There was a thrilling moment last summer when you could watch the International Space Station seeming to chase the space shuttle through the sky. (Or was it the other way around?) Well, it’s going to happen again today at 6:23 p.m. when space station and shuttle Atlantis pass overhead. Atlantis is on its way home after visiting space station, roughly 220 miles above Earth. To watch the tandem flyby, look just above the northwest horizon at 6:23 p.m. To be precise, you’ll first see... Read Full Story

A magnitude 3.9 earthquake occurred 9.3 miles beneath the seafloor south-southwest of Orange County at 6:43 a.m., generating seismic energy that was lightly felt in about a half dozen local cities, the U.S. Geological Survey says. The agency’s online “Did you Feel it?” feature says the quake, which started 9 miles southeast of San Clemente Island, was felt in Laguna Beach, Ladera Ranch, Irvine, Newport Coast, Garden Grove and La Habra. The quake began at a spot slightly nort... Read Full Story

Well, if I had not given so many hints — especially the Cezanne hint — I suspect we would not have had a winner today. But a reader with the screen name of John Miles correctly stated that you’re looking at the fuzzy skin of a peach. The image was taken with an electron microscope at Australian National University. Miles wins a copy of Andrew Chaikin’s wonderful book, “Voices from the Moon.” Expanded hint: The image shows something virtually everyone has s... Read Full Story

DARK ... FOR NOW: Scott O'Donnell of Yorba Linda photographed the thick marine layer above Orange County today. The clouds are spitting some rain, but significant precipitation is not expected. The photo was taken southbound on the 5, near the intersection with the 405. There are isolated sprinkles this morning from a thick marine layer. But that’s not the main weather issue we face … Weak offshore winds are about to start blowing through northeastern Orange County, creating fou... Read Full Story

The bow of the USS Curts (38) is visible just ahead of the stern of the USS Gary (51). Image by Gary Robbins, The Register The Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station has such a small, shallow bay, it rarely hosts more than one warship at a time. But the California base is on double duty at the moment, serving two Perry-class frigates, the USS Curts (38) and the USS Gary (51), which are docked stern-to-stern in Anaheim Bay. It’s an unusual sight for motorists passing nearby on Pacific Coast Hi... Read Full Story

Look toward Constellation Leo between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. Tuesday. Graphic courtesy of Astronomy.com The annual Leonid meteor shower will peak overnight, and astronomers say that people who are ideally located (the desert) should be able to see 20-30 meteors per hour between 1:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. Tuesday. But even amateur skygazers in urban/surburban areas like Orange County should be able to see several meteors per hour as Earth passes through debris shed by Comet Swift-Tuttle. Stay away from s... Read Full Story

I’ll give a free copy of “Jacques Cousteau: The Sea King,” a new biography by Brad Matsen, to the first reader who can precisely identify the contents of this photo. You can email your answers to grobbins@ocregister.com. Or you can place your answer in the Comments section of the blog. The winner will be announced at 4 p.m. Saturday. Follow @grobbins on Twitter | Become a fan of Sciencedude on Facebook Add Sciencedude to your Yahoo and iGoogle pages Email your weather pho... Read Full Story

A magnitude 1.8 microquake occurred at 1:29 a.m. near the intersection of Hazard Avenue and Beach Boulevard, not far from the Westminster Mall and Westminster Memorial Park, says the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake began a bit southeast of a branch of the Newport-Inglewood fault, at a depth of 3.7 miles.  The shaker was not widely felt, and is mentioned here because the public is interested in the small, isolated microquakes that regularly happen in or near Orange County. The little tremor ... Read Full Story

The National Weather Service issued a fire weather watch for drought-plagued Orange County, effective Sunday morning, due to the expected combination of dry Santa Ana winds and low relative humidity. Forecasters say, “Northeast winds of 15 to 25 mph, with gusts to 40 mph, will develop below the Cajon Pass and in the Santa Ana Mountains and foothills Sunday morning, then shift south and east into portions of inland Riverside and San Diego counties during the day. Local gusts in excess of... Read Full Story

The National Weather Service is reminding local boaters who plan to travel west of Santa Catalina Island that there’s a small craft advisory in effect, with winds in the outer waters gusting to 25 knots. The winds will last well into this evening, and pose a threat to people who want to go sportfishing in the outer waters. The winds will ease some on Saturday but will still gust to 20 knots at times, forecasters say. Conditions are comparatively mild on the seas between Orange County an... Read Full Story