Every so often a new exhibit will be installed in the Visitor Center at Cabrillo National Monument. The latest is titled Ground Truth: Stories of Hope in Conservation.
A series of photographs demonstrates how National Park Service personnel, scientists and volunteers work to understand and conserve the complex natural environment at the tip of Point Loma.
Ground Truth is defined as the direct observation that supports a theory, confirms a recovery, and validates the hard work of restoration.
One sign in the exhibit continues to explain: From the recovery of a species to the restoration of a fragmented habitat, these photographs move beyond abstract headline to show the tangible reality of a world fighting back and those fearless leading the fight.
Photos show the measuring and mapping of life in tide pools, the removal of invasive plant species in the park, the intensive surveying of biodiversity, the monitoring of fog which provides moisture for coastal plant life, and more.
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Instant and Eternal (Sun with passing aircraft), by photographer Zhang Yanguang. Huli District, Xiamen, Fujian, China, 4 January 2025.
In the basement of the Fleet Science Center, a place few visitors go, there’s an incredible exhibition of astrophotography titled ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year.
Astronomy Photographer of the Year is a global competition that, in 2025, received almost 6000 entries from 68 countries. The Fleet’s exhibition includes all of the prizewinning photographs. There are photos of starry skies over Earthly landscapes and photos of celestial objects very distant from our tiny planet.
I’ve always loved astronomy and cosmology. Looking up at the night sky gives one a feeling of overwhelming wonder. The beauty, the complexity, the sheer enormity of this universe can hardly be grasped with our very limited eyes.
These photos convey that same wonder. A few examples…
Veil of Stars (NGC 6960 Veil Nebula), by photographer Zixiong Jin. Marathon Sky Park, Brewster County, Texas, USA, 28 November 2024.The Moon With Saturn, by photographer Shamiqh Gajdhar, aged 13. Jeddah, Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia, 14 October 2024.Electric Threads of the Lightning Spaghetti Nebula, by photographer Shaoyu Zhang. Deep Sky Chile Observatory, Camino del Observatorio, Rio Hurtado, Chile and Xiangcheng, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China 21, 24-25 December 2024, 3-5, 15-15, 19-31 January, 1-6 and 10-19 February 2025.The Ridge, by photographer Tom Rae. Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, Mackenzie District, New Zealand, 8 April 2024.
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Few visitors to the Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park successfully join the top-secret Mindbender Society. You, too, can become one of the elite members!
But do you have what it takes?
Visitors young and old are invited to step into Mindbender Mansion and solve “rooms” full of puzzles. Most of the puzzles can be solved geometrically or mathematically. At least one that I noticed requires a little bit of physical coordination.
By solving the brainteaser puzzles and unlocking secret passwords, museum visitors can be featured on the Mindbender Mansion’s digital Wall of Fame and achieve everlasting glory!
Mindbender Mansion is an awesome new feature of the Fleet Science Center. It’s located in the museum’s old box office area. You might recall how I blogged about the museum’s major redesign and remodel. The kid-friendly museum is now better than ever, with lots of cool new things to see and do!
A few photos I took today…
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Walk for a few minutes south down Seacoast Drive from Imperial Beach Boulevard and you will come to the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge Viewing Station.
Near a pair of benches, two free scopes allow curious people to view the wide green Tijuana River Estuary and search for birds. Four information signs help describe what is seen.
I took photos of the signs, but glare from the bright sun can make them difficult to read. I altered the contrast quite a bit.
The first sign explains that Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge is the largest remaining coastal wetland in Southern California.
The Tijuana River touches the lands and lives of people of three nations: the Kumeyaay Indian Nation, United States, and Mexico. Starting in the mountains of Baja California, the river crosses the international border just four miles from here before emptying into the Pacific Ocean…
In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt established the first wildlife refuge in Florida. Today there are more than 560 refuges… Tijuana Slough shares the mission of all refuges: to conserve wildlife, restore habitat, and protect threatened and endangered species for the benefit of present and future generations.
More than 370 species of birds frequent this area, including six threatened or endangered species, four of which can be seen from this spot. High diversity means healthy habitat, where many species find food and a safe place to rest or nest.
