GLOBAL VOLCANISM: The Global Volcano Report For August 20, 2013 - Submarine Eruption And Increased Seismic Activity At Indonesia's Iliwerung Volcano Forces Authorities To Raise Alert Level; And High Levels Of Hydrothermal Activity Results In Massive Explosion At New Zealand's White Island Volcano!

August 20, 2013 - WORLDWIDE VOLCANOES - The following constitutes the new activity, unrest and ongoing reports of volcanoes across the globe.

Gunung Hobal (Iliwerung volcano, Lomblen Island, Indonesia): A submarine eruption has likely occurred this morning in Indonesia. VSI raised the alert level of Iliwerung volcano from 1 (normal) to 2 (watch) following increased seismic and visual activity from an underwater flank vent called Gunung Hobal. 

Iliwerung volcano forms a peninsula on the south coast of Lembata (Lomblen) Island (East Indonesia). 

Mount Hobal (Gunung Hobal) is a submarine flank vent of Iliwerung located about 800 m from the coast. It has had several historic eruptions during which several temporary islands were formed. 

The latest bulletin of VSI describes that the water around Hobal has recently shown significant color changes to yellow, intense bubbling and white steam plumes rising up to about 1000-2000 m from 7:14 local time this morning. Half an hour later, from 7:46 am, glow even began to be visible.

Strangely, no plume or other strong evidence of an eruption have been available so far from satellite data, except tiny spots visible on the latest images of the area which could be floating pumice (s. Culture Volcan's blog post) 

It appears that the eruptive phase (if any) lasted only shortly, which could explain the absence of a clearly visible plume on satellite data. 

VSI points out that there is an elevated risk of tsunamis associated with potential more eruptive activity, and recommends not to approach the coast within 30 m from the sea. 

The last recorded eruptions of Gunung Hobal were in 1973-74 and between 17-18 August 1983. 




White Island (New Zealand): A small phreatic or hydrothermal eruption occurred at in the active crater earlier today (10:23 on Tuesday 20 August 2013 NZ local time). The explosion lasted for about 10 minutes and produced a steam plume mixed with small amounts of ash that rose about 4 km a.s.l.

The activity at White Island has now returned to levels of high hydrothermal activity as before this morning's eruption... [read more] 




Complete Earthquake list (worldwide) for August 20, 2013.


- Volcano Discovery.

SOLAR WATCH: Sun Unleashes M3.3 Solar Flare And Coronal Mass Ejection - Could Deliver Glancing Blow To Earth And Trigger Polar Geomagnetic Storms!

August 18, 2013 - SPACE - According to NOAA analysts, a CME hurled into space by an M-class solar flare on August 17th will probably miss Earth. 

Attached image by SDO shows a jet of plasma released by 1818 in the aftermath of the initial M3.3 flare.The Solar-X-Rays are currently above the moderate M-Class threshold as the region continues to reverberate.

The M3.3 solar flare was associated with a 10cm Radio Burst (TenFlare) lasting 25 minutes and measuring 150 solar flux units. Type II and IV sweep frequency events were also detected, including a Type II radio emission with a velocity of 1399 km/s.

WATCH: Long Duration M3.3 Solar Flare - August 17, 2013.

SUMMARY: 10cm Radio Burst
Begin Time: 2013 Aug 17 1908 UTC
Maximum Time: 2013 Aug 17 1915 UTC
End Time: 2013 Aug 17 1933 UTC
Duration: 25 minutes
Peak Flux: 150 sfu
Latest Penticton Noon Flux: 120 sfu
Description: A 10cm radio burst indicates that the electromagnetic burst associated with a solar flare at the 10cm wavelength was double or greater than the initial 10cm radio background. This can be indicative of significant radio noise in association with a solar flare. This noise is generally short-lived but can cause interference for sensitive receivers including radar, GPS, and satellite communications.


