Nature Moncton Information Line

Wednesday, 19 September 2018

Sept 19 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, September 19, 2018 ( Wednesday)

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor,

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca . Please advise if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com.

Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Judy Marsh marshj@nbnet.nb.ca

Info Line # 506-384-6397"(384-NEWS)

**A big thank you to Ronnie-Gilles LeBlanc for coming to Nature Moncton on Tuesday evening to explain a part of our history most of us are unaware the impact of today. Ronnie-Gilles explained how the Acadian people built these massive dike systems with the use of aboiteaux to create rich agricultural lands, some that are still used today. Their work is considered among the first major civil engineering works on this continent. His explanation of what this led to was facinating and led to many many questions from his audience.

** Louise Richard has found a stash of a favourite edible mushroom Hen of the Woods in Moncton and sends a photo of her collection. Louise holds the location secrete as she is able to collect it at that site each year. This is a late appearing mushroom with September 18 actually a relatively early date to find it. It often does not appear until well into October and always under oak trees.

**Both Dale Gaskin of Dawson Settlement and Dave Christie in Harvey are still getting a few RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD [Colibri à gorge rubis visits as of Tuesday. Dale had one at his feeder midday on Tuesday and David also had one at his feeder on Tuesday morning that was dive-bombed by a second one in true hummingbird combative behaviour.

** Brian Stone came across an Orb Weaver Spider as he unpacked his tent after a visit from Keji Park. It is the Fierce Orb Weaver, confirmed by Bug guide and is found in the Northern US and Canada so it assumedly is indeed present in New Brunswick. A link to a web site is attached below on this spider species.

https://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/fierce-orbweaver

Brian feels fairly certain it did indeed travel with him and not of local origin. It was a good size spider but not as large as some of the fishing spiders we come across. The markings are quite distinctive with the orange patches on the abdomen frontal area with a distinct white design patch in front of that with banded legs.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton

FIERCE ORBWEAVER SPIDER (Araneus saevus). SEPT. 17, 2018. BRIAN STONE

HEN-OF-THE-WOODS MUSHROOM. SEPT 18, 2018. LOUISE RICHARD

Tuesday, 18 September 2018

Sept 18 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, September18, 2018 (Tuesday)

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com . Please advise if any errors are noted in wording or photo labeling.

For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .

Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Brian Stone bjpstone@gmail.com

Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)

** The Nature Moncton monthly meeting tonight, Tuesday night, at 7:00, at the Moncton Mapleton Park Rotary Lodge, goes up front today with the write up below. Membership forms will be sent out again under separate cover for members to have ready, as well as the survey forms to be completed for the activities committee.

Nature Moncton September Meeting
How Marshes Became Dykelands
Date: September 18, 2018
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Mapleton Park Rotary Lodge (across from Cabela’s)
Speaker: Ronnie-Gilles LeBlanc

As naturalists and bird watchers, we roam over many wild places. And in our quests we often find ourselves in or near the very rich-in-biodiversity salt marshes of the region. But many of the most accessible marshes having now been converted to dykelands, have you ever asked yourself why and how that happened? The presentation offered at Nature Moncton’s September meeting will focus on this subject. The talk given by well- renowned historian Ronnie-Gilles LeBlanc, who has had a long and illustrious career with the Université de Moncton and Environment Canada, will help us understand better these very special places. Without people realizing it, much of the Bay of Fundy's polders or dykeland in both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia offers some of the best farmland in the world which has been achieved thanks to the « aboiteaux ». This technology, which originated in North America with French settlers nearly four hundred years ago, has evolved very little over the centuries. Considered among the first major civil engineering works on this continent, the aboiteau system allowed the Acadian people to prosper until the middle of the eighteenth century and it is thanks to this technology that the agricultural regions of the Bay of Fundy flourished in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This presentation will address issues such as the origin of the aboiteau system as well as its operation, with illustrations from yesterday and today that will illuminate for us the complexity of a device designed to cope with the most powerful tides in the world. As naturalists, knowledge of nature is always something we strive for and this presentation should help us understand much better an important part of the natural world that surrounds us. Don’t miss it!

