From the USDA Blog:
Earlier this year, approximately 80 people oohed and ahhed as meteors streaked across the sky from all directions over Shasta Lake during the Perseid meteor showers. In partnership with the Shasta Astronomy Club, the Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area provided visitors with expert information on celestial objects and events and a guided tour through the night sky.
This weekend, you have an opportunity to do the same when the 2013 Leonid meteor shower peaks on the night of Saturday, Nov. 16 into the early morning hours of Sunday, Nov. 17. According to NASA, Leonids are bits of debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle. Every 33 years the comet visits the inner solar system and leaves debris in its wake. Many of these have drifted across the November portion of Earth’s orbit. Whenever our planet hits one, meteors appear to be flying out of the constellation Leo. Unfortunately for meteor watchers, this year a full moon will likely wash out all but the very brightest Leonids.
Last August, the dark night skies along the shores of California’s Shasta Lake provided the perfect backdrop for the annual Perseid meteors which put on a dazzling display of shooting stars each year. At times, 50 to 100 meteors streaked across the sky in an hour. Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area staff compiled a list of sightings to contribute to NASA’s ongoing tracking for this meteor shower.
Apparently I’ve been going to the wrong forests; I NEVER leave any of the places I hike in looking for Cheetos and pizza! I guess I’d better head up to Inyo!
The Plumas National Forest is planning to conduct a number of prescribed burns this fall to reduce hazardous fuels, and improve ecosystem health. Planned projects include burning piled materials, low to moderate intensity understory burns of vegetation on the forest floor, and moderate to high intensity broadcast burning of brush. The goals of these projects are to reduce the severity of future wildfires and provide added protection for communities in the wildland urban interface, to promote more diverse and resilient ecosystems, and improve habitat for wildlife.
From Craigslist:
Thirty years. It’s taken Thirty FREAKIN’ years, but Calvin and Hobbes is no available in eBook form!