ALERT: Type II Radio Emission
Begin Time: 2013 Aug 17 1856 UTC
Estimated Velocity: 1399 km/s
Description: Type II emissions occur in association with eruptions on the sun and typically indicate a coronal mass ejection is associated with a flare event.


ALERT: Type IV Radio Emission
Begin Time: 2013 Aug 17 1909 UTC
Description: Type IV emissions occur in association with major eruptions on the sun and are typically associated with strong coronal mass ejections and solar radiation storms.

However, Earth will pass through the wake of the CME after the cloud itself passes by. This could trigger polar geomagnetic storms despite the CME being off-target. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras on August 20-21.

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) photographed the CME billowing away from the sun's southwestern limb on August 17th.

Standard Lasco C2 image with a bright CME now visible.

A coronal mass ejection is shown in the latest coronagraph imagery released by STEREO Ahead.
Two questions remain. How large will it be and will there be an Earth directed component.

Attached is an impressive Earth facing image released by Lasco C2 showing a very bright Coronal
Mass Ejection (CME). A majority of the ejected plasma looks to be directed southwest,
however an Earth directed component is possible.

Sunspot 1818 will remain the largest threat for another isolated M-Class event while it holds on to its delta magnetic configuration. Sunspot 1817 continues to shrink in both size and magnetic complexity as it rotates towards the southwest limb. New sunspot 1824 grew quickly on Saturday and is currently a beta magnetic region. Separation between the leader and trailer spots is being observed. A new sunspot rotated into view off the southeast limb and will be assigned a number today. So far it appears to be stable. The source of a long duration C-Class flare Saturday morning is now just beginning to rotate into view off the northeast limb.

Sunspot AR1818 has a 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for strong flares.
Credit: SDO/HMI

Earth is inside a stream of solar wind flowing from this coronal hole.

Credit: SDO/AIA.

A minor glancing blow at best will be possible by August 20th as the eastern flank of the plasma clouds possibly sweeps past Earth. 

Does one of these asteroids have our name on it? NASA reveals orbits of 1,400 potentially hazardous asteroids

Via dailymail.co.uk, 13 August 2013 - There are currently 1,400 potentially hazardous asteroids that could pass close to Earth, according to latest data revealed by Nasa.

An image mapping the orbits of all the potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs) provides a graphic of the crowded cosmic activity.

These asteroids are considered hazardous because they are fairly large - at least 460 feet or 140 meters in size.

• These asteroids are classified as 'hazardous' because they are at least 140 meters in size and could come within 4.7 million miles of Earth's orbit
• However, none are considered a threat over the next hundred years
• NEOCam mission will track these asteroids and other near-Earth objects

This graphic shows the orbits of all the known Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs), numbering over 1,400 as of early 2013. These are the asteroids considered hazardous because they are fairly large (at least 460 feet or 140 meters in size), and because they follow orbits that pass close to the Earth's orbit

They are classified as PHAs because they follow orbits that are considered to pass close to the Earth's, at  or 7.5 million kilometres.

However, Nasa claims that being classified as a PHA does not mean that an asteroid will impact the Earth.

Scientists there claim that none of the asteroids shown in the image are considered a threat over the next 100 years. 

The group is planning to continue to track these asteroids so that their orbits can be refined and more precise predictions made of their future close approaches and impact probabilities.

The dots represent a snapshot of the population of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) and potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs). Positions of a simulated population of PHAs on a typical day are shown in bright orange, and the simulated NEAs are blue. Earth's orbit is green

As part of this effort it is working on the development of an infrared sensor that could improve its asteroid tracking capabilities, dubbed the Near Earth Object Camera (NEOCam) sensor.

The NEOCam space mission will also search for the most favourable destinations for future exploration by humans or robotic missions.

Asteroids reflect visible light. This means that when searching for near-Earth objects with optical telescopes, the data collected can be deceiving.

Depending on how reflective the object is, a small, light-coloured space rock can look the same as a big, dark one. Asteroids do, however, always emit infrared radiation.

