BIG SUNSPOT: One of the largest sunspot groups in years rotated over the sun’s northeastern limb on May 6th. With a least four dark cores larger than Earth, AR1476 sprawls more than 100,000 km from end to end, and makes an easy target for backyard solar telescopes. Amateur astronomer Alan Friedman sends this picture of the behemoth from his backyard in Buffalo, NY:

“AR1476 is firecrackler,” says Friedman.

Indeed, the active region is crackling with impulsive M-class solar flares. Based on the sunspot’s complex ‘beta-gamma’ magnetic field, NOAA forecasters estimate a 75% chance of more M-flares during the next 24 hours. There is also a 10% chance of powerful X-flares.

“This one is going to be fun as it turns to face us!” predicts Friedman. He might be right

from: Spaceweather.com

CORONAL HOLE: A dark hole in the sun’s atmosphere (a ‘coronal hole’) is spewing a stream of solar wind toward Earth. The impact of the stream, expected on May 9-11, could add to the effect of the incoming CMEs, boosting the chances of strong geomagnetic activity later this week. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory took this picture of the opening on May 8th:

Coronal holes are places where the sun’s global magnetic field opens up and allows some of the sun’s atmosphere to escape. The outflow of gas is the solar wind. NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of geomagnetic activity on May 9-10 when the stream arrives (along with the CMEs of May 7th).

from:    spaceweather.com

TWO INCOMING CMEs: A pair of solar eruptions on May 7th hurled coronal masss ejections (CMEs) toward Earth. Forecast tracks prepared by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab suggests that clouds with arrive in succession on May 9th at 13:40 UT and May 10th at 07:54 UT (+/- 7 hours). The double impact could spark moderate geomagnetic storms. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.

from; spaceweather.com

 

 

White buffalo sacred to Lakota Sioux found mutilated

 

View more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com.

By Frank Heinz, NBCDFW.com

Lightning Medicine Cloud, a rare white buffalo born in 2011, and his mother were found dead at the Lakota Buffalo Ranch in Texas this week just weeks after the calf’s father was fatally struck by lightning.

The rare animal, sacred to the Lakota Sioux, was about to celebrate its first birthday during a powwow on May 12.

NBC 5 has learned the calf was found mutilated and skinned on the ranch northeast of Dallas. The next day, the calf’s mother was found dead as well.

Read the original report at NBCDFW.com

Hunt County Sheriff Randy Meeks has opened a criminal investigation into the livestock deaths, although Meeks said they have not yet classified the crime. The Texas Rangers and other state agencies are assisting.

“I feel very confident we’ll work together with a renewed vigilance to find whoever this is that perpetrated this heinous act,” Judge John Horn said during a news conference at the ranch Friday.

Arby Little Soldier, the owner of the ranch, would not comment on the specifics of the white calf or his mother.

Lm Otero / AP

A rare white buffalo walks in a corral in Greenville, Texas, in June 2011. The calf and its mother were found dead this week.

“I will not say what has happened to this animal,” he said. “I will not say what has happened to the mother. Ben, the dad that protected this calf was struck by lighting April 3 when we had the tornado when it hit Lancaster. Lightning … struck Ben, and I seen him go down. My people, my brothers, my sisters are hurt by what has happened here on this ranch. You don’t think things like this are going to happen to such a sacred animal, a sacred family.”

Little Soldier said Lightning Medicine Cloud’s legacy will carry on and that the powwow scheduled for May 11-12 will go on as planned — only now, they will memorialize the rare animal as well.

“The powwow will continue on. I welcome you all to come grieve with us, mourn with us and celebrate with us,” Little Soldier said. “Ecclesiastes said, ‘There is a time for life and a time for death.’ My little boy went on home. His mother went on home. His dad went on home. They’re all together, and God bless them. This legend will go on forever.”

Little Soldier said there is a reward of $5,000 leading to an arrest and capture of the person responsible for the deaths of Lighting Medicine Cloud and his mother.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Hunt County Sheriff’s Department at             903-453-6800      and ask for either Sheriff Randy Meeks or Lt. Tommy Grandfield.

