Astronomy & Weather Scenario of Visakhapatnam during Second Fortnight of September 2011

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Volume 2011, Issue No.9, Dt.18th Sept.2011: Time: 2h43mPM

Second Fortnight of September 2011 Astronomy &
Weather Scenario in Visakhapatnam
by
Professor Dr Kotcherlakota Lakshmi Narayana
{Retd. Prof. of Phys, SU} 17-11-10, Narasimha Ashram, Official Colony, Maharanipeta.P.O, Visakhapatnam-530002. Mobile No: 9542717723 and 9491902867
Key words: Astronomy, Sun Spectra, Moon Spectra in mixed Clouds, Jupiter and Moon nearness, Earth Trembler, Jupiter, Geomagnetic effect at Equatorial region

ABSTRACT:

Heavy rains lashed many parts of Jammu and Kashmir and flood alert was given on Friday 17th Spt., 2011. Due to the heavy rains in Srinagar on Saturday the 17th Sept.2011 the Jhelum River has swollen. A significant astronomy event is the proximity of the Moon to a bright planet Jupiter on the morning of 17th September 2011 at around 3h07mAM to 3h10mAM. The events following it identifies the Earth trembler with epicenter USGS 6.8R, 27.73N, 88.082N, 20.7km depth and GFZ 6.8R, 27.7N, 88.17E, 30km depth about 12:40:48 UT (6:11 PM at epicenter) the epicenter located at Mangan and Sakyong area as over 50kms from Gangtok in Sikkim. September 22nd 2011 onward the weather at Visakhapatnam was one of warmth and with bright sunshine. On the Wednesday 28th it became very hot. There was a sudden cool weather on the evening of the 29th Sept 2011 at Visakhapatnam. The figures give the obtained histogram of the Jewel like Moon in the clouds. Nevertheless on the 29th September 2011 at 14h34mPM the clouds gave a different view of the Sun and its surroundings. The green splash of hue was amazing in view that a severe geomagnetic storm (KP=7-8) that began, when a CME hit of the Earth's magnetic field has subsided. The Jupiter and the Orion Constellation seem to be very prominent in the very clear sky of the 30th Sept 2011 morning. It is surprising that the blue background of deep blue character is not present though it was almost4h48mAM. The Jupiter spectrum is definitely dominated by Green hue.We confirm that the Solar Winds would certainly influence the lower levels of the Atmosphere due to the excited electrons and other particles bombardment of the interior of the mgnetosphere (6000kms to 12500kms) and consequently several types of radiations produced possibly have hazardous affects.

INTRODUCTION:

The inflows to Srisailam and Nagarjuna sagar reservoirs reduced and hence hydel power generation dipped from 67MU to 43MU. It might further dip down and as well the coal supply would last only for seven days. NTPC Ramagundem is operating only at 60% its capacity as on Sept 17th, 2011. South E astern coal fields and Mahanandhi coal fields are expected to supply to meet the shortage from Singerani coal fields. A claim has been made a professor from Massachusetts, Boston that a tsunami occurred in Guryal ravine in the vicinity of Srinagar city about 250 million years ago and the rocks preserve the evidence in Kashmir. They are the richest fossil sites of the world and many geologists are converging on these sites. The Kashmir University intends to embark on collaboration with foreigners to exploit the information of geological past by way of research on caves, ice-cores, lake and marine sediments. The recent Earth trembler of Sikkim is being termed as Mega Quake.

SUNDAY TREMBLOR:

The earthquake occurred on a strike-slip fault from the moment tensor solution. From GFZ – Mw6.8, 27.7N, 88.17E, 30km depth. From USGS – Mw6.8, 27.73N, 88.082N, 20.7km depth. This earthquake has been felt up to 900km away according to some felt reports. Gangtok and Shiliguri have recorded VII intensity values. The closest felt report from USGS at the moment is 70km away at intensity 6 or 7. On the Sunday, September 18th, 2011 at 6h11mPM for nearly 4 seconds the Earth tremor of 6.8R magnitude has struck the region bordering Nepal, Sikkim, Bangla Desh and India, with the epicenter located at Mangan and Sakyong area as over 50kms from Gangtok. The aftershocks were felt three times of magnitude 5.7R, 5.3R and 4.6R after about 30 seconds the main Earth quake occurrence. Delhi, Haryana, Chandighad, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Utter Pradesh, Rajasthan felt the tremors. In Nepal Dhahran city, was affected. In the state of Odessa also Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Kojumr districts earth tremors were felt. The capital of Bhutan has received moderate shaking of intensity V.