This image shows the differences between orbits of a typical near-Earth asteroid (blue) and a potentially hazardous asteroid, or PHA (orange). PHAs are a subset of the near-Earth asteroids (NEAs). They have the closest orbits to Earth's orbit, coming within 5 million miles

‘When you observe a space rock with infrared, you are seeing its thermal emissions, which can better define the asteroid's size as well as tell you something about composition,’ said Amy Mainzer, an author on the paper and principal investigator for NASA's NEOWISE and NEOCam missions.

Asteroids emit most of their radiation at infrared wavelengths near about 10 microns (0.0004 inches), which humans perceive as heat.

There is also relatively less radiation from stars and galaxies at these wavelengths, which simplifies detection of faint moving objects.

Once launched, the space-based telescope would be positioned at a location about four times the distance between Earth and the moon.


From this lofty perch, NEOCam could observe the comings and goings of near Earth objects, including PHAs, without the impediments such as cloud cover and daylight.

The Near-Earth Object Camera (NEOCam) is a mission proposed to NASA to find potentially hazardous asteroids. The mission will use a new sensor, called the NEOCam chip, that has more pixels and better sensitivity than previous generations of infrared sensors

MASS BEES DIE-OFF: Global Food Crisis - MILLIONS Of Bees Have Died Off Since May In Bio Bio, Chile?!

August 12, 2013 - CHILE - Since May, when they killed millions of bees, beekeepers and Liucura Quillón Alto, located near the river Itata in the Bio Bio region, seeking solutions to continue with their work. But SAG, state agency headed by Anibal Ariztía nationwide, does not respond to the emergency that extends to other communities in the region. 

Some beekeepers lost all their bees, and others, who were no drawers, only contemplate the flaming centrifugal honey extraction purchased by themselves or in some cases, supported by INDAP. Not being evaluated so far the influence of the disappearance of these millions of bees in pollination required for fruit crops in the region. Until last year, the official version was that in Chile SAG had no incidents that show that the country also lived global collapse syndrome of bees. While government policy Sebastián Piñera continues with the slogan "Chile Food Power", the reality is otherwise contaminated food, high prices of fruits and vegetables for Chileans, and threats to the seed farmer, whose announced privatization further obscures this critical scenario. 

As demonstrated in this incident, the small crop farming only negative externalities agro-export model, intensive use of agrochemicals. Instead, multinationals like Monsanto, Pioneer and Bayer, producing hybrid and transgenic seeds, but also pesticides, redoubled their lobbying for new privileges through the draft Plant Breeders Act pending in Congress that guarantees delivery unpublished your business, including the prohibition of exchange and store of seed and the right to own the seed patents, to bring to justice those who use their seed producers, accusing them of "piracy". 

Possible Causes 
Beekeepers related mortality of these millions of bees with toxic insecticide application recently banned in Europe, which remain legal in Chile: Poncho (trade name of the active ingredient clothianidin), Gaucho (Imidacloprid) produced by Bayer and Syngenta, and other pesticides used in grape and cherry crops. Another cause of the plague, as beekeepers, pesticides spraying is carried out in the plantations sector, 80% of which are from Celco and remaining Hosain Senator Sabbath. A third case mentioned is that foods like fructose and pads vitaminizadoras, supplied officially recommended bees and are made with genetically modified corn that poisons bees. 

Transgenics in the Bio Bio 
By ignorance, beekeepers do not include the issue of GM crops, but in the region of Bio Bio, in Yungay, Los Angeles and other communities in the 2012-2013 season were grown transgenic 3019.23 hectares of experimental and / or certification export. Of these 2,222 acres are certified transgenic rapeseed, transgenic corn are 431 and there are 125 acres of transgenic soybeans (seed Certification 2012-2013 www.sag.cl ).According to scientists researching the subject, bees have a "fatal attraction" that leads them to travel greater distances than the usual to make it to the corn flower in search of pollen, transgenic here. The Bio Bio region ranks third in production of transgenic seeds export, with the regions of Maule and O'Higgins those in the first and second place in the ranking associated with a high use of agrochemicals such as glyphosate (Roundup) and other pesticides 

