Major wildfires hit Los Angeles

[Mark7]

Peeps using AI to make statements about LA fires and current goings on...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1877981216357388795

 

[Ca.]

In the cosmic context we are in, we also can't rule out the possibility that meteorites may have caused several fires in different places, sometimes even at almost the same time. Fueled by strong to violent, swirling winds, this can also sometimes explain why some things burn next to others that don't. Fire can 'jump' and even 'fly'. As if it were alive. No wonder why our distant ancestors thought Fire was a God.

And that's without mentioning what's been said before: drought, poor forest management, the personal/financial interests of some or others, and God knows what else...

Whatever the cause —anthropogenic, natural or cosmic— the result of biomass fires and fires of all kinds is more dust —and pollution— in the atmosphere, leading to atmospheric cooling. Fire and Ice.

SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids

SUNGRAZING COMET AT DAWN: Comet ATLAS (C/2024 G3) is brightening rapidly as it falls toward the sun for a Monday close encounter. This morning before sunrise, Petr Horálek saw it with his naked eyes over the hills of Spisske Podrhadie, Slovakia:

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"I was truly surprised," says Horálek. "While Mercury was difficult to find, the comet was an easy target. Thanks to finding it in the camera's viewfinder, I could see it immediately with my eyes too (the structures in the clouds in its vicinity helped)."

Meanwhile in England, Nick James of the British Astronomical Association photographed the sungrazer in broad daylight. His image, captured while the afternoon sun was hidden behind a tree, is inset in this up-to-date light curve from the Comet Observation Database:

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"I was surprised to get such a strong image," says James. "The comet must be pretty bright."

James compared the comet to Venus, which was even higher in the afternoon sky, and was able to make an estimate of the comet's brightness: "It's magnitude was about -0.8. That doesn't really seem bright enough given how prominent the comet is on the image, but that is what I get!"

If current trends hold, Comet ATLAS could brighten another 2 to 4 magnitudes by Jan. 13th when the comet swoops only 0.09 AU from the sun. Although it will likely be brighter than Venus, only the most experienced observers should attempt to photograph the comet so close to the blinding sun.

If Comet ATLAS survives the heat, it could become a nice object in the evening sky next week. Southern hemisphere observers are favored, but many northerners will be able to see it, too. Read "Prospects for C/2024 G3 (ATLAS)" by Nick James for observing tips.

more images: from Gorazd Bizjan of Medvode, Slovenia; from Chris Schur of Payson, Arizona; from Lionel Majzik of Tápióbicske, Pest, Hungary

https://twitter.com/x/status/1878117166412628333

https://twitter.com/x/status/1878116575846494557

 

[Arwenn]

Not sure what type of trees are native to the affected areas in LA & California, but in Australia Eucalyptus & other gum trees are designed to burn.

Designed to thrive after fires
Like many plants native to fire-prone regions, eucalyptus trees (aka gum trees in Australia) are adapted to survive — or even thrive — in a wildfire. Fallen eucalyptus leaves create dense carpets of flammable material, and the trees' bark peels off in long streamers that drop to the ground, providing additional fuel that draws ground fires up into the leaves, creating massive, fast-spreading "crown fires" in the upper story of eucalyptus forests.
Additionally, the eucalyptus oil that gives the trees their characteristic spicy fragrance is a flammable oil: This oil, combined with leaf litter and peeling bark during periods of dry, windy weather, can turn a small ground fire into a terrifying, explosive firestorm in a matter of minutes. That's why eucalyptus trees — especially the blue gums (Eucalyptus globulus) that are common throughout New South Wales — are sometimes referred to wryly as "gasoline trees."
And after a bushfire sweeps through an area, the eucalyptus trees have an advantage over other plants. Their seed capsules open up when burned, and the seedlings thrive in freshly burned, ash-rich soils.