** Brian Coyle comments that on a Sunday morning hike in a wooded area across from his Upper Mountain Rd. home, he suddenly came across a flurry of migratory activity that included CAPE MAY WARBLERS [Paruline tigrée] on the tops of spruce trees, BLUE-HEADED VIREO [Viréo à tête bleue], RED-EYED VIREO [Viréo aux yeux rouges], COMMON YELLOWTHROAT [Paruline masquée], YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER [Paruline à croupion jaune] and a few NORTHERN PARULA [Paruline à collier] warblers. All of this action seemed to be over a span of about twenty feet of bushes. These migratory pockets can be awesome at this time of year. He was not able to get photos, but did get a Northern Parula Warbler to settle for a moment. Note the split eye arcs, yellow colour restricted to the throat and upper chest, wing bars and slight green color on the head. He also came across a doe and a buck WHITE-TAILED DEER [Cerf de Virginie] that seemed to be travelling together all summer and assumed them to be brother and sister from last year. The oncoming deer rut will probably have them going their separate ways.

** Jack Perry came across a rather interesting RED SQUIRREL [Ecureuil roux) scenario at the Irving Nature Park in Saint John. He has walked past a certain post many times over the past years but it is the first time that he has ever encountered it as a major dining table of Rose Hips chewed up by squirrels to make for an impressive display. The rose hips happen to be very abundant this year in that area so it is an easily gathered food source.

** BONAPARTE'S GULLS [Mouette de Bonaparte] tend to breed to the west of us, however large numbers tend to migrate in this direction in the fall. Aldo Dorio is noting a build-up of them around Neguac wharf. Aldo also photographed a still present LESSER YELLOWLEGS [Petit Chevalier] on the shore line of Hay Island, as well as an abundant crop of WINTERBERRY HOLLY.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton

LESSER YELLOWLEGS. SEPT 17, 2018. ALDO DORIO

NORTHERN PARULA WARBLER. SEPTEMBER 16, 2018. BRIAN COYLE

RED SQUIRREL DINING POST. SEPT 17, 2018. JACK PERRY

WINTERBERRY HOLLY. SEPT 17, 2018. ALDO DORIO

Monday, 17 September 2018

Sept 17 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, Sep. 17, 2018 (Monday)

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com

Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: David Christie maryspt@mac.com

Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)

** The Nature Moncton September meeting is tomorrow night, Tuesday, Sept. 18 at the Mapleton Rotary Lodge, at 7 o’clock. The write-up is repeated at the end of this message.

** Jennifer McCabe found clumps of the mushroom SCALY PHOLIOTA [Pholiote écailleuse] growing on an apple tree in her yard, and got photos. The mushrooms will grow a fair bit larger and open up more. This is not considered an edible, as it causes gastric upset in some people. The spore print would be dark brown.

** More from Brian Stone and I’s visit to Kejimkujik National Park and some of his photos. We have five common puffball mushrooms, the COMMON PUFFBALL [], GEM-STUDDED PUFFBALL [Vesse-de-loup gemmé], PEAR-SHAPED PUFFBALL [Vesse-de-loup piriforme], GIANT PUFFBALL [Vesse-de-loup géante], and PIGSKIN POISON PUFFBALL [Scéroderme vulgaire]. The first four have a white, homogeneous interior, when in the fresh state, and are considered edible. The fifth one, the Pigskin Poison Puffball, has a tough, marked outer skin as in a photo Brian took recently. When the interior is cut, 90% of this species specimens will be dark gray to black when cut across. It is considered toxic and not an edible.

The abundance of Hemlock trees in Keji Park make it a great spot for the BROWN CREEPER [Grimpereau brun], of which Brian got a photo of this hard-to-get-to-stay-still species. Both WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH [Sittelle à poitrine blanche] and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH [Sittelle à poitrine rousse] are present in the park to enjoy the same old park.

WHITE-TAILED DEER [Cerf de Virginie] are very comfortable at the park, and a few does and fawns were spotted, fawns still very spotted.

The relatively common caterpillar of the AMERICAN DAGGER MOTH [Acronicte d’Amérique] was observed. Shawn Cormier also got an American Dagger Moth in his Moncton yard, pointing out that the hairs or setae can irritate human flesh, if handled, which is the case for several of the hairy caterpillars.

Brian got a photo of a BLANDING’S TURTLE [Tortue de Blanding] in Keji Park, on the last day of his stay, thanks to the sharp spotting of his sister, Carol Shea. This is the only Maritime site where this species of turtle is present, and it is very protected by park staff. Brian suspected that the individual he photographed was sunning itself on a floating loon nest platform. It was larger than any Painted Turtle or Wood Turtle that Brian has seen.