Maria Elena Rozas, coordinator of Pesticide Action Network RAP-Chile, commented: "The Agriculture and Livestock should have a ban and / or immediate suspension of the use of imidacloprid, clothianidin, fipronil Thiametoxam and responsible for the death large number of families of bees, pollinating insects and birds, and banned in Europe. The inaction on this issue seriously endangering continue these beneficial insects and biodiversity. The authority has powers to apply the precautionary principle, and emulate what was done in April this year by the EFSA European health authority in that regard. Among the reasons for the European ban are the risks posed by these pesticides in pollen and nectar crops attractive to bees. " 

Millions Lost 
Nearly a thousand crates of bees, which in the post-harvest holding about one hundred thousand individuals per drawer miscarry from the first week of May 2013, according to Juan Carlos Abarzúa, one of the beekeepers affected, current president of Quillón Beekeeping Committee. A box of bees has a value of between 55 and 60 thousand dollars, so that the direct losses reach sixty million pesos, excluding future losses (profits) for the low production of honey. At the time of producing many offspring are born and total population per drawer should reach skirting the 180-200000 bees. 

Given the ecological disaster, they told beekeepers four Prodesal officials of local, dependent on each other, in the municipalities of Quillón and Bulnes. The SAG in its report says that the plague is caused by the varroa a mite. Juan Carlos Abarzúa, of the town of Santa Clara in Liucura Alto, refutes: "No samples were taken that will ensure that. We have the proper and authorized treatments themselves. This is not to recognize that large forest piecework sprayed without warning nor warning. We also know of a fly that was introduced to him to eat pine moth. But we wonder, this fly has to mutate and what will you eat? This fly was supposed to die in winter!At the same time, wild rabbits are dying, the country people thought to die from starvation after this fly them itchy eyes and go blind, bumping into trees. For SAG, rabbits die from a fever "continues incredulous Juan Carlos Abarzúa. 

SAG Inaction 
In the meeting with agricultural officials beekeepers expressed concern about use of neonicotinoids in grapes to attack two insects, thrips and mealybugs, and the use of carbaryl in cherry. They complained of lack of control by the SAG. At this convening, INDAP arrived with Biomiel consultant, represented by Marcelo Rodriguez, whose approach was considered distracting for those affected. The consultants only referred to the responsibility of the beekeepers in the care of bees, incorporating the figure of the "beekeeper absent" and attributing the millions of dead bees to inattention. 

The damage was patchy. "Many left with zero drawer drawers I was 25 and I had total loss. Just this year had made a significant investment: a centrifuge for extracting honey. Another beekeeper did too, but with funds acquired a centrifuge Indap worth over 2.5 million dollars, "says Juan Carlos Abarzúa, adding that beekeeping requires much attention as investments to succeed is very high. 

Abarzúa continues: "The July 5 meeting was conducted with representatives beekeepers affected Indap, and Mr. Pedro Burgos, SAG official Bulnes city and municipal officials in charge of the respective Prodesal. We asked them for health analysis they were doing and had no answer. Neither explained why SAG continues to authorize the use of insecticides that are harmful to bees, as we are informed that clothianidin and tiametoxan are neonicotinoids that kill bees and were banned in other countries for that, but they did not give us answers our concern. " 

In the meeting held in July emanated not proposed solutions, and a month later only concerned beekeepers were summoned to form a Beekeeping Committee, whose characteristics do not know. Juan Carlos Abarzúa also criticized the role of the consultant Biomiel and added: "It hurts the indolence on the part of the authorities with regard to sustainability in our country and the planet. Without bees there is no future. We do not ask for replacement of bees, but clarity about what is going to adopt appropriate measures. No sampling sani secretariats to give a technical or scientific answer. " 

The latest incidents of death of bees globally occurred in early July this year in Elmwood, in the Canadian province of Ontario, where 37 million bees found dead. In turn, the British Beekeepers' Association said in a recent report that the past year saw the largest loss of bees in its history, while in Gerona, Catalonia, beekeepers have also lost millions of bees. David Schuit, who runs a bee farm in Elmwood, states were responsible for a loss of 600 hives insecticides family of 'neonicotinoids', manufactured by the multinational Bayer. - Rebelion. [Translated] 

Joseph's Blessings

Deuteronomy 33:1

This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced on the Israelites before his death.

