Los Alamos Nature Center Earns State Award
The Los Alamos Nature Center has received the Top HAT Award for Outstanding Attraction from the New Mexico Hospitality Association. PEEC Educator Sandra West, right, accepts the award for PEEC. Courtesy/NMHAResidents and visitors have ample opportunities to explore the local natural landscape, thanks to the Los Alamos Nature Center.
Whether it is hiking excursions, planetarium shows or summer camps for students, the center showcases all the things the great outdoors offers. Its efforts caught the state’s attention Read More
Daily Postcard: Early Morning At Pajarito Ski Area
Daily Postcard: View this morning of Pajarito Ski Area as captured by the webcam from the top of the lodge. Courtesy/Pajarito Read More
Study Finds Organic Food Worse For Climate
The crops per hectare are significantly lower in organic farming, which, according to the study, leads to much greater indirect carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation. Courtesy/Yen Strandqvist/Chalmers University of TechnologyFarm Bill Agreement Includes Boost For Access And Habitat Programs
TRCP News:NOAA: Remote Coral Reefs In Better Condition Than Those Near Human Populations In U.S. Pacific
Corals at Pagan Island, an uninhabited volcanic island in the Mariana Islands archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, seem to have fared much better than other areas. Here is a close-up of an Acropora coral, typically more susceptible to bleaching events, which appears to be doing just fine. Courtesy/NOAAAGU: New Research Finds Tornadoes Form From The Ground Up, Contrary To Popular Thought
A tornado May 25, 2012 in Galatia, Kansas as it was decaying. Courtesy/Jana Houser
Shot of the EF-3 tornado near maximum width and peak intensity May 31, 2013 in El Reno, Okla. Courtesy/Nick Nolte, CC-BY-3.0Daily Postcard: Buck Nibbles Birdseed At Local Home
Daily Postcard: A buck is spotted eating birdseed spilled on the grass of a home recently on Camino Encantado. Photo by Thai Ha Read More
Science On Tap: Tapping Into Algal Diversity For Biofuels Discussion At UnQuarked Dec. 17
Amanda Barry. Courtesy photoOak Ridge Crews Finish Preparing Site For New Mercury Treatment Facility
Crews constructed two secant pile retaining walls to retain soils, control water seepage, and provide a deep, secure foundation for the water intake structure. Courtesy photoExplore Brightest Explosions In Universe Friday Night
Nicole Lloyd-Ronning will present a talk about gamma-ray bursts — the brightest explosions in the universe at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14 in the planetarium at the Los Alamos Nature Center. The nature center also will show the full-dome film ‘Exploding Universe’ at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15 in the planetarium.
PEEC News:
Dr. Nicole Lloyd-Ronning will discuss the brightest explosions in the universe at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14 in planetarium at the Los Alamos Nature Center.
Lloyd-Ronning will tell the audience all about the incredible phenomena that is gamma-ray bursts, which occur when a massive star Read More
Weekly Fishing Report: Dec. 12
By GEORGE MORSEWIPP Town Hall Meeting Planned Thursday
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Courtesy/WIPPRio Arriba County Emergency Services Issues High Wind Warning Today Through 8 a.m. Thursday
WEATHER ALERT:
A powerful upper level disturbance will approach New Mexico late today, bringing in a fast-moving cold front. Strong winds will take shape late this afternoon and peak as the cold front moves in from the north and northwest tonight.
Occasional wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph will be common in the vicinity of the cold front, and some higher mountain peaks of central and southern New Mexico could observe a few gusts close to 70 mph. The very strong winds will create difficult driving conditions, and could cause damage to utility poles, roof tops, and any frail structures. Strong north to northwest Read More
Unknown Trove Of Planets Found Hiding In Dust
The Taurus Molecular Cloud, pictured here by ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory, is a star-forming region about 450 light-years away. The image frame covers roughly 14 by 16 light-years and shows the glow of cosmic dust in the interstellar material that pervades the cloud, revealing an intricate pattern of filaments dotted with a few compact, bright cores — the seeds of future stars. Courtesy/ESA/Herschel/PACS, SPIRE/Gould Belt survey Key Programme/Palmeirim et al.Daily Postcard: Ponderosa Pine Forest At Bandelier
The Ponderosa Pine Forest at Bandelier National Monument gets more moisture from winter snows and summer rains than lower elevation zones. Ponderosa pine forests are found at middle elevations on the Pajarito Plateau where increased snowfall and summer rains create wetter conditions. The Ancestral Pueblo people used these trees as roof beams for their homes and hunted the mule deer, which thrive in this community. Ponderosa pine forests provide important habitat for a wide range of species such as Abert’s Squirrels, Red-tailed Hawks and Western Bluebirds. Source: Bandelier. Photo Read More
Participate In Christmas Bird Count Sunday
Participate in the Los Alamos Christmas Bird Count this Sunday, Dec. 16 by spending the day counting and identifying every bird you see! This event is perfect for birders of all skill levels and is free to participate in. Email Mouser Williams at mouser@mouser.org to sign up. Courtesy/PEEC
PEEC News:
Participate in the world’s longest-running citizen science project this Sunday, Dec. 16 by joining the Los Alamos Christmas Bird Count (CBC). Volunteers will spend the day counting and identifying every bird they can see. People of all birding skill levels can get involved Read More
UA-Led OSIRIS-REx Discovers Water On Asteroid, Confirms Bennu As Excellent Mission Target
This mosaic image of asteroid Bennu is composed of 12 PolyCam images collected Dec. 2 by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 15 miles (24 km). Courtesy/NASA/Goddard/UADaily Postcard: Buck Leaps Over Fence Sunday
Daily Postcard: A buck is spotted leaping over a fence to visit an elk grazing on grass Sunday on Arkansas Avenue. Photo by Stan Bodenstein
The buck also is spotted Sunday sauntering across Arkansas Avenue. Photo by Stan BodensteinLa Cueva Prescribed Burn May Start Today Near Pecos
SFNF News:
SANTA FE – As early as today, fire managers from the Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest expect to prescribed burn approximately 372 acres in the La Cueva area through Dec. 31 as weather permits.
The treatment area is approximately seven miles northwest of Pecos.
Smoke may be visible from the communities of La Cueva, Glorieta, Canada da Los Alamos, La Joya, Apache Canyon, Upper Pecos Canyon, Pecos, Rowe, Las Vegas, Santa Fe and Santa Fe Watershed. These communities can expect the smoke to settle and possibly impact the area during the nighttime and early mornings. Read More
Amateur Naturalist: What Is Happening To The Birds Of Los Alamos?
House finches are among the most commonly seen birds in Los Alamos. But will they continue to be abundant? Will another species become more common, or will all species decrease or increase in numbers? Photo by Robert Dryja
By Robert DryjaBird populations in Los Alamos have been studied in different ways. One way has involved monitoring birds in a piñon/juniper habitat over a 10-year time period from 2003 to 2013. The goal has been to evaluate what has happened to the total number of birds and the number of species. This has involved comparing birds in thinned and un-thinned, still forested,
