Our Daily Planet: California Tornado and Color Photos of 1914 Antarctica

Each weekday morning, OurAmazingPlanet takes the pulse of the Earth, reporting on natural phenomena and exploration news from around the globe.

California Tornado: An EF-0 tornado touched down in Maxwell, Calif., yesterday, the second tornado to hit the state in four days. California averages about 5 tornadoes each year. [Related: Rare Waterspout Seen Near San Francisco .]

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Carbon Mission Scrapped: Japan's huge earthquake damaged an important research vessel, forcing scientists to call off a mission to a deep-sea coral bed.

Aftershocks Continue: Three strong aftershocks rocked Japan this morning, all within 90 minutes. [Related: Aftershock Blitz: Will Japan Ever Stop Shaking? ]

Antarctica in Color: On his expedition to Antarctica in 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton brought an Australian photographer named Frank Hurley. See some of Hurley's color photos of the ill-fated mission. [Related: Race to the South Pole in Images ]

Previously on Our Daily Planet: Knut the Polar Bear Dies and an Earthquake in Afghanistan

Reach OurAmazingPlanet staff writer Brett Israel at bisrael@techmedianetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter @btisrael.

Brett Israel was a staff writer for Live Science with a focus on environmental issues. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from The University of Georgia, a master’s degree in journalism from New York University, and has studied doctorate-level biochemistry at Emory University.