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Nature

On Photographing the Milky Way

Former SpaceX engineer Ian Norman runs Lonely Speck, a site that teaches aspiring astrophotographers how to take pictures of the night sky. This splendid vignette reveals the art and passion behind his work, with stunning wide-field landscape shots of the Milky Way set against the deserts of Reno, Nevada. “It puts into perspective just how…

Sounds: Inside a Bat Cave

What would it sound like to be in a cave with bats, in a bat hibernaculum? With the recording below, designed for listening with headphones to simulate being surrounded by bats’ sounds, you’ll know. (Headphones make a discernible difference – it’s really quite something.) There are other tracks in the series, too: lemurs, humpback whales,…

An Animated Chart of 42 North American Butterflies

From Eleanor Lutz @ Tabletop Whale, a beautiful, animated chart. Here’s how Ms. Lutz describes her creation: I checked out six butterfly field guides from the library and picked out some of the species I thought were the most unique and beautiful. It’s meant as a chart of decorative species illustrations rather than an educational…

After removing a giant dam in Washington State

After a huge dam was demolished in Washington, U.S. Geological Survey researchers say salmon populations began to recover and 70 acres of new beach provided a new habitat for Dungeness crabs, clams, and other species. Via Glines Canyon Dam explosion: Washington State dam demolition @ Slate.