Nature Hub

       From  BBC News        By-  Simon King, Jacqueline Howard        Edited by - Amal Udawatta                                                                    Aurora in Norway The Northern Lights have made a rare appearance across the UK, delighting sky watchers up and down the country. Excited onlookers shared pictures of the lights, also known as aurora borealis, visible right across the country, including the south coast of England - and if you missed it you are likely to have a chance to see it again on Saturday night. They could be seen after one of the strongest geomagnetic storms for years hit Earth, with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issuing a rare solar storm warning. Such storms increase people's chances of seeing the lights. The extreme geomagnetic storm that happened on Friday was classed as the highest G5. Storms of this scale could potentially impact infrastructure, including satellites and the power grid, the NOAA warned. The la

       From - Astronomy Magazine     By -  By  Jake Parks  and  Alison Klesman       Edited by - Amal Udawatta Here's the schedule of Full Moons in 2024, and the traditional names given to them depending on the month they appear. The phenomenon of a Full Moon arises when our planet, Earth, is precisely sandwiched between the Sun and the Moon. This alignment ensures the entire side of the Moon that faces us gleams under sunlight. Thanks to the Moon’s orbit around Earth, the angle of sunlight hitting the lunar surface and being reflected back to our planet changes. That creates different lunar phases. We’ll update this article multiple times each week with the latest moonrise, moonset, Full Moon schedule, and some of what you can see in the sky each week. The Full Moon in May 2024 is the Flower Moon and that will happen at 9:53 a.m. EDT on Thursday, May 23. Here’s the complete list of Full Moons this year and their traditional names. The phenomenon of a Full Moon arises when our plan

  From Mongabay Magazine By  Farhana Parvin   Edited by - Amal Udawatta Bangladesh has seen the highest number of olive ridley turtle eggs this year, a conservationist group says. The olive ridley’s main nesting ground is different islands of the country’s southeastern district, Cox’s Bazar, in the Bay of Bengal. The key reasons behind the success are extensive conservation action across beaches and an awareness program among local people. Conservationists say they believe success might decline if the current pace of tourism and related infrastructure development is not checked, as they appear to disturb ecosystems. This year, Bangladesh has seen its highest number of olive ridley turtle eggs, thanks to extensive conservation actions, including building awareness among local people and the vigilance of local conservation groups to ensure favorable conditions for the species. Nature Conservation Management (NACOM)  found 12,425 eggs in five turtle hatcheries — Pachar Island, Shilkali Is

     From - Knowable Magazine    By  -  Boyce  Upholt   Edited by  - Amal Udawatta  N ew Zealand has long been known as a place for the birds — quite literally. Before people arrived 700 years ago, the archipelago hosted an idiosyncratic ecosystem, nearly free of mammals. More than 200 bird species filled a food web all their own. Rather than cows or antelopes, there was a family of flightless birds known as moa. And in place of apex predators like tigers, New Zealand had Haast’s eagle. Ever since a group of farm workers drained a swamp in the late 1860s and uncovered its buried bones, this eagle has captivated researchers. Julius Haast, the explorer and geologist who published the first notes on the species, described it as “a raptorial bird of enormous dimensions.” Today, biologists estimate that the eagles weighed up to 33 pounds — roughly 50 percent more than any raptor known today. But with a wingspan of only two to three meters — just beyond the range of a bald eagle — this was a