Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 16-17: The Mid-Hudson Valley Gem & Mineral Society, Inc. will be hosting its 48th annual Gem, Mineral, Fossil & Jewelry Show & Sale at Gold’s Gym in Poughkeepsie.
The Autumnal Equinox takes place on Friday afternoon, Sept. 22, at 4:02 p.m. At that moment, Earth will angle perfectly sideways to the Sun. Neither pole will tip toward or away from that favorite star of ours. And therefore, as the media never tire of reminding us, days and nights should theoretically be equal. We’ve often pointed out that this is never true.
Friday, Sept. 8: Revkin will discuss lessons “learned and unlearned” during his 30 years of reporting on climate change – from the North Pole to the Vatican.
Monday, August 21: For the first time in nearly four decades, a total solar eclipse sweeps a path across the mainland US. Most backyard astronomers have never seen one. No surprise; they’re rare. For any spot on Earth, totality happens once every 360 years on average. Some places, like Los Angeles, will wait more than a millennium. Even if you can’t make it to the path of totality, there will be an eclipse-viewing party at Red Hook’s Linden Avenue Middle School and another at Rhinebeck’s Starr Library. Don’t forget your goggles!
A look at the flora and fauna that can thrive an ordinary Hudson Valley dog pen.
Two geologists hike up to an old bluestone quarry and find some rare fossils.
Sociable and mischievous, and possibly intelligent, they’re quite a bit different from the stoic turkey vulture, whose great sense of smell they sometimes exploit to lead them to food.
At last June’s BioBlitz, scientists and expert naturalists worked with local residents to identify 280 species of plants and wildlife at the Thorn Preserve in Woodstock. On July 28 and July 29, the third annual BioBlitz will again bring citizen scientists and volunteers to the 60-acre preserve for a search through meadow, forest, stream, pond, and wetlands, in an event that is free and open to the public.
Plagued by high levels of bacteria and chemicals from sewage discharges and runoff, the poor health of the Wallkill was evidenced by a bright green, toxic algal bloom last summer which lasted some 80 days before dying off.
Friday-Saturday, July 28-29: Citizen scientists of all ages (no special training or experience necessary) will be teamed with scientists and expert naturalists to study the wildlife, plants and biodiversity at the Catskill Center’s Thorn Preserve. Bring your smartphone and put it to use cataloguing and photographing the park’s flora and fauna.