 

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/06/11560167-white-buffalo-sacred-to-lakota-sioux-found-mutilated?litefrom:

Non-Attachment.  That is the theme for this week.  There will be much coming your way that you will need to understand in terms of what is truly important for you.  This involves moving on from stuff that you have kept, admired, felt was necessary for so long.  There is sorrow attached to this, but also relief.  It is time for your makeover.  :Perhaps a spiritual or etheric makeover.  You have the tools right now.,  The decision is yours.  This week also, you will find that your perceptions are changing, some of them in a crazy manner.  What seemed near is far, and what seemed far is right there.  This an lead to a bit of uncertainty as to what is going on, perhaps a bout of vertigo.  It is not you, rather it is the energies as things are falling into a new alignment.  This week will bring much uncertainty,  but it is part of the greater picture.  On a different note, it is of utmost importance at this time to nourish your physicalities with the most healthful, organic, and clean products available.  The advantages of this will more than pay for themselves as time goes by.

On the larger scale, expect weather anomalies, Earth events out of scale, weird animal sightings, breakdowns in relations political, international, economic, etc.  Along with all of this there can be a number of blips in the energies being emitted by the Sun which can lead to problems with electronics.  There are going to be a number of troubling pronouncements from the media that will come and go and come back again.  All of this will lead to a lessening of confidence in many areas, particularly financial.  Expect the Stock Market to have some inexplicable movements.  Trust your intuition where finances are concerned.  There are going to be some interesting developments in the job market.  Also there will be something new coming out on the electronic horizon that will be touted as the best ever, a replacement for tablets, etc.  Be aware that much of this is mere marketing.  There is a slow down happening in the area of ingenuity.  This is temporary.

Sunday, May 6:    Dark Grey

As the energy of the Super Moon enters the atmosphere, rather than clarifying, it is causing more obfuscation.  Take time today to look into what is happening around you.  Look into what you are thinking and perceiving.  Feel how all of that feels to you.  Things are changing around you, and this will be obvious in how people are acting, speaking, reacting.  You need to go within and center.  Be the observer today.  There is light behind the shadow of what is going on, but you must take the time to know the shadow for what it is.  Then the light will turn on for you.  That can be a real revelation.  The evening is a time for honoring what you have done and what you have seen.  This was a day for lessons.

Crystal Vibe:    Colorado Sunset—-The energy of this stone works to ground while, at the same time, giving one the strength to move forward in confidence to deal with life issues, particularly as related to long term goals.  Resonates with the Root and Solar Plexus Chakras.

Monday, May 7:    Yellow Orange

Emotions will be close to the surface today.  There are things out there that are going to make you want to scream.  Take time before reacting.  Step back and think.  A lot of the stuff that used to push your buttons before does not really matter any more.  You are shifting.  You can find yourself taking a look around you today and wondering why you ever held onto certain things you have.  This can apply also to friendships and loyalties.  Your first priority must be yourself and anything or anyone who does not agree and/or further that is working against you.  There can be some ah-ha moments today.  Some might be painful, but it is part of the process of catharsis.

Crystal Vibe:    Chrome Diopside—-The energy of this mineral resonates with the heart and its essential calm.  Resonates with the Heart and Ninth Chakras.

Tuesday, May 8:    Fire Red

There are surprises in the air today, and a lot of them are good.  Issues that have been hanging about can be worked out and conversations that were put on hold can be completed.  Th key to all of this is how you will be dealing with these things.  There can be joy and laughter or pain and sorrow or anger and confrontation.  You are in change of all of this.  There is a sense throughout the day that someone or something is lurking there in the shadows.  You will not be able to understand this until the evening.  Spend a moment with the events of the day, and you will understand that you had both participated and observed.  There are lessons you learned.  Honor them.  Change is in the air.

Crystal Vibe:    Witherite—-The energy of this mineral assists one in moving beyond planning to action, oftentimes effortlessly and without planning.  Resonates with the Third Eye and Eleventh Chakras.

Wednesday, May 9:    Yellow Green

Things that you had planned for today may not unfold as you had thought.  And this, actually, is a good thing.  There is novelty in the air.  It is not that of the Trickster but that of new horizons and discoveries.  Take everything in stride and look at it from many different angles.  Perspectives are changing and messages come in unusual formats.  The changes that you have been awaiting are happening.  It is time to understand what they mean and to know that what you have been wishing for is not necessarily coalescing in ways that you would have thought. But the energies of the day carry a surprise and a joy that will cap off all else that has occurred.

Crystal Vibe:    Albite—-The energy of this stone works with the element of water to bring about immersion on new levels.  Resonates with the Heart and Throat Chakras.

