At 7:44 am on Sunday, September 22, 2024, the Sun is overhead at the equator, marking the autumnal (fall) equinox. Also, October 2024 marks the 35th anniversary of our Cockrell Sundial. Here at the Museum, we’ll mark the occasion with a special event on Saturday, September 21, brought to you by Rice University along with […]
Editor’s Note: The month of August brings the Perseid meteor shower. HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains what to expect with upcoming sky happenings. Saturn is now a late evening object! It rises in the east-southeast by 10:11 pm on August 1 and by 8:15 (during twilight) on August 31. Saturn is up literally all night […]
Editor’s Note: The July summer heat is not cooling off any time soon and HMNS Astronomer James Wooten is here to explain why that is. Saturn is in the south-southwest at dawn. Mars is also in the morning sky, in the east at dawn. Mars brightens each morning this month as it approaches Jupiter. […]
Editor’s Note: Dr. Dan Brooks, Curator of Vertebrate Zoology recounts recent adventures off the shores of Panama with local fishermen of the Embera people. In my last blog, I discussed a recent trip to a remote, pristine part of Panama, just north of the Colombian border. Today I’d like to discuss that trip a little […]
Editor’s Note: Not quite sure what to do with those holiday plants? Jeff Cummins of the Cockrell Butterfly Center lends a few suggestions. The winter holiday season has ended, the decorations are packed up for next year, the house is more or less back to normal, and we’ve [mostly] recovered from the festivities… but what […]
Now that the holiday season is upon us, let’s get to know a plant commonly associated with the festivities, the Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima). Native to Mexico, they are known as ‘Flor de la Noche Buena’, or ‘Flower of the Holy Night’. Poinsettias are members of the Spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. A little fact: Euphorbia is named […]
Editor’s Note: Look to the skies as HMNS Astronomer James Wooten explains the sky happenings for the month of December, including the science behind our winter solstice. Jupiter is still in the evening sky; look for it in the south at nightfall. Jupiter is brighter than any star we ever see at night. Saturn remains […]
Not everyone thinks bugs are cute… but what about their babies?! Just like their vertebrate counterparts, baby bugs will often elicit an “awwwwwww!” Many of the residents of the Cockrell Butterfly Center’s insect zoo were bred and raised in-house (especially Orthoptera and Phasmida). Eggs are collected and incubated until tiny little babies hatch out. Their […]
Editor’s Note: HMNS Astronomer James Wooten shines a light on the July 2022 sky happenings. Venus remains in the morning sky this month. Venus outshines everything except the Sun and the Moon, so you can try to find it low in the east at dawn. Venus remains a ‘morning star’ for most of 2022. Mars […]
At least once a week, David Temple receives a breathless message about an oddly-shaped rock or stony object some individual came across in their backyard or while on a nature hike. Almost everyone thinks they have found a priceless paleontological artifact that will change their lives forever. Sorry, but it’s not a dinosaur egg. As […]
