February 22 - Jug Handle

Jug Handle - To conserve heat in cold waters, the sea lion will raise their uninsulated flippers to stick out above the water's surface. The arc this forms can resemble the handle of a jug.

February 8 - Panda Winter

Wakeful Winter - Giant pandas' diet consists almost exclusively of bamboo. Because this grass is so incredibly nutrient poor, pandas are not able to store enough fat to hibernate during the winter like other bears.


They spend most of their day eating bamboo or foraging. It is a long wakeful winter for the Giant Panda as they are constantly on the move to stay warm, and eat enough bamboo to sustain their body weight during the winter months.

February 3 - Scattered Halo

Scattered Halo - Unlike sundogs, sun halos are created when sunlight passes through ice crystals that are oriented at different angles. This scatters the light in many directions and produces a halo. Frequently seen around the Sun, they occasionally form around the Moon as well.

Sundogs - an atmospheric phenomenon that creates bright spots of light in the sky (aka Mock Suns), often on a luminous ring or on either side of the Sun. Sundogs occur when the Sun is at a 45 degree angle and at its lowest point on the horizon. As the sun rises higher the rays passing through the crystals are increasingly skewed from the horizontal plane. Their angle of deviation increases, and the sundogs move further from the sun.