Deuteronomy 33:13-17

13  About Joseph he said: "May the LORD bless his land with the precious dew from heaven above and with the deep waters that lie below;

14  with the best the sun brings forth and the finest the moon can yield;

15  with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills.

16  with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwelt in the burning bush. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

17  In majesty he is like a firstborn bull; his horns are the horns of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, even those at the ends of the earth. Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim; such are the thousands of Manasseh."

Moses blessed the 12 tribes and prophesied what would become of them before he died.

In the prophecy, “Joseph's descendants” (a metaphor for the Joseph's people risen by God in the end times) would be like a wild ox, possessing power and dignity, attacking nations with its horn!

The prophecy is the same as the form of Taurus in the Zodiac, attacking its enemy with its horns.

Jacob, ancestor of Israel, blessed and foretold  the future of his 12 sons in Genesis chapter 49.

Genesis 49:1-2

1  Then Jacob called for his sons and said: "Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.

2  "Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.

It was prophesied that among the brothers, Joseph would be the most blessed and powerful one. He would be hugely successful and rich!

Genesis 49:22-26

22  "Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.

23  With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility.

24  But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

25  because of your father's God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb.

26  Your father's blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

Likewise, the Joseph's people would also have unprecedented blessings, including those in heaven and on earth.

On the other hand, 

Genesis 49:22 "Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.

"Whose branches climb over a wall" means "a Zion lady climbing on a bull".

Coincidentally, the image of Taurus is exactly the same as this blessing!

For Pleiades are located at the back of Taurus. Pleiades are the "seven stars" mentioned in Revelation chapter 1, representing the angels of the seven churches.

Revelation 1:20

The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Joseph has many connections with the last days!

The woman with a crown of twelve stars on her head is similar to Joseph's dream of 12 stars.

Revelation 12:1

A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.

Moreover, Jacob also used star signs to foretell the future of his other sons.

When he talked about Judah, he said,

Genesis 49:9

You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness--who dares to rouse him?

Jacob described Judah as a lion and a cub. Similarly, there's also a Little Leo beside Leo.

When Jacob mentioned Reuben, he said,

Genesis 49:3-4

3  "Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.

4  Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it.

Reuben means "a son". Together with the image "turbulent as the waters", the flag of Reuben was formed by a person and a river.

This image is the same as Aquarius, a person pouring out a river from his bottle.

But when he talked about Dan, he said,

Genesis 49:17

Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider tumbles backward.

Scorpio was said to be like an eagle in the past. Dan's flag is an eagle and a snake. Obviously, Israelites had known this ever since Exodus.

God has used the names and images of the Zodiac to symbolize people and events.

Rabbis even found that since ancient time Israel used the Zodiac to represent the 12 tribes, including the 4 tribes nearest to the Tent of Meeting. They were Judah, Ephraim, Reuben and Dan. That's why their flags are a lion, a bull, a human being and an eagle!

The images are exactly the same as Leo, Taurus, Aquarius and upside-down Scorpio.

These star signs will also be the locations of sunrise in autumn equinox, summer solstice, spring equinox, winter solstice in 2012!

God has disclosed the secret of the stars in the last days so that the Joseph's people can predict future events and wait for the Lord cautiously!

Luke 21:25-28

25  "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.

26  Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.