Keji Park is not known for sandpipers at the main park, but Brian did get photos of a SOLITARY SANDPIPER [Chevalier solitaire] that dropped by, and a young-of-the-year SPOTTED SANDPIPER [Chevalier grivelé] that was probably a resident there.

MEADOW BEAUTY [Rhexie de Virginie] and GOLDEN PERT [Gratiole dorée] are two rare flowering plants in Maritime Canada, but found in notable abundance at Keji Park. Meadow Beauty was going into its seed-pod stage with a few blooming flowers remaining, but Golden Pert was in full bloom. Golden Pert has been found in a few New Bruswick sites in recent years. WATER PENNYWORT [Hydrocotyle à ombelle] is another plant that is common at Keji but rare elsewhere in the Maritimes.

We came across an ICHNEUMON WASP that was relatively easy to identify to species by the noticable white sections on its antennae and colourful reddish abdomen.

Brian also got a photo of the immature land stage of the Eastern Newt called the Red Eft. This stage emerges from the water where it is born to spend usually 3 years on land before returning to the water as an adult to procreate.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton

AMERICAN DAGGER MOTH CATERPILLAR. SEPT. 05, 2018. BRIAN STONE

AMERICAN DAGGER MOTH CATERPILLAR. SEPT. 16, 2018. SHAWN CORMIER

BLANDING'S TURTLE. SEPT. 12, 2018. BRIAN STONE

BROWN CREEPER. SEPT. 06, 2018.. BRIAN STONE

MEADOW BEAUTY . SEPT. 08, 2018. BRIAN STONE

MEADOW BEAUTY SEED PODS. SEPT. 08, 2018. BRIAN STONE

ICHNEUMON WASP (Limonethe maurator (female). SEPT. 07, 2018. BRIAN STONE

GOLDEN PERT IN BLOOM. SEPT. 08, 2018. BRIAN STONE

EASTERN NEWT (RED EFT IMMATURE FORM). SEPT. 11, 2018. BRIAN STONE

WATER PENNYWORT. SEPT. 11, 2018.

SPOTTED SANDPIPER (YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR). SEPT. 10, 2018. BRIAN STONE

SOLITARY SANDPIPER. SEPT. 08, 2018. BRIAN STONE

SCALY PHOLIOTA MUSHROOMS. SEPT 16, 2018. JENNIFER McCABE

PIGSKIN POISON PUFFBALL MUSHROOM. SEPT. 06, 2018. BRIAN STONE

WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. SEPT. 06, 2018. BRIAN STONE

WHITE-TAILED DEER FAWN. SEPT. 05, 2018.. BRIAN STONE

Sunday, 16 September 2018

Sept 16 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, Sep. 16, 2018 (Sunday)

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com

Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: David Christie maryspt@mac.com

Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)

** Nature Moncton’s fall season starts on Tuesday evening, September 18, with the first monthly meeting at 7 o’clock at the Mapleton Rotary Lodge, across from the former Cabela’s location. Ronnie- Gilles LeBlanc will be the presenter to tell us how our region’s dykelands, that we roam so frequently, came about and how very significant they are. The write-up is attached below:

As naturalists and bird watchers, we roam over many wild places. And in our quests we often find ourselves in or near the very rich-in-biodiversity salt marshes of the region. But many of the most accessible marshes having now been converted to dykelands, have you ever asked yourself why and how that happened? The presentation offered at Nature Moncton’s September meeting will focus on this subject. The talk given by well- renowned historian Ronnie-Gilles LeBlanc, who has had a long and illustrious career with the Université de Moncton and Environment Canada, will help us understand better these very special places. Without people realizing it, much of the Bay of Fundy's polders or dykeland in both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia offers some of the best farmland in the world which has been achieved thanks to the « aboiteaux ». This technology, which originated in North America with French settlers nearly four hundred years ago, has evolved very little over the centuries. Considered among the first major civil engineering works on this continent, the aboiteau system allowed the Acadian people to prosper until the middle of the eighteenth century and it is thanks to this technology that the agricultural regions of the Bay of Fundy flourished in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This presentation will address issues such as the origin of the aboiteau system as well as its operation, with illustrations from yesterday and today that will illuminate for us the complexity of a device designed to cope with the most powerful tides in the world. As naturalists, knowledge of nature is always something we strive for and this presentation should help us understand much better an important part of the natural world that surrounds us. Don’t miss it!