Thursday, May 10:    Bright Blue

This is a day for ups and downs.  Be ready for anything, but also be aware that you can be blinded by the light.  It is important that you take hold of any questionable situation that you are in.  Your voice has power, and it is time to use it now.  People are not used to hearing speak your truth, talk your talk.  You can do it today, and it will feel really good.  Do not worry, the emotions that come about as a result of this will dissipate as you begin to see that you are changing into that which you truly are.  Your WHO you are.  Horton, are you listening.  There are friends and support everywhere.  It is time to accept that fact and be open.  What you have been waiting for is in front of you.  It is time to see it.

Crystal Vibe:    Hematite—-Grounding and breathing.  These are the foundations for true perspective.  Resonates with the Root Chakra.

Friday, May 11:    Yellow Red

Do not expect too much from people today.  Do not expect too much from yourself.  There is an illusion that is making itself felt in the energies which can cause confusion, uncertainty, unhappiness, even fear and anger.  This is a day for going within, for knowing what it is that you truly are wishing to create in your life.  It is a day for truth —- for seeing what you have done and taking it for what it is.  Knowing that if there is more that you were looking for, it is time to go for that.  The past is past.  Today opens a new chapter.  There can be tears.  There can be laughter.  But if you are open to all that is going on within the levels of reality, there will definitely be realization and release.

Crystal Vibe;    Pigeon Blood Jasper—-The energy of this stone assists with issues around nurturing, the mother, and acceptance of one’s creative.  Resonates with the Solar Plexus Chakra.

Saturday, May 12:    Light Lime Green

Ups and downs are in the works today.  This is not a time to take things too seriously, rather step bakl and see where things are fitting into the greater pattern.  There are questions that need to be asked.  There are those who are willing to answer and those who will turn away.  All of that will give you clues as to which way to turn.  You have some needs that have not been met, and you need some direction in relation to the,.  You can find it today if you are willing to see through the illusion.  And there is assistance available.  Look for the signs.

Crystal Vibe:    Golden Apatite—-This mineral assists with moving forward when  youare feeling stuck or tired.  Resonates with the Third Eye Chakra.

 

 

 

 

 

As always, posted FYI.  Draw your own conclusions, but do the research

STRANGE SOUNDS IN THE SKY EXPLAINED BY SCIENTISTS

First published 1/28/2012 at geochangemag.org

Mr. Khalilov, what is the nature of the unusual very low-pitched sounds reported by a great number of people in different parts of the planet since the summer of 2011? Many call them “The Sound of the Apocalypse”. Information about that comes from all over the world: US, UK, Costa Rica, Russia, Czech Republic, Australia, etc.

We have analyzed records of these sounds and found that most of their spectrum lies within the infrasound range, i.e. is not audible to humans. What people hear is only a small fraction of the actual power of these sounds. They are low-frequency acoustic emissions in the range between 20 and 100 Hz modulated by ultra-low infrasonic waves from 0.1 to 15 Hz. In geophysics, they are called acoustic-gravity waves; they are formed in the upper atmosphere, at the atmosphere-ionosphere boundary in particular. There can be quite a lot of causes why those waves are generated: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, storms, tsunamis, etc. However, the scale of the observed humming sound in terms of both the area covered and its power far exceeds those that can be generated by the above-mentioned phenomena.

In that case, what could be causing this humming in the sky?

In our opinion, the source of such powerful and immense manifestation of acoustic-gravity waves must be very large-scale energy processes. These processes include powerful solar flares and huge energy flows generated by them, rushing towards Earth’s surface and destabilizing the magnetosphere, ionosphere and upper atmosphere. Thus, the effects of powerful solar flares: the impact of shock waves in the solar wind, streams of corpuscles and bursts of electromagnetic radiation are the main causes of generation of acoustic-gravitation waves following increased solar activity.

Given the surge in solar activity as manifested itself in the higher number and energy of solar flares since mid-2011, we can assume that there is a high probability of impact of the substantial increase in solar activity on the generation of the unusual humming coming from the sky. It should be pointed out that solar activity began to rise sharply since early 2011, with its amplitude significantly higher than all forecasts given by a number of influential scientific institutions in 2010 and 2011. Meanwhile, the observed increase in solar activity is fully consistent with the forecast of the International Committee GEOCHANGE published in the Committee’s Report in June 2010. If this growth rate of solar activity continues, its amplitude by the end of 2012 will be higher than the amplitude of 23rd solar cycle, and in 2013-2014 the solar activity will reach its peak the amplitude of which was predicted by us to be 1.5 – 1.7 times higher than the amplitude of the 23rd cycle.

