A volcano in space??

Yes really,

I found this article on the National Geographic which explored this amazing volcano...

A report from Andrew Fazekas (scientist)

For years astronomers have been puzzled as to why our Milky Way galaxy's "volcano"—a supermassive black hole (SMBH) at its core—is dormant today. It seems the answer may simply be that we didn't catch the cosmic monster—weighing at least four million times the mass of our sun—feeding at the right time, according to a new study.

"If we had been around to see it two million years ago, the situation would have been very different," said study co-author Philip Maloney of the University of Colorado in Boulder. “The Milky Way's black hole was maybe ten million times brighter [then]," he said. "I don't think anyone really had any expectation that SMBH might vary in luminosity by such a huge factor on such a short—relatively speaking—time scale."

Astronomers have long suspected there was an ancient outburst from the hibernating black hole, but it’s only now that they believe they have found an actual ‘fossil imprint’ of the cosmetic monster’s last big meal.

The international team’s new theory points to a lacy filament of gas, mostly hydrogen, called magellanic stream, which can be seen trailing behind our galaxies two small companion galaxies: the large and small Magellanic Clouds. Maloney believes powerful beams of energy erupting from the SMBH two million years ago hit the stream—causing its hydrogen gas to get ionized and light up, much like the glow of auroras we see here on Earth. This ionization of the Magellanic Stream has puzzled scientists since its discovery two decades ago. “No one has been able previously to come up with a good model to explain the ionization," said Maloney.The team now suspects that this glowing stream of extragalactic gas may be the fossil imprint of the SMBH eruption two million years ago.

We at GeoBlogs HQ think this is amazing....

A hidden surprise...

The south-west province of Balochistan, in Pakistan, has been hit by a powerful earthquake. In fact two powerful earthquakes!! Many homes have been destroyed and villages flattened, thousands have spent the night with no shelter. Despite being Pakistan’s largest province it is the least populated, and earthquakes are common in the region.

To count 400 people have tragically died, and leaving 340 injured. It has been reported that out of all these tragic deaths and homes being destroyed, one good thing has come out of it; the force of the earthquake has caused a rocky island to pop out on the coast off Pakistan! The army says it has sent over 200 soldiers and medics over to help.

 

 

 

 

 

Picture of the day...

Well actually two pictures, we couldn't decide which one was best...

Fellaini walking off the pitch after warming up.. 

Rooney and Jones practising a bit of passing!!

This weekend we went to watch Manchester United play and lose (unfortunately) at Old Trafford to West Brom (of all people!!!)

Here is a little picture of our amazing front row seats and of some of the united legends themselves!!

As part of our year 8 curriculum we learn about the world of sport and are looking forward to the trip to Old Trafford where we hopefully can visit the changing rooms to see where these players from across the world get ready!!

An intruder...

Today's post isn't written by a usual GeoBlog attender, but we are trying to rule him in.. 

He originally brought us an article from a newspaper about the Pakistan Earthquake and has since brought in a million pictures from newspapers, we chose the best 5 and wrote a short explanation about each one... 

Proof that while we are busy learning somebody somewhere is living a totally different life... 

The same region in Pakistan was hit by two earthquakes in 4days... This map off the BBC website shows you just how close the epicentres were...

Over 400 people died in the first earthquake but days later hundreds more were affected by the second one!

Whole areas of housing was demolished in seconds because a lot of the housing was made of mud and rubble...

The most exciting pictures taken though were that of a mysterious island appearing after the second earthquake... A whole post dedicated to that coming soon... 

 

 

 

The 

App Review...

Miss English was telling us about an app for her new iPad called PDC World Disaster Alerts, it's free and includes lots of information about potential hazards... 

As you can see above here is a screen shot of the app showing you a virtual hazard map, all of these events have been updated very regular and allows you to see events as and when they happen!!

We think this app is well worth a free download from iTunes, for any body interested in geography!!!