** Louise Nichols, Wendy Sullivan and Elaine Gallant visited Petit-Cap on Friday afternoon to check on shorebirds. Among the expected shorebirds, Louise got a nice photo of a HUDSONIAN GODWIT [Barge hudsonienne], as well as one in kneeling position, as well as what they thought was a STILT SANDPIPER [Bécasseau à échasses] but were not able to get a good photo due to the sudden appearance of a bounding dog on the scene. A few sightings of Stilt Sandpiper were made at that site on Thursday; there seem to be more reports of them than usual this year.

** Dave Christie comments that he usually has the last hummingbird of the season at Mary’s Point around the end of the first week of September. This year RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS [Colibri à gorge rubis] were regular until Sept. 5, then none until Friday, Sept. 14, when an apparent juvenile male was fueling up on Phlox and late-flowering Hosta. Dave also had a second hummingbird individual [somewhat larger] that dropped by on Saturday morning. He felt this one to be a female with clean white throat while the straggler on Friday had a streaked throat that suggested an immature male. Saturday’s visitor came right inside Dave’s sunporch, requiring netting and release.

On Sept. 12, while releasing a Blue Jay trying to steal dog food from his porch, Dave noted a brightly marked carrion beetle, the TOMENTOSE BURYING BEETLE [Nécrophore à thorax tomenteux], named because of its hairy yellow thorax. Like many carrion beetles, it is showing mites clinging to its body, in the photo that Dave got of it.

** Brian Stone and I spent time at Keji Park in Nova Scotia last week. I spent a few days with him and we scoured trails and waterways for interesting items, and found lots. We’ll dribble out some of the photos we got together and also some that Brian got solo over the next days.

It was interesting to watch a group of six adult COMMON LOONS [Plongeon huard] gathering together in a small inlet, suspected to be post-breeding birds gathering together for migration later.

The plant PARTRIDGEBERRY [Pain de perdrix] was in fruit, showing the two “eyes” at the base of the fruit, as a result of the split ovary, and also the heavy white central line of its leaf. Two mushrooms noted were HEMLOCK VARNISH SHELF [ganoderme de la pruche] that grows only on Hemlock trees, and the RED-BELTED POLYPORE [Polypore marginée] which is not as particular about its tree substrate; the belt will turn reddish as it matures.

We encountered a lot of WITCH-HAZEL [Hamamélis de Virginie] shrub on one trail. This shrub has some unique features. Its buds are still enclosed and will burst into a bright yellow bloom in October, and sometimes even into November, defying frosty times, to form the witch-hazel nut, while other plants are long past flowering. The Witch-hazel also is host to the Witch-hazel Cone Gall that forms the unique gall on the leaf that’s photographed. It will turn red as it gets older and can be very numerous. There is also a lot of Witch-hazel shrubs at French Fort Cove in Miramichi.

One beach area of a freshwater lake had many small PICKEREL FROGS [Grenouille des marais]. They were very cryptic and very fast.

An area of the vining plant GROUNDNUT [Patates en chapelet], a.k.a. Indian Potato, was displaying its colourful unique blooms. These blooms are triploid in our area, which means they do not produce viable seed. However, this plant does produce very edible small tubers, thus the name Indian Potato, which are on underground roots, which are very capable of producing new plants, not requiring seeds to propagate.

A GARTER SNAKE [Couleuvre rayée] was encountered and cooperated for photos, including one of Brian conversing with it. Note the enlarged area in the body that indicates it had recently had a meal, very probably one of the abundant frogs in the area.

A nice stand of NEW YORK FERN [Dryoptéride de New York] was encountered. The only two native ferns that we have with pinnae going to the base are the New York Fern and the Ostrich Fern [Ptérétide noduleuse]. Ostrich Fern is much larger and has no spore cases on the underside of the pinnae.

It was nice to see several BAND-WINGED MEADOWHAWK [Sympétrum semi-ambré] dragonflies in one area. Note the huge, darker reddish-brown area at the base of the hind wing to easily identify this meadowhawk.

