Praying mantises are true masters of disguise. Like many insects (and other animals), mantises will use their cryptic appearance to blend into the environment. For praying mantises, camouflaging has two-fold benefits. For one, mantises are preyed on by many animals- including birds, lizards, frogs, small mammals and even larger mantises. Staying hidden from these predators […]
Editor’s Note: This article, by our Wildlife curator Dan Brooks, PhD., was co-authored by HMNS Accessibility Programs Manager Matti Wallin and Marcia Moore, OD, FCOVD, ABO Diplomate of Bellaire Family Eye Care. Nearly everyone enjoys wildlife, but sometimes it can be challenging to get good views when you’re out in nature! As February is Low […]
Jupiter remains in the west southwest as night falls. However, Jupiter gets slightly lower each evening at sunset, until by mid-month it is getting lost in the Sun’s glare. Once it’s gone, we’ll have no evening planets until August. Venus has entered the morning sky this month. Venus outshines everything except the Sun and the […]
The Houston Museum of Natural Science is full of history, science and culture, as one might expect, but are you aware of the many opportunities to step behind the scenes and discover your very own fossils or travel the world alongside educators? I recently stumbled into a real fossil preparation event featuring none other than […]
While the title of today’s blog perhaps sounds like the introduction to a bad bar joke, these three things really do share something in common besides ambling into a bar or being on a Cessna short of a parachute. The thing they all share in common is the famous historical Glenwood Cemetery, located in the […]
Written by HMNS Staff David & Alicia Furse Imagine – You open your eyes and see pale light illuminating the area in front of you. In the light, you see a massive block of stone with a carved foot on top of it. Your gaze is drawn higher and you, perhaps, recognize a seated male figure […]
Venus switches from the evening sky to the morning sky this month. Venus outshines everything except the Sun and the Moon, so you can try to find it low in the southwest at dusk for the first few days of January. On January 8, Venus is in line with the Sun and impossible to see. After mid-month, […]
We understand. By now you probably have a good amount of cabin fever still burning from the inside out after being cooped up all of 2020 and you’re itching to get back into the exhibit halls. Yet with announcement after announcement of this renovation and that opening exhibit, you may be a bit overwhelmed and […]
The George Observatory could not have survived without numerous amateur astronomers over the years! We want to thank our many volunteers who continue to generously share their time and talents so that visitors may see images from a variety of telescopes and enjoy the night sky. How and when did you get interested in astronomy? […]
Have you ever wondered what the Christmas star was? There are several astronomical events we can look at to see if there is a basis for the star mentioned in relation to the birth of Jesus. The Bible states: Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise […]
