Four Central Texas Salamanders have recently been proposed to be listed on the endangered species list by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. You can learn more about the salamanders, and where they live in the region, in the slideshow above.
These salamanders are local to specific areas within the Edwards Aquifer region and have been threatened by development and urbanization in recent years.
“The Edwards Aquifer is an important water source not only for these four salamander species, but also for those living and working in the area,” said Adam Zerrenner, Austin Field Office Supervisor with the Fish and Wildlife service.
View of the Pantanal from the Cidade de Pedra viewpoint in the Chapada dos Guimaraes national park, Mato Grosso state, western Brazil on January 30, 2011.
In this photograph taken on October 16, 2010 during an aerial survey mission by Greenpeace over Sumatra island shows a rainforest canopy of Sungai Sembilang National Park.
PlanetSolar achieves the first around the world with only solar energy, on May 4, 2012 in Monaco. The biggest solar boat ever built progressed through Atlantic Sea, Panama canal, Pacific Ocean and is back to Mediterranean Sea through Suez Canal.
Picture taken on December 2, 2010 shows a flock of Great Cromonent birds flying over to Rapati River in Chitwan National Park, some 200 km southwest of Kathmandu.
A great white cloud reflected on a pond at the hotel Princeville Resort in Kauai (Hawaii).
The Dyes Slaughterhouse, part of the historic Dyes Store Butchery complex just outside of Kaukapakapa, New Zealand, today, Wednesday 19 May 2004.
A cameraman films the sea 21 November 2002 at the oil-covered Fuera beach in cape Finisterre, northwestern Spain.
What’s a carbon sink? It’s a process where the earth soaks up atmospheric carbon, which there is more and more of in the world. Those “sinks” take the form of forests and oceans, and a new study we reported on last week says that, contrary to previous research, the earth’s ability to soak up carbon has “increased roughly in line with rising emissions.” So herewith is a slideshow of some of those carbon sinks that are helping to eat up some of the carbon in the atmosphere.
An Indian man uses protective goggles to view the solar eclipse in the village of Taregna, some 30 Kms. south of Patna early July 22, 2009.
A picture taken on January 04, 2011 in Rennes, western France, shows the world’s first partial solar eclipse of 2011.
Chart outlining the places and times of the May 20, 2012 solar eclipse.
The sun is seen partially covered by the moon on Easter Island, 3700 km off the Chilean coast in the Pacific Ocean, on July 11, 2010.
A picture taken on January 04, 2011 in Locon, northern France, shows the world’s first partial solar eclipse of 2011.
A man uses a filter to take a picture during the partial solar eclipse in Hong Kong on July 22, 2009.
A telescope’s eyepiece projects a penumbra onto a screen during a solar eclipse over New Delhi on July 22, 2009. Only a partial eclipse was able to be seen from the Indian capital.
In this multiple exposure image taken on July 22, 2009 shows the various stages of the total solar eclipse in Baihata village, 30 kms from Guwahati, the capital city of the northeastern state of Assam.
Indian youths use solar viewing goggles to view a solar eclipse in Siliguri on July 22, 2009.
You’re going to need something better than wayfarers this weekend. The first annular solar eclipse of the 21st century for the continental U.S. is coming to Texas Sunday. You can see photos of some notable eclipses in the slideshow above.
The eclipse will start in Eastern Asia and cross east over the Pacific, ending in Central Texas. Here’s an interactive map of where the eclipse will pass, with peak viewing times. NASA says the eclipse will begin at 7:35 pm in Texas and peak at sundown. The best views will be from West Texas, particularly Amarillo, Lubbock and Midland-Odessa, where the eclipse will peak right around 8:30 pm. For those of you in the big cities of Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, you won’t get to see the full peak phase of the eclipse because the sun will have set by then. But you’ll still be able to see some of it.
An annular eclipse is close to a total eclipse, but not quite. With an annular solar eclipse, the moon directly passes between the earth and the sun, casting a shadow on the earth’s surface. For a viewer on earth, the light from the sun is almost fully blocked creating a “ring of fire” around the moon.
NASA cautions viewers to not look directly at the sun and to not rely on standard sunglasses. Looking directly at the eclipse can cause permanent eye damage. “The ring of sunlight during annularity is blindingly bright,” Fred Ezpenack, an eclipse expert at NASA, warns on their website. Continue Reading →
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