Earthquake overview: A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit the Himalayan states Nepal and Sikkim (India) 12:40:48 UT (6:11 PM at epicenter). The depth of the hypocenter was at 20.7 km. The earthquake has caused over 100 victims so far and much damage in India, Nepal and Tibet (China). A magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit India 12:40:48 UT (10:48 PM at epicenter) the depth of the hypocenter was at 20.7 km. The quake comes just days after an earthquake of 4.2 magnitude hit Haryana's Sonepat district, sending tremors in New Delhi.

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude :6.8 UTC Time : Sunday, September 18, 2011 at 12:40:48 UTC. Local time at epicenter : Sunday, September 18, 2011 at 06:10:48 PM at epicenter  Depth (Hypocenter) :20.7 km: Geo-location(s) : 68 km (42 miles) NW of Gangtok, Sikkim, India: 1. About 119 km (73 miles) NNW of Shiliguri, West Bengal, India: 2. About 133 km (83 miles) E of Namche Bazar, Nepal: 3. About 272 km (169 miles) E of KATHMANDU, Nepal

It was also well felt in Bangladesh and some damage has been reported from Bhutan. 15000 houses have been destroyed and at least another 100000 damaged. 17 deaths were confirmed killed by landslides on a hydroelectric project. Clearing the landslides has also been treacherous with 2 army jawans killed. Yet amid scattered reports back from the epicentral region where numerous landslides have occurred. Most of these deaths have occurred in Sikkim. Tibet (Yadong County), 7 deaths and over 200 injuries are the confirmed numbers to date with 2961 damaged houses with 13793 people in them affected. Some towns have been 100% affected. At least 1000 houses are said to be collapsed.

From Nepal, 9 deaths are still being reported with 89 injuries and 2000 houses damaged/destroyed and it is believed that the Nepalese count increasing to 20 has not been verified. Much damage has been recorded. It is expected that these numbers will unfortunately rise. Structural damage to nearly 2,000 houses has left over 1,213 families displaced (more than 7,278 people). Bhutan Department of Disaster Management, the earthquake has caused 1 death, injured 16, and damaged about 4,000 houses. NIRAPAD in Bangladesh, roofs have collapsed, a number of Katcha houses have been destroyed, 1 person has been injured, and numerous walls have collapsed in the Panchagarh and Thakugaorn districts.

Mumbai: An earthquake measuring 3.9 on the Richter Scale shook Maharashtra on early Monday, barely 12 hours after a powerful quake jolted northern and eastern India, an official said. According to an official of the Seismological Monitoring Centre, the quake was felt at 6.22 am with the epicenter in Latur district. Though there are unconfirmed reports of minor damage to a few houses in some villages, no casualties have been reported so far, an official said. The quake was felt, among other areas, in Latur, Parbhani, Osmanabad and Solapur districts.

BHUBANESWAR/CUTTACK:

Orissa felt tremors of the earthquake that originated from Nepal-Sikkim border on Sunday evening. Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Rourkela experienced the tremors on Sunday evening at around 6.20 pm, which sent people rushing out of their homes in panic. Residents came out of their homes after fans and other household articles shook for a few seconds. Residents of Samantasahi, Link Road and Madhupatna areas in Cuttack said doors and windows rattled for about three to four seconds. "We were studying in our room when suddenly the study table started shaking. We moved out of the room out of fear," said Sujit Patra, an MBA student residing in Arunodaya Nagar. Similar shocks were experienced by residents of CDA, Nuabazaar, Chaulianganj and other areas of the millennium city. "The tremor lasted for a very brief period. But we are definitely in panic as it may strike again in the night," said Saudamini Das, a housewife from Badambadi area.

Patna: Bihar has a history of moderate to severe earthquake occurrences and its area is covered in seismic zones IV and V with possible maximum intensity up to 8.4 on the Richter scale. While the northern part of the state adjacent to Nepal lies in the highest risk zone, Patna and adjoining areas fall in zone IV (high risk zone).The state has witnessed more than 25 earthquakes having intensity of above 5.4 in the last two centuries, two of them being quite devastating. Locals in Nalanda, Bihar, survey the damage after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the India-Nepal border, killing dozens of people.

The Power Supply Position in Andhra Pradesh:

The Government Petroleum, Natural Gas Ministry directed the supply from of ONGC 1.55 and another 0.85 MMSMD KG oil Basin gas through its pipelines has been marked for Bhavana electric Project of capacity 750MU situated in Delhi. The allotments to LVS power (55MW), Sribha Industries 30MW, got 0.22 MMSMD gas and for Sribha Industries about 0.12 MMSMD gas allotted but now they stand cancelled. Andhra Pradesh requires about 3000MW gas dependent projects but only 2700 MW projects receiving gas at 75% support of MMSMD gas. APGenCo project at Karimnagar has not received gas supply for 2100MW system, a pending request since 4 years. From outside, State of AP purchases at Rs.5/- a unit when the state is in shortage of production. Sankarpalli project in AP requires gas for production of initially 100MW to be later increased to 1000MW. HVDAC supply proposed to meet the demand of 2.45 Lack connections to reduce the loss from a 25% slab to 10%. In five years time Rs.1154crores Japan JAICAA agreed to support for this of which Rs. 988.80 crores is by loan from it and Rs.166crores the Indian DISCOM should bear. The idea is to give 7hours of free electric supply for Agricultural purposes.