Topic of the Month - Mt. Kilauea

This volcano is located in the Hawaii islands; the volcano is a shield volcano. It formed millions of years ago underwater. Mt. Kilauea has erupted so many times it rose up from the water.

Mt. Kilauea created some of Hawaii and its islands; this is because the volcano erupted so much and so often that little by little it has grown and grown and grown. Now it is a full island with its own name, but it will continue to grow as the lava is constantly flowing out and this means that little by little the lava falls into the sea. The lava has then risen through the water, cooled and got bigger and bigger.

The volcano is located near the pacific plate, lots of tourists love visiting this volcano. They love seeing the lava spew out!!! However this volcano could become very hazardous, if it carries on erupting it might destroy some of the islands!

Written by AL and VL

Picture of the day...

Here at Geoblogs HQ we are feeling the effects of the third week back to school, when we saw this picture today we couldn't help but feel relaxed...

Small auks called dovekies dive for copepods and nest on rocky shores in Svalbard, Norway's Arctic archipelago. The birds deposit guano and carcasses on land, fertilizing a mossy garden that provides ideal lurking ground for arctic foxes and other hunters.

 

Ecosystems under threat??

Poisonous Poachers...

The number of vultures in southern Africa is under threat. They may not be nature’s most glamorous animals but few people realise the important part they play in the eco system.

So what’s happening? Poachers are lacing the dead bodies of rhinos and elephants with poison. As we all know, vultures survive by eating these carcasses, so obviously a major problem has developed. Just one poisoned body kills over 600 vultures! It is worse in mating season as many chicks get killed too, doubling the number to 1200!

What ideas have you got to STOP these poachers? Comment below!

Watch the video here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/24059240

Written by RC

The Impossible

Film Review Number 1: The Impossible (2012)

The Impossible is a film based on a true story of the boxing day tsunami. It is about a family, who are on holiday in Thailand and get caught up in the event. The family consists of a wife, husband and their three sons.

However when we analysed the film further we discovered that it wasn't as

geographically correct as it makes out. Firstly, it is based on a true story but the film is made well but some of the smaller events are made a lot more dramatic than they would have been. The movie in parts isn't very realistic as when the father called his dad, who is back in his home country his voice was clear and loud. However, if the landline and signal had been destroyed by the tsunami (which is very likely when you see the devastation it caused) you wouldn't have thought he would been able to reach him or even hear him clearly.

On the other hand, the film is a very gripping, heart warming story especially as its based on a true story. The surroundings and scenery of the film was excellently edited to make it look as realistic as possible. Also the film took us on a roller coaster of emotions, from the beginning to end, when it looked like the family would never meet again and when we weren't sure whether they were alive or dead. The film made us feel as if we were there next to them during the tsunami and after, feeling everything they felt.
 

Overall, the film was a great success and very emotional yet set still realistic and factual even though it wasn't always the most geographically correct. We would rate it up there with the top films and strongly recommend it to any families out there. But make sure you have a tissue at the ready and a strong stomach!

If you want to see the trailer - click here.

Written by EH and CA

Current Affairs

Conflict in Syria

  

Over the past couple of weeks there have been problems in Syria. The Syrian government have been accused of using chemical weapons against their own people. The weapons that have been used have killed thousands, many of them children.

While Syria's possession of chemical weapons has never been in any doubt, there is no reliable information on how the weapons have been obtained and developed. Barak Obama made a decision that if Syria hand over their chemical weapons to the US to be destroyed, then all will be forgotten (kind of) Syria’s neighbours Russia have agreed to this action and have also said that they will be on Syria’s side. However if they don’t hand the chemicals over then they will use the armed forces against them! Some people have predicted that if we do use the armed forces against Syria then there will be a World War III. Other people think that there will be no actions against Syria.

 So what do you think about the Syrian Conflict. Should we attack with the Armed Forces, should we leave Syria alone, do you think that if we attacked Syria there will be a World War III?

Comment below!

You can find out more information about Syria by clicking here.

Written by JH