25 Years Ago An Unknown Chinese Protester Stood In Front Of A Tank In Defiance Of The Government. No

Trail of the Returner : Familiar stars of a northern winter’s night shine in this night skyview, taken near Zhangye, Gansu, China and the border with Inner Mongolia. During the early hours of December 17 Orion is near center in the single exposure that captures a fireball streaking across the sky, almost as bright as yellowish Mars shining on the right. Splitting Gemini’s twin bright stars Castor and Pollux near the top of the frame, the fireball’s trail and timing are consistent with the second skipping atmospheric entry of the Chang'e 5 mission’s returner capsule. The returner capsule was successfully recovered after landing in Inner Mongolia, planet Earth with about 2 kilograms of lunar material on board. The lunar sample is thought to contain relatively young material collected near the Mons Rumker region of the Moon’s Oceanus Procellarum. Launched on November 23 UT, China’s Chang'e 5 mission is the first lunar sample return mission since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 mission in 1976. via NASA

Antares, Fire Dust

Willie-wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys)

© Bill (OFF and ON)

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Falsetober 29 - 31 (The end) Thanks so much for reading everyone! ❤️ You can preorder the whole story as a physical booklet here. There’s also prints  and original artwork from the whole month available!

Hello! You take requests, right? Please ignore this if I'm mistaken. I'd love to see some good green heron faces, though. Ever since I saw this image ((c) Larry Jordan, The Birder's Report) I've been in love.

ohhh i do take requests and i love them !!

Green Heron (Butorides virescens)

© Gregg Petersen

© Richard Lachance

© John Diener

© Forest Jarvis

© Alejandra Pons

oh but don't worry...

i saved the best for last...

cause i know the angle you REALLY wanted is...

© Mikael Behrens

ardeidae buddies @unironic-memes

turns out that I never posted my inktobers from last year so have some birbs

the crested barbet is a sub-saharan african bird. highly territorial, this bird is very defensive and has been recorded killing rats and snakes on their territory. males and females appear identical. both sexes participate in rearing of the chicks, of which they may have up to five broods of during a breeding season. they primarily feed on insects and other birds’ eggs, but they may feed on small animals from time to time. they roost & nest in hollow trees and logs. their markings are very distinct from other barbets, which often feature more blocky, less striped markings.