27  At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

28  When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Dozens dead as worst heat wave in at least 140 years hits parts of China

Via globalnews.ca, 3 August 2013 - SHANGHAI, China – It’s been so hot in China that people are grilling shrimp on manhole covers, eggs are hatching without incubators and a highway billboard has mysteriously caught fire by itself.

The heat wave – the worst in at least 140 years in some parts – has left dozens of people dead and pushed thermometers above 40 degrees C (104 F) in at least 40 cities and counties, mostly in the south and east. Authorities for the first time have declared the heat a “level 2″ weather emergency- a label normally invoked for typhoons and flooding.

“It is just hot! Like in a food steamer!” 17-year-old student Xu Sichen said outside the doors of a shopping mall in the southern financial hub of Shanghai while her friend He Jiali, also 17, complained that her mobile phone had in recent days turned into a “grenade.”

“I’m so worried that the phone will explode while I’m using it,” He said.

Extreme heat began hitting Shanghai and several eastern and southern provinces in early July and is expected to grip much of China through mid-August.

Shanghai set its record high temperature of 40.6 C (105 F) on July 26, and Thursday’s heat marked the city’s 28th day above 35 C. At least 10 people died of heat stroke in the city over the past month, including a 64-year-old Taiwanese sailor, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Climate scientists usually caution that they can’t attribute a single weather event like the Chinese heat wave to man-made global warming. But “human-caused warming sure ups the odds of heat waves like this one,” said Jonathan Overpeck of the University of Arizona. The Chinese heat wave “gives a very real face to what global warming is all about,” he wrote in an email.

“This is the future. Get used to it,” Andrew Dressler of Texas A&M University told The Associated Press by email. “You often hear people say, ‘Oh, we’ll just adapt to the changing climate.’ It turns out that that’s a lot harder than it sounds, as the people in China are finding out now.”

Wu Guiyun, 50, who has a part-time job making food deliveries in Shanghai, said she has been trying to linger inside air-conditioned offices for as long as possible whenever she brings in a takeout order. Outside, she said: “It’s so hot that I can hardly breathe.”

The highest temperature overall was recorded in the eastern city of Fenghua, which recorded its historic high of 42.7 degrees (108.9 F) on July 24.

On Tuesday, the director of the China Meteorological Administration activated a “level 2″ emergency response to the persistent heat wave. This level requires around-the-clock staffing, the establishment of an emergency command centre and frequent briefings.

Some Chinese in heat-stricken cities have been cooking shrimps, eggs and bacon in skillets placed directly on manhole covers or on road pavement that has in some cases heated up to 60 degrees C (140 F).

In one photo displayed prominently in the China Daily newspaper, a boy tended to shrimps and an egg in a pan over a manhole cover in the eastern Chinese city of Jinan.

In the port city of Ningbo in Zhejiang province, glass has cracked in the heat, vehicles have self-combusted, and a highway billboard caught fire by itself, sending up black smoke in the air, according to China Central Television. The broadcaster said the heat might have shorted an electrical circuit on the billboard.

In the southern province of Hunan, a housewife grabbed several eggs stored at room temperature only to find half-hatched chicks, state media reported.

A joke making the rounds: The only difference between me and barbequed meat is a little bit of cumin.

FIRE IN THE SKY: "It Was Larger Than Any Meteor I Have Ever Seen" - Bright "Fireball" Seen In The Skies Over Tennessee And Alabama!

August 05, 2013 - UNITED STATES - There were reports of a bright fireball late on Sunday night and Monday in Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. A number of unconfirmed reports were posted on the American Meteor Society website. 

File illustration.

"This was so very exciting for me. The colors were beautiful," wrote one user, Liz W., from Nashville, Tenn. 

Another person from Oakland, Tenn., wrote that the fireball was "low moving, passed behind cloud bank and glow could be seen through clouds." 

"The fire trail was a slender taper going from origin to point within the spacing of nine of the original diameter ... the [colors] were sharp:white core, moss green outside it, traces of blue.," wrote another. 

"It almost looked like this fireball was going to make impact," another wrote. 

