https://youtube.com/watch?v=7vo1u9JRZG8

Leaving the social network after Cambridge Analytica scandal, users discover extent of data held.

Alex Hern

Folks in the planet’s higher latitudes have been treated to some fantastic nighttime aurora borealis light shows in the past few days thanks to cracks that open up in Earth’s magnetosphere around the time of the fall and spring (or autumnal and vernal, to be a bit more formal about it) equinoxes.

T he feeling of the ground shaking can be a scary experience. But have you ever wondered how or why earthquakes happen in the first place? According to National Geographic Society, earthquakes occur near tectonic plates boundaries, slabs of rocky crust that fit together to form the Earths outer shell. Plates, moving by mere inches annually, can grind, collide, separate, and scrape pass one another. Through these interactions, the more strains it builds results in vibrations, known as earthquakes. Some major plates are the Northern American and the Pacific Plate. Although earthquakes are watched closely, they are still hard to predict.

Did you know: In Fort Tejon California, north of LA, had a magnitude of 8.3 earthquake in 1857?

Come explore and learn more about earthquakes from these artistic maps that depict selected earthquakes in the U.S with a magnitude of 7.8 or greater, from 1897–1996, or a map that illustrates how moderate magnitude earthquakes can produce serious effects in Los Angeles, as well as a map that anticipates loss from future earthquakes. My favorite map is the colorful stress map that estimates the differential stress levels in the lithosphere, where earthquakes occur, and by researching the variations of unstable to stable frictional slips on faults can explain the occurrence of ductile earthquakes. Also available is a map that points out previous earthquakes that had generated tsunamis.

Investigators will study video, design plans and the “accelerated bridge construction” method for clues.

• By Martin Gordon, The Conversation US on March 25, 2018

In a first, amateur aurora chasers brought Steve, a new type of aurora, to the notice of scientists, who discovered that a distinct phenomenon drives its formation.

An interactive site shows Earth 600 million years ago, and lots and lots about dinosaurs.

Measurements show the entire bulk of Europe’s most active volcano is edging eastwards, Scientists say.