Dec 10 - Bird Count

December 10 Bird Count by:

Look at this little angel. Isn't he sweet? He's a male adult golden-crowned kinglet (Regulus satrapa), a species found throughout most parts of North America. This bird was featured this week at the Audubon Society's Guide to North American Birds web page. Read more.

Christmas Bird Count starts December 14 The Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count is one of the longest-running citizen-science projects in existence. It launched on Christmas Day in 1900 and is still going strong. People love it. They get to venture outdoors to designated areas and count the types and numbers of birds that they see and hear over the course of a single day. The data are used to keep track of the health of bird populations in North America. This year’s count runs from December 14 to January 5. You'll want to sign up in advance. Learn how to join the count. Meet the microorganism that likes to eat meteorites These bacteria are lithotrophs; the word was created from the Greek terms lithos (rock) and troph (consumer). So lithotroph basically means eaters of rock. These particular bacteria have a fondness for extraterrestrial food: meteorites, or rocks from space. Read more. Why White Island erupted yesterday ... and why there was no warning White Island is one of several volcanoes in New Zealand that can produce sudden explosive eruptions at any time. An Earth scientist explains why.

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Watch for Venus and Saturn Two planets are said to be in conjunction when they're north and south of one another on the sky's dome. At conjunction, Venus sweeps 1.8 degrees south of Saturn. For reference, your index finger at arm's length spans about 2 degrees of sky. We like the trusty Observer's Handbook from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada; it gives the time of the Venus-Saturn conjunction as December 11 at 04:00 UTC.

Venus and Saturn: Venus is the brighter one! View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Peter Lowenstein in Mutare, Zimbabwe, caught Venus (left) and Saturn last night. These worlds are oriented differently from the Southern Hemisphere than from the Northern Hemisphere. For the exact view from your location, try Stellarium. And don't worry. If you just look west after sunset, you'll know these worlds when you see them. Venus will be the brightest thing up there! Submit your photo to EarthSky here! Did a friend forward EarthSkyNews to you? Click here to get your own subscription!

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