But you said that the cause of the “sky hum” can lie within Earth’s core as well, what does it mean?

There is one more possible cause of these sounds and it may lie at the Earth’s core. The fact is that the acceleration of the drift of the Earth’s north magnetic pole which increased more than fivefold between 1998 and 2003 and is at the same level today points to intensification of energy processes in the Earth’s core, since it is processes in the inner and outer core that form the Earth’s geomagnetic field. Meanwhile, as we have already reported, on November 15, 2011 all ATROPATENA geophysical stations which record three-dimensional variations of the Earth’s gravitational field almost simultaneously registered a powerful gravitational impulse. The stations are deployed in Istanbul, Kiev, Baku, Islamabad and Yogyakarta, with the first and last one being separated by a distance of about 10,000 km. Such a phenomenon is only possible if the source of this emanation is at the Earth’s core level. That huge energy release from the Earth’s core at the end of the last year was some kind of a start signal indicating the transition of the Earth’s internal energy into a new active phase.

Intensification of the energy processes in the Earth’s core can modulate the geomagnetic field which, through a chain of physical processes at the ionosphere – atmosphere boundary level, generates acoustic-gravity waves the audible range of which has been heard by people in the form of a frightening low-frequency sound in different parts of our planet.

In both cases, even though the causes of acoustic-gravity waves are of a quite understandable geophysical nature, they are indicative of the expected significant increase in solar activity and the geodynamic activity of our planet. There is no doubt that processes in the core rule the internal energy of our planet, therefore, we should expect by the end of 2012 a sharp rise in strong earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and extreme weather events with peak levels in 2013 – 2014.

Thank you for your answers.

WOSCO International News Agency

www.wosco.org

from:    http://www.spiritofmaat.com/may12/strange_sounds_in_sky_explained.html

 

 

See also a video about the strange sounds at Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0BvIySscEY

BIG NEW SUNSPOT: A large sunspot group is rotating into view over the sun’s northeastern limb. The emergence of this apparently significant active region could herald an increase in solar activity

fr/spaceweather.com

METEORS FROM HALLEY’S COMET: Earth is entering a stream of debris from Halley’s Comet, source of the annual eta Aquarid meteor shower. The shower peaks this weekend; the best time to look is during the hours before sunrise on Sunday, May 6th. Because the shower’s radiant is located below the celestial equator, southern hemisphere observers are favored, but even northerners should be able to see a few flecks of Halley-dust disintegrating in the atmosphere. Super-bright moonlight will cap the meteor rate at about 30 per hour.

In recent nights, NASA’s all-sky meteor network has picked up a number of early eta Aquarid fireballs. This one was bright enough to shine through the glow of sunrise and clouds over Tullahoma, Tennessee, on April 29th:

According to analysts at NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, this particular speck of comet dust hit the atmosphere traveling 62 km/s (139,000 mph) and disintegrated about 84 km (52 mi) above Earth’s surface.

The full Moon of May 5-6, 2012, with interfere with the visibility of the eta Aquarid peak.

fr/spaceweather.com

The Stones Speak: Stonehenge Had Lecture Hall Acoustics

Wynne Parry, LiveScience Senior Writer
Date: 02 May 2012
No one knows why ancient people built Stonehenge.
No one knows why ancient people built Stonehenge.
CREDIT: Pete Strasser | nasa.gov

The stone slabs of England’s Stonehenge may have been more than just a spectacular sight to the ancient people who built the structure; they likely created an acoustic environment unlike anything they normally experienced, new research hints.

“As they walk inside they would have perceived the sound environment around them had changed in some way,”said researcher Bruno Fazenda, a professor at the University of Salford in the United Kingdom. “They would have been stricken by it, they would say, ‘This is different.’”

These Neolithic people might have felt as modern people do upon entering a cathedral, Fazenda told LiveScience.

Fazenda and colleagues have been studying the roughly 5,000-year-old-structure’sacoustic properties. Their work at the Stonehenge site in Wiltshire, England, and at a concrete replica built as a memorial to soldiers in World War I in Maryhill, Wash., indicates Stonehenge had the sort of acoustics desirable in a lecture hall

Stonehenge itself is no longer complete, so Fazenda and colleagues used the replica in Maryhill as a stand-in for the original structure. At both locations, they generated sounds and recorded them from different positions to see how the structure influenced the behavior of the sound.

At the replica, they found a reverberation time of just less than one second, the amount of time optimal for a lecture hall. Unlike an echo, which is a single response created when sound waves reflect off something, reverberation occurs when a sound is sustained by a quick succession of reflections arriving at different times.