The fireball sighting coincide with the Perseid meteor shower, which starts in mid-July to late August each year. It is unclear if the "fireballs" that people saw in the southeastern U.S. had to do with the Perseids. 

"It was larger than any meteor I have ever seen," wrote one person. 

On Twitter, at least one person said they heard a "loud boom." 

"Widespread reports tonight of bright fireball in the sky over TN, AL some hearing loud boom," wrote NewsBreaker. - TET.

MASS MAMMAL DIE-OFF: "We Don't Know What's Causing The Upswing" - Mystery Surrounds Rise In Dolphin Deaths Along United States East Coast?!

August 05, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Officials are trying to determine the cause of a sharp increase in dolphin deaths in Virginia and other East Coast states.

Aug. 1, 2013: From right, Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Team members Krystal Rodrique of
Virginia Beach, Va. and intern Liz Schell of Durango, Co. load a deceased male dolphin onto a metal
stretcher on Ocean View Beach in Norfolk, Va. (AP)

Five beached dolphins were found in Virginia alone on Thursday. In July, nearly four dozen dead dolphins were found, mostly in Norfolk and along the southern part of the Chesapeake Bay. That's up from the typical six or seven usually picked up in July by the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Team.

"We've had a steady number coming in at the beginning of the summer, and starting last week, the numbers spiked," Susan Barco, research coordinator for the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, told The Virginian-Pilot (http://bit.ly/11x9uEv). "We're just trying to keep our head above water."

Delaware and Maryland also have seen an uptick in dolphin deaths. According to The Press of Atlantic City, 10 dead dolphins were picked up in Delaware between June and early July, when in a typical year only five or six are recorded. In Maryland, authorities said a spike had been noticed but exact numbers of deaths were not known.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has sent inquiries to stranding centers along the East Coast to determine whether spikes have been seen elsewhere.

In New Jersey, initial necropsy results have pointed to pneumonia, but Maggie Mooney-Seus, spokeswoman for NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, was not ready to connect Virginia's die-off to what may be affecting dolphins in other states.

"We don't know at this point what has caused the upswing," she said. "Virginia is higher than New Jersey, but we don't know anything particular because we're still collecting data."

Virginia's stranding team says the elevated numbers are reminiscent off the mass deaths that occurred in 1987, when more than 750 carcasses washed ashore from New Jersey to Florida. A few years later, morbillivirus -- similar to measles -- was determined to be the culprit, as dolphins exhibited symptoms associated with measles and pneumonia.

"It's eerily familiar," Barco said of the recent strandings. "That is one virus we're looking for now."

In Virginia this year, the response team has collected the remains of 87 dolphins. The team typically picks up around 60 dolphins in an entire year.

On Thursday, Krystle Rodrique, a volunteer with the stranding team, and Liz Schell, an intern, worked to dig up the tail of a dead dolphin as waves crashed in, hampering their efforts. The team documents where the animals were found and takes photos.

Rodrique cradled the corpse, setting it down lightly on a wooden deck. Despite her gloves, the smell -- a mix of pet store and rotting fish -- will remain on her hands.

"You get used to the smell, but I never can really get it off my hands," she said. "I try to scrub them over and over again."

The sooner workers find the dolphins, the better chance they have of figuring out what is causing the deaths.

Barco said teams haven't seen any physical trauma that would indicate entanglements or sonar damage, as midfrequency naval sonar has been linked in the past to whale and dolphin deaths. Ted Brown, a spokesman for the Navy's Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, said "there has been no change or increase in sonar use that could be related" to the recent surge.

Barco said her team of 60 volunteers, eight staff members and six interns are logging extra hours and have postponed its annual dolphin count in order to keep up with the deaths. The program is funded by grants, donations and contracts, and she says it's short on time and money.

"I just put in for overtime that we can't afford to pay. We don't have a lab like some places do, so we're working out of a tent," Barco said. "This event is going to stretch us." - FOX News.