The largest solar storm in five years was due to arrive on Earth early Thursday.

The massive cloud of charged particles could disrupt utility grids, airline flights, satellite networks and GPS services, especially in northern areas.

The sun erupted Tuesday evening, and the most noticeable effects should arrive here between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. EST Thursday, according to forecasters at the space weather center. The effects could linger through Friday morning: Solar storm webcam

In the Usa the Parks and Open Space Department’s osprey webcam isn’t up and running yet, but you can check out a number of bird cams now that are run by Xcel Energy including one that keeps track of a great horned owl at Valmont Station in Boulder.

To see Xcel’s webcams, which also track the nests of eagles, falcons, kestrels and owls, visit birdcam.

The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s Horn Point Laboratory near Cambridge is using an underwater webcam to show off a rare species of fish.

“Atlantic sturgeon date back to the time of the dinosaurs, They date back to 150 to 200 million years ago so they’re a very ancient fish.”

The webcam, which cost more than $3,000, has proven to be popular with fans worldwide.  “We’ve gotten hits from almost every country in the world on it,” Gauzens said. She noted that  the webcam has become so popular because the chances of an average person seeing a sturgeon in the wild are highly unlikely : Sturgeon Webcam

China began on Wednesday streaming live video footage of its pandas via webcam in an attempt to boost awareness of conservation efforts for its beloved but endangered animal ambassadors.

High-definition cameras feature pandas in two reserves at the Bifengxia Panda Centre.

Arianespace’s first launch of the first two satellites in Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system: Whatch live Kourou Centre Spatial Guyanais Final countdown to Soyuz liftoff: Click Here

A great white shark caught in the waters off Southern California is on display at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where it can be viewed in person or via a live webcam. Marine scientists hope the new addition will inspire visitors to support ocean conservation.

Aquarium officials say the 4-foot, 7-inch male shark was transferred from Malibu to Monterey and placed in the aquarium’s Open Sea exhibit Wednesday night. They hope to keep it on display for the next several months. It’s the sixth time Monterey Bay has exhibited a young great white shark. All the previous sharks have been returned to the wild.

Aquarium officials say they caught this shark Aug. 18 in the waters near Marina del Rey. Before its transfer, the shark was kept in a holding pen in Malibu, where it was observed swimming comfortably and eating. Great white sharks are known for their size, with the largest adults measuring more than 20 feet long and weighing around 5,000 pounds. They are among the primary predators of marine mammals but also prey on fish and seabirds.

The aquarium says wild shark populations are in decline worldwide. Fishing and the slow reproduction of white sharks, in addition to threats from trophy hunters and others, have taken a toll. The creatures are protected in U.S. coastal waters, as well as in South Africa, Mexico, Australia and other countries.

Julie Packard, the aquarium’s executive director, said the exhibit of a female white shark in 2004 was extremely successful. She said more than 1 million people viewed the shark while it was in captivity. Surveys taken after their experience showed that people took away a deeper understanding of the dangers facing white sharks and the ocean in general.

Check the Webcam Aquarium Sharks

The Webcam sits on Kala Patthar, a mountain in the Himalayas, at an altitude of more than 18,000 feet. This vantage point gives it a clear and spectacular view of Everest’s western face when conditions are right.

With no electrical outlets handy way up there, the Webcam is solar-powered. It’s only active during daylight hours. Mobotix is the company that provided the type-M12 Webcam. It is designed to deal with some pretty tough weather conditions like blasting winds and below freezing temperatures.

The live Everest Webcam is part of the Everest Share 2011 research project that is gathering climate and environmental information on the famous peak. This Webcam is good news for armchair mountaineers.

A new camera on Mauna Kea is offering a new look at the weather over the island.

The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope’s new high sensitivity “Cloud Camera” takes pictures of clouds and other weather at night, and it even works on moonless nights.

The pictures are in color, at a field of view comparable to a human eye and at an interval sufficient to see changes in the clouds.

The camera is facing east towards Hilo… those are the lights of Hilo city far below. The camera starts taking images just before sunset and stops just after sunrise.

Since Mauna Kea observatories are increasingly operated remotely, such a camera gives astronomers a chance to see what the weather is up to at and below the summit at night.

Since it is so dark at the summit, the camera uses long exposures and high sensitivity to illuminate the cloud cover using only starlight. Visit the new Cloud Cam on the CFHT website

http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/en/gallery/cloudcams/index.php?opts=still