? Click here to get your own subscription!

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