Modern cathedrals can have reverberation times of about 10 seconds or more, while concert halls are designed so reverberation in them will last between two and five seconds, Fazenda said.

About one second of reverberation is “just enough for us to start becoming aware of it,” he said.

Based on their work at Maryhill, the researchers believe the many stones within Stonehenge would have diffracted and diffused sound waves, creating reverberation. The large amount of diffusion and diffraction would have also lead to good sound quality regardless of where the listener was standing in relation the source of sound within the structure.

“What we found in Maryhill as a model for Stonehenge was you could almost stand behind a stone and keep talking with a good level of voice, and people would be able to hear you somewhere else,” he said.

For the Neolithic people who built this structure, this sort of acoustic environment was likely quite unusual. They appear to have lived in smaller, thatched-roof homes made of wood, which would not have reflected sound as effectively. And the region around Stonehenge has no significant geographical features, like high cliffs, which are associated with echoes, or large caves, which are associated with reverberation, Fazenda said.

While some have suggested that Stonehenge was designed to create certain acoustic effects, Fazenda said he sees no evidence for this.

Rather than search for an acoustic motivation behind the construction of this mysterious structure, this research is intended to help better understand how the ancient people might have used the structure, he said.

Fazenda collaborated with Rupert Till of the University of Huddersfield in the UK and with archaeologist Simon Wyatt on this project.

from:   http://www.livescience.com/20044-stonehenge-acoustics.html

Weird! Quantum Entanglement Can Reach into the Past

Clara Moskowitz, LiveScience Senior Writer
Date: 30 April 2012 Time: 09:42 AM ET
Wackyphysics-banner
Scientists have entangled particles in such a way that a future decision can affect the past states of the particles.
Scientists have entangled particles in such a way that a future decision can affect the past states of the particles.
CREDIT: Jon Heras, Equinox Graphics Ltd.

Spooky quantum entanglement just got spookier.

Entanglement is a weird statewhere two particles remain intimately connected, even when separated over vast distances, like two die that must always show the same numbers when rolled. For the first time, scientists have entangled particles after they’ve been measured and may no longer even exist.

If that sounds baffling, even the researchers agree it’s a bit “radical,” in a paper reporting the experiment published online April 22 in the journal Nature Physics.

“Whether these two particles are entangled or separable has been decided after they have been measured,” write the researchers, led by Xiao-song Ma of the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information at the University of Vienna.

Essentially, the scientists showed that future actions may influence past events, at least when it comes to the messy, mind-bending world of quantum physics.

In the quantum world, things behave differently than they do in the real, macroscopic world we can see and touch around us. In fact, when quantum entanglement was first predicted by the theory of quantum mechanics, Albert Einstein expressed his distaste for the idea, calling it “spooky action at a distance.”

The researchers, taking entanglement a step further than ever before, started with two sets of light particles, called photons.

The basic setup goes like this:

Both pairs of photons are entangled, so that the two particles in the first set are entangled with each other, and the two particles in the second set are entangled with each other. Then, one photon from each pair is sent to a person named Victor. Of the two particles that are left behind, one goes to Bob, and the other goes to Alice.

But now, Victor has control over Alice and Bob’s particles. If he decides to entangle the two photons he has, then Alice and Bob’s photons, each entangled with one of Victor’s, also become entangled with each other. And Victor can choose to take this action at any time, even after Bob and Alice may have measured, changed or destroyed their photons.

“The fantastic new thing is that this decision to entangle two photons can be done at a much later time,” said research co-author Anton Zeilinger, also of the University of Vienna. “They may no longer exist.”

Such an experiment had first been predicted by physicist Asher Peres in 2000, but had not been realized until now.

“The way you entangle them is to send them onto a half-silvered mirror,” Zeilinger told LiveScience. “It reflects half of the photons, and transmits half. If you send two photons, one to the right and one to the left, then each of the two photons have forgotten where they come from. They lose their identities and become entangled.”

Zeilinger said the technique could one day be used to communicate between superfast quantum computers, which rely on entanglement to store information. Such a machine has not yet been created, but experiments like this are a step toward that goal, the researchers say.

“The idea is to create two particle pairs, send one to one computer, the other to another,” Zeilinger said.”Then if these two photons are entangled, the computers could use them to exchange information.”

from:    http://www.livescience.com/19975-spooky-quantum-entanglement.html