Water Shortage in Visakhapatnam for Industrial Growth:

By the year 2040, about 30Million Gallons of additional water is required to Visakhapatnam. VISCO is pumping about 66Million gallons daily for needs of the mega city. From Godavari and Eluru actually about 135Million gallons is being pumping tapped but only the 70 Million gallons of water being collected by Visakhapatnam city, out of which 35Million gallons go to RINL (steel plant). Open canal from Eluru to Visakhapatnam water theft is taking place. This loss amounts to 48%. GVMC uses about 22MGD water for drinking supplies, APIIC 2MGD, NTPC uses about 7MGD and Gangavaram Port uses about 6MGD. Except RINL for which water is given at the rate of Rs.8.53 per liter but other users pay Rs.20/- a liter. Due to this rate system VISCO fell into a deficit of Rs. 193 crores of Rupees. Additional 45 MGD of water RINL is requesting also Hinduza, PCPIR, ANROC and Sarada industrialists are demanding water. Every day if the Godavari and Eluru joint pumping system releases about 170MGD with a considerable total reaching Visakhapatnam would be a practical solution. Additional funding for this is about Rs.2000-crores required.

Five coastal districts namely, Srikakulam, Viziyanagaram, Visakhapatnam, East and West Godavari in Andhra Pradesh are facing power cuts. APEPDCL has a shortage of 300MW supply. This company needs 37M units daily to meet the demand of 42 lakh consumers in the five districts. Only 35 M units are being supplied now. There are six thermal power stations in the state that have run out of coal stocks and minimally having supplies from neighboring states including Odisha. Lower in flows to Srisailam & Nagarjuna Sagar has affected hydel power generation. Visakhapatnam district consumes about 11M units of power daily. Emergency loads relief brought it down to only 10.7M units per day. Government Industries and Hospitals have been exempted of the power cut.

Fresh flood alert:

The Odisha government said on September 22nd, 2011 that major rivers in the state Baitarani (submerged human habitations of Rasulpur), Brahmani, Budhabalang have crossed danger marks. Brahmani has flooded about 70 villages in Jenapur area and the collectors of the districts Keonjhar, Kendrapara, Bhadhrak and Jajpur have been warned of an imminent danger of heavy flooding due to the rains from a low-depression formed over Bay of Bengal which is moving in west-northerly direction. Gusty winds of 65kmph are blowing.

BIG SUNSPOT AR1302 and X Ray-flares:

The source of all this solar and geomagnetic activity is sunspot AR1302. Measuring more than 150,000 km from end to end, the sprawling active region is visible even without a solar telescope. The sunspot has quieted down since unleashing dual X-flares on Sept. 22nd and 24th. A solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole could reach Earth on Sept. 30th-Oct. 1st. Credit: SDO/AIA.

OUR OBSERVATIONS:

The last four days the night sky was very cloudy and the Moon shine has been considerably reduced. The only significant event is the proximity of the Moon to a bright planet Jupiter on the night of 17th September 2011 at around 3h07m to 3h10m AM. Luckily the clouds have dispersed and a good view of the Moon and the planet Jupiter was captured along with the spectrum of Moon by Digital Camera IXUS130. Fig.1 gives the histogram of the event observed.

 The morning of Monday 19th September 2011 Visakhapatnam experienced very warm weather. From Monday 19th September heavy evening showers occurred in Visakhapatnam daily and on the Friday 23rd Sept, 2011 at around 11.00AM the Sun was very intense that even a plastic covering of washing powder gives out a spectrum of red color dominance. Surprisingly after around 11.30AM the sky became cloudy and visibility was considerably reduced by passing clouds occasionally giving some drizzle. The warmth of the Sun has been found to be a consequence of the Sun’s intense Infra Red radiations. This possibly has been accompanied by intense other rays such as, Microwaves, Ultra Violet and the X-rays. The affect of the later on the clouds could easily be ascertained.

September 22nd 2011 onward the weather at Visakhapatnam was one of warmth and with bright sunshine. On the Wednesday 28th it became very hot. There was a sudden cool weather on the evening of the 29th Sept 2011 at Visakhapatnam. The Sun was of course was very bright especially with the clouds. The amazing color filter images captured shows the affects of the X-Ray and other solar flare and possibly the CME from the coronal holes on the terrestrial atmosphere. The most interesting is the fine structure of the violet region of the Sun spectrum obtained at 14h36mPM on 29th September 2011by the present author. The gray clouds have their own characteristic profiles of color intensities.