The landscape in front of you might appear flat and quiet, but there is more than meets the eye. Between the beach behind you and the bluffs at the southern end of this reserve, inches of elevation and slight changes in water level and chemistry create many different habitats–each specially suited to a surprising diversity of plants and animals. From the elusive long-tailed weasel hunting rodents to the tiny pygmy blue butterfly perching on pickleweed, fascinating creatures are everywhere.
This place has a pulse, and just like you, it depends on healthy circulation. At high tide, oxygen-rich ocean water pumps into the marsh, while the ebb of water at low tide carries sediment out to sea…
Scientists constantly monitor the marsh’s vital signs. Data loggers, placed around the estuary, record and transmit temperature, oxygen level, water level, and more…
The Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, one of 29 and counting, was established by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to study how human activities and natural events affect estuarine habitats in the United States. People that work at the reserve include staff from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California State Parks, City and County of San Diego, the U.S. Navy, and the Southwest Wetlands Interpretive Associates.
An old plaque is embedded in a nearby rock…
Tijuana Estuary Restoration Project
1.25 Acres
Dedicated March 24, 1999
Trying to put this plaque in context, I found this website.
Peer through one of the scopes and you might see a yellow-crowned night heron!
(At least, I believe that’s the species. I framed the nearby bird with my camera.)
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You might have heard that the Artemis II moon mission will be splashing down off the San Diego coast on Friday shortly after 5 pm. But did you know you can be watching the mission live during its lunar flyby?
This afternoon I’ve been watching live video from NASA as Artemis II has begun passing around the far side of the moon! It’s the farthest humans have ever flown from planet Earth. Over 250,000 miles!
Right now as I type this they cannot contact Earth due to loss of signal, but as soon as they come around the opposite side of the moon, we’ll hear from them again and see new views! From over a quarter million miles away!
I urge everyone to watch the live feed from NASA as this historic mission progresses. Human eyes are seeing what they have never seen before. You can watch the live feed from the NASA website. Click here!
All my photos are screenshots taken from the live video feed.
Here’s one look inside the Orion manned capsule:
And here’s the Earth–that tiny bright sliver–about to pass behind the moon as the Artemis II mission moves around the moon:
UPDATE!
Later, the crew of Artemis II would watch a solar eclipse–one never seen before! From a point near the moon!
Yes, the moon at their position appeared much larger than the sun. That tiny dot is Venus.
Science will benefit from this unique observation of the sun’s corona.
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A couple weeks ago this interesting sculpture was installed on the grass near the box office of the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. It’s titled Sound Shower.
Artist and neurobiologist Victor Hugo Minces created this immersive sound sculpture. He’s a research scientist at UC San Diego and has published work about how neural networks in the brain represent the sensory world.
The webpage concerning Sound Shower features a video that shows how the sculpture can stimulate the senses of those who stand within it. Using a hammer, a subject strikes the large chime-like pipes and experiences sound as it “showers” all around!
I wish I’d understood the sculpture’s function while gazing at it a few days ago. If by chance Sound Shower is still there when I return to Escondido, I’ll try it out.
(Different sculptures have temporarily appeared in this same place. You might recall how I blogged about a star-like sculpture a year ago.)
(While reading through Victor Minces’ website, I’ve noticed he has another sensory sculpture installed near the WorldBeat Cultural Center in Balboa Park. I think that today I’ll go experience that one!)
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This coming Saturday, November 15, 2025, between noon and 3 pm, the public is invited to step aboard Norwegian tall ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl, which is currently visiting San Diego.
The large, beautiful 1914 ship with an intriguing history is docked downtown at the Broadway Pier. It arrived yesterday and will be staying in San Diego through Sunday.
Why is the three-masted barque, based in Bergen, Norway, tied up to Broadway Pier? The Statsraad Lehmkuhl is on a 12-month global voyage as ambassador for the UN Ocean Decade. Its One Ocean Expedition includes sail training, ocean science, education and diplomacy to inspire action for a sustainable ocean.
