Dec 16 - Sea Otter Return?

December 16 Sea Otter Return? by:

Southern sea otters resting and napping among kelp fronds in Morro Bay, which is about midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, California. Image via Flickr user Ingrid Taylar.

Will sea otters return to San Francisco Bay? There are now only about 3,000 of California's southern sea otters left. A new study shows that, if they can be returned to San Francisco Bay, their population can be tripled. But, first, they’ll need some help getting past the great white sharks. Read more. Tonight's moon is near the Lion's Heart Before your bedtime tonight, you might catch the moon and star Regulus - Heart of the Lion in the constellation Leo - beginning their ascent in the east. Read more and see a chart. Bringing community astronomy to rural Africa Ideas discussed at last month’s International Astronomical Union symposium in Tokyo include using smartphones and low-cost battery-powered equipment to bring early exposure to radio astronomy to families in Nigeria. Read more. What we're reading From BBC News ... COP25 climate change talks: 'We’ve lost an important opportunity’ Here are key quotes from leaders, experts and activists around the world on the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) outcome. The conference ended this weekend. Read more.

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Bright green fireball and lunar halo View at EarthSky Community Photos. | For all who hesitate to watch for meteors in bright moonlight … Eliot Herman in Tucson, Arizona, had not only moonlight, but also high, thin cirrus clouds (which create this sort of ring around the moon) when he captured this image on December 6. This isn't a Geminid meteor, by the way, although that shower peaked this weekend. It's a sporadic meteor, and it's correlated with this fireball event recorded by the American Meteor Society. Looking for an actual Geminid seen in moonlight? Eliot caught a beauty on Saturday morning. See it here. Thanks, Eliot!

Another meteor and lunar halo View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Wow! We don't see many photos like this, but here's a second meteor and lunar halo shot, taken about a week later and thousands of miles away from Eliot Herman's photo above. Roberto Porto in Spain's Canary Islands caught this photo this weekend. The moon was traveling in front of the Geminid's radiant point. Roberto caught one, anyway! Thank you! Submit your photo to EarthSky here! Did a friend forward EarthSkyNews to you? Click here to get your own subscription!

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