Night Skies: The Hunter, the Dog, and Other Night Sky Highlights for January 2018

This is the California Nebula. It’s about 1800 light years away.  Right now, it’s just about directly overhead.  The California Nebula has a visual magnitude of +5, but it is extremely difficult to spot with the naked eye.  I had to enhance the image by increasing the saturation of the color and brightness to make […]

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Merle Smith Davis

February 11, 1944 – December 28, 2017 OCRACOKE — Merle Smith Davis, 73, of Ocracoke, NC died Thursday,December 28, 2017. Born in Durham, NC on February 11, 1944, she was thedaughter of the late Irma Gunther Smith and Laurence Smith. Merle was born in Durham, NC, and grew up in Chapel Hill.  Shegraduated from Chapel […]

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Officials Seek More Detail On Seismic Testing

Four companies have been asked to submit additional information about proposed seismic surveying for offshore oil and gas resource development because the original proposals did not consider the latest scientific studies on the harmful impacts to marine life, the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management announced Friday. According to a press release from DCM, the […]

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