FIGURES & THE IMAGES:

Fig 1 Second Fortnight of September 2011 Astronomy scenario Visakhapatnam

Img_5093KLN shows the nearness of the Moon and Jupiter around 3h23mAM on 18th September 2011.The figure gives the obtained histogram of the Jewel like Moon in the clouds.

Fig 2 Second Fortnight of September 2011 Astronomy scenario Visakhapatnam

The gray splash of the Moon exhibits different structures in different environment of the cloudy weather. It is surprising that through the fortnight night sky at Visakhapatnam has been completely dominated by clouds and the visibility of stars was very minimal excepting one or two bright stars and the planets. The red glow around the Moon has been analyzed in terms of the RGB data i.e. listed in this figure.

Fig 3 Second Fortnight of September 2011 Astronomy scenario Visakhapatnam.

In figure 3 the gray clouds around the moon have been examined in some detail to ascertain the mixing of different colors. A comparative presentation in terms of the intensity profiles of the Moon spectrum is also given.

Fig 4 Second Fortnight of September 2011 Astronomy scenario Visakhapatnam

Early morning Moon shine its spectrum was one of an interest since the sky is totally dominated by deep blue hues. Only around 5h31mAM the sky turned out to be light blue hue. This implies that the darkness persisted till the time about 5h25mAM

 

Fig 5 Second Fortnight of September 2011 Astronomy scenario Visakhapatnam

Unfortunately the IXUS130 Canon camera with me exhibited lot of dead pixels that brought down its overall efficiency of digital imaging. This in spite of the fact that I got it serviced twice within a period of six months. This caused a hindrance to observe the fine star positions of the night sky. Only the bright stars and the planets could be markedly seen in the image captures.

 




 

Fig 6 Second Fortnight of September 2011 Astronomy scenario Visakhapatnam

The Sun spectrum was of a brilliant nature on the 23rd September 2011 ascertaining the fact that the sunspot AR1302, measuring more than 150,000 km from end to end which has unleashed dual X-flares on Sept. 22nd and 24th. The spectrum shows marked violet region.

Fig 7 Second Fortnight of September 2011 Astronomy scenario Visakhapatnam

The morning sky somewhat cleared of the grayish clouds and the patchy cloud pattern however showed an intensity profile of more red and green mix. The Sun rays get diffracted and the intense violet and pink colors could be noticed.

Fig 8 Second Fortnight of September 2011 Astronomy scenario Visakhapatnam

The Sun has been imaged with set of different combined filters to note the Sun Spots but alas the brilliance of the Sun was too powerful to have them captured with the used filter sets. Nevertheless the clouds gave a different view of the Sun and its surroundings. The green splash of hue was amazing in view that a severe geomagnetic storm (KP=7-8) that began, when a CME hit Earth's magnetic field has subsided. At the peak of the disturbance, auroras were sighted around both poles and in more than five US states including Michigan, New York, South Dakota, Maine, and Minnesota.

Fig 9 Second Fortnight of September 2011 Astronomy scenario Visakhapatnam

The Jupiter and the Orion Constellation seem to be very prominent in the very clear sky of the 30th Sept 2011 morning. It is surprising that the blue background of deep blue character is not present though it was almost4h48mAM. The Jupiter spectrum is definitely dominated by Green hue.

Findings:

On the Wednesday 28th it became very hot. There was a sudden cool weather on the evening of the 29th Sept 2011 at Visakhapatnam. The figures give the obtained histogram of the Jewel like Moon in the clouds. Nevertheless on the 29th September 2011 at 14h34mPM the clouds gave a different view of the Sun and its surroundings. The green splash of hue was amazing in view that a severe geomagnetic storm (KP=7-8) that began, when a CME hit of the Earth's magnetic field has subsided. The Jupiter and the Orion Constellation seem to be very prominent in the very clear sky of the 30th Sept 2011 morning. It is surprising that the blue background of deep blue character is not present though it was almost4h48mAM. The Jupiter spectrum is definitely dominated by Green hue.We confirm that the Solar Winds would certainly influence the lower levels of the Atmosphere due to the excited electrons and other particles bombardment of the interior of the mgnetosphere (6000kms to 12500kms) and consequently several types of radiations produced possibly have hazardous affects.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT:

I am deeply indebted to Prof K Rangadhama Rao D.Sc (Madras) D.Sc. (London) for initiating me and inspiring for research investigations and observations. I was selected and assigned by him to work as a JRF (1961-1964) in a CSIR scheme at his research centre, on Nuclear Quadrupole Moments following, the successful completion of my M.Sc. Nuclear Physics and the M.Sc. Mathematical Physics degree courses.