From San Diego it will sail down to Mexico, then Central and South America. According to a banner that I photographed, the Statsraad Lehmkuhl will visit a total of 26 ports on 3 continents, and travel 30,000 nautical miles!
Yesterday I took some photos from the pier to provide an idea of the tall ship’s immense size and beauty. If you’re downtown on Saturday, you might want to step aboard. It’s your possibly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
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A special event is coming up next Saturday, November 15, 2025. Visitors to the Maritime Museum of San Diego will have the opportunity to explore how emerging technologies are transforming how we use and protect ocean resources.
The event is free with General Admission and is perfect for families, students and anyone interesting in learning about blue technology. Hours are 10 am to 4 pm.
What is Blue Tech? It’s a category of advanced technologies focused on the sustainable development of the world’s oceans and coasts, also known as the Blue Economy.
According to one sign in the Maritime Museum, there will be hands-on exploration and interactive experiences concerning underwater robots, engineering, data tools and more. Student marine clubs will be there with their own innovations, too!
Super cool!
Some high tech equipment I spotted today near the sign…
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
Today, down in the San Diego Natural History Museum’s basement Paleo Center, Mary was working on a fossil found in Mission Valley.
Visitors peering through the Paleo Center window could watch her as she removed tiny bits of sandstone from the partial skull (with horn cores and cervical vertebrae) of a Bison Latifrons, found in Ice Age stream deposits, and dating from 100,000 years ago.
She was using a small pneumatic chisel-like instrument to “clean” the fossil. It reminded me of my last dental appointment!
The ancient bison fossil was unearthed in 2020 while workers were excavating the parking lot of the old Qualcomm Stadium, getting ready for San Diego’s new Snapdragon Stadium! The ancient bison would have stood between seven and eight feet at the shoulder! Imagine it roaming eons ago in Mission Valley!
I learned The NAT has numerous unearthed fossils in line waiting to be expertly prepared. Fossils are frequently discovered at different construction sites around the city.
Right now the San Diego Natural History Museum is half open as it undergoes a monumental roof renovation. Fortunately the paleontology center on the lower level of the museum remains open. Follow various signs and you’ll find this Amazement in the Basement!
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
The newly opened Sweetwater Park on Chula Vista’s bayfront has a very unique architectural feature.
At one end of the public restrooms a sheltering roof contains an oculus. What’s an oculus? It’s a circular opening that allows natural sunlight to shine through.
During the day, the oculus casts a circle of light on bands in the concrete underfoot. You can see those curving bands in the above photograph.
By observing the light’s movement along the bands, Earth’s rotation can be tracked, as the sun “rises” in the east and “sets” in the west. Depending on the season of year, and the angle of the sun’s path through the sky, the projected light will follow a particular band.
On the wall is an explanation…
The Theory of the Seasons.
The Earth’s rotation axis is tilted by 23.5 degrees with respect to the ecliptic and is always pointed to the celestial poles as the Earth moves around the Sun. Sometimes the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun and the Sun’s rays hit the Northern Hemisphere at a shallow angle.
The Summer Solstice marks the beginning of Summer and is the longest day of the year, just as the Winter Solstice marks the beginning of Winter and is the shortest day of the year.
The Equinoxes; Equi meaning Equal, and Nox meaning Night, telling you that the day and the night are of equal length. This occurs when the Sun is directly over the Equator, in between the two Tropics and occurs around March 21st and September 23rd marking the beginning of Spring and Autumn.
If this sounds like a whole bunch of mumbo-jumbo, fortunately there’s an illustration to help one visualize the concept…
Now consider my next photograph.
On June 21, as the summer begins, the sun will be at its highest in San Diego, here in the Northern Hemisphere.
Because of this, the sun’s light projected through the oculus will come from a high angle, and follow the lower band as Earth turns and the day progresses.
It just so happened that I visited Sweetwater Park on June 18. I arrived at the oculus a little after noon.
You can see the circle of light is almost atop the June 21 band, and is now to the right of the central drain, past the 12 PM mark.
The light would continue to move right along the same band as the sun descends in the sky toward the horizon.
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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
