McClellan Ranch Preserve

The air is relatively clear now, so it might be a good time to enjoy some outdoor activity. It looks like smoke may be moving in to the area later today.

Honor Indigenous Peoples Day by learning the history of the people whose land Bay Area cities are built upon. This three-part series, Indigenous History Bay Area, produced by Peninsula Open Space Trust features California State Parks archeologist, Mark Hylkema. It's an excellent introduction to the native people of our region and their culture.

Enjoy the birds you see as you explore McClellan Ranch Preserve with the help of this short article by Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society.

Join Grassroots Ecology TODAY, September 9 at 4:00 p.m. for a program on our local biodiversity. Although this virtual program only lasts an hour, you can join in a biodiversity scavenger hunt throughout the week.

Celebrate California Biodiversity! Join in some of the virtual events and activities happening today through September 13.

It's Coastal Cleanup Month! You don't have to travel to a shoreline to make a difference. Much of the trash that litters beaches and fouls the ocean comes from neighborhood streets, parking lots, and playgrounds. Let's stop it there. Check out the resources Grassroots Ecology has shared here and find out how to add what you pick up to the statewide data.

The greatest threat for elevated thunderstorms cloud with lightning will be from today through tomorrow morning. Lightning and gusty winds have the potential to... produce new fire starts. Now is the time to prepare if a fire starts near you. Visit http://readyforwildfire.org for more info. #CaWx See more

Was fortunate to capture tonights flyover of the International Space Station (ISS) as it passed over the Windmill at Blackberry Farm tonight traveling from Southeast to Northwest. 5 crew members, ~240m/400km altitude, traveling 17,500mph/28000km/hr! Hope you got to see it!

If you're going to look for the Comet tonight, why not stay up until a little after 10pm to watch the International Space Station (ISS) make a good pass over out sky. It rises on the horizon at 10:04pm in the SouthWest and moves slowly across the sky and sets in the NorthEast. Give it a little time to gain some altitude. Info is in the graphic below from heavens-above.com. Enjoy!

Comet NEOWISE Update from our good friend Rick Baldridge! Easy way to find the Comet in the evening sky. Binoculars might make it easier the first time you try and find it! Thanks, Rick Baldridge!

There is currently a bright comet visible in our early morning skies. The first photo shows Comet NEOWISE in the sky above Cupertino and the South Bay looking North East. The second photograph shows the comet in a darker/less light polluted sky in the East Bay. To see the comet, find a location away from lights where you can look to the North East (you can easily use your phone to locate North East). You should find a place that has no large obstructions in that direction. I...f you can find a location where you can get above the light pollution of the Valley you will have a darker sky which will give better contrast and make it easier to find. Bring a small pair of binoculars to help you locate the comet in a hazy sky. For a finder chart, look to the webpages of Sky and Telescope Magazine, Astronomy Magazine, or Spaceweather.com. You can also do a search for it in you're favorite search application. (Make sure to give you're location, ie - SF Bay Area) Comets are remnants of the formation of our solar system. They are composed of ice, organic materials, dirt, and other debris. They are located in a region called the Oort Cloud - way beyond the orbit of our furthest known planet. These materials can be dislodged from their orbit via collisions or gravitational influence of another object and become drawn toward the Sun by its massive gravity. As the comet gets closer to the Sun the ice begins to melt and the solar wind from the Sun blows the material away from the comet, creating it's "tail". The tail of a comet will always point away from the Sun due to the solar wind. Some comets are in orbit around the Sun and re-appear on a known basis, others get flung back out into space, others actually hit the Sun, and some comets completely melt into a debris cloud and dissipate into space. Remember to bring warm clothes and enjoy! See more

Space is still available in next week's Nature & Science Discovery Camp. This camp will be held entirely outdoors at the Blackberry Farm picnic area. Campers will learn firsthand about nature and science through hands-on experiments, observation, and nature journaling, crafts, and games. Register at https://bit.ly/3etIvTJ.