Several young of the year AMERICAN TOADS [Crapaud d’Amérique] were commonly seen. Note the parotoid glands pointed out to easily identify our only toad, plus the very warty skin. The parotoid gland gives off an offensive liquid when the toad is handled. This makes many predators drop it, except for some such as snakes and Broad-winged Hawks.

BEECH-DROPS [Épifage de Virginie] is a plant found under Beech trees that is parasitic on the tree’s roots. Most plants were well past their blooming stage but a few were in full bloom, which can be appreciated in close-up photos. The plants are usually 4 to 10 inches in height. They do not photosynthesize as they get their nutrition compliments of the Beech roots.

The red pods of MARSH ST-JOHN’S-WORT [Millepertuis de Virginie] were showing nicely as they mature.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton

AMERICAN TOAD. SEPT. 07, 2018. BRIAN STONE

BAND-WINGED MEADOWHAWK DRAGONFLY. SEPT. 07, 2018.. BRIAN STONE

BEECH DROPS. SEPT. 07, 2018. BRIAN STONE

BRIAN STONE CHARMING GARTER SNAKE. SEPT 6, 2018. NELSON POIRIER

COMMON LOONS. SEPT. 07, 2018. BRIAN STONE

GARTER SNAKE. SEPT. 07, 2018.. BRIAN STONE

GROUNDNUT AKA INDIAN POTATO. SEPT. 07, 2018. BRIAN STONE

HEMLOCK VARNISH SHELF MUSHROOM. SEPT. 07, 2018.. BRIAN STONE

HUDSONIAN GODWIT . LOUISE NICHOLS. SEPT 14, 2018

MARSH ST. JOHN'S WORT. SEPT. 07, 2018. BRIAN STONE

NEW YORK FERN. SEPT. 07, 2018.. BRIAN STONE

PARTRIDGE BERRY PLANT IN FRUIT. SEPT. 07, 2018. BRIAN STONE

PICKEREL FROG. SEPT. 07, 2018.. BRIAN STONE

RED-BELTED POLYPORE MUSHROOM. SEPT. 07, 2018.. BRIAN STONE

STILT SANDPIPER. LOUISE NICHOLS. SEPT 14, 2018

TOMENTOSE BURYING BEETLE (Nicrophorus tomentosus) .SEPT12, 2018. DAVE CHRISTIE

WITCH HAZEL GALL. SEPT. 07, 2018. BRIAN STONE

WITCH HAZEL WITH BUD YET TO OPEN TO FLOWER. SEPT. 07, 2018. BRIAN STONE

Friday, 14 September 2018

Sept 14 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, September 14, 2018 (Friday)

Please advise editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any errors are noted in wording or photo labeling.

For more information on Nature Moncton, check into the website at www.naturemoncton.com

Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca

Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com.

** Brian Coyle was able to get more warbler photos on Thursday and does feel that he may have mistaken PALM WARBLERS [Paruline à couronne rousse] for a group of migrating CAPE MAY WARBLERS [Paruline tigrée], now that he was able to get more photos that are attached today. It seems to have been a great year for Cape May warblers from the many reports of them. Brian also has two BLUE-HEADED VIREOS [Viréo à tête bleue] chasing each other about and vocalizing. Brian still has a RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD [Colibri à gorge rubis] coming to his feeder each day, and he still saw it present on Thursday morning.

** Chuck Prince monitors wildlife activity with trail cameras to get some recent MOOSE [Orignal] activity. These big beautiful animals seem to be in excellent condition and, as of August, the velvet on the male antlers is still very much intact, fuelling the extremely fast growth rate the antlers are capable of.

** Dale Gaskin has been in contact with New Brunswick farmer Mike Dickinson, and he will be able to supply Black-oil Sunflower, grown here in New Brunswick, to Nature Moncton at the October or November meeting. Surprisingly, the price of $15 per bag is still the same as it always has been. To reserve your supply with the number of bags you would like, call Dale at 734-2197, leaving a message if necessary. This is not a Nature Moncton fundraiser, but in support of a New Brunswick farmer and bird seed having a much lower carbon footprint.

** Aldo Dorio shares a photo of a bountiful crop of ripening WILD RAISIN, aka Witherod. It is at its pink stage, just starting to ripen to dark blue. Look carefully at the photo and you’ll see a CEDAR WAXWING [Jaseur d'Amérique] among the berry clusters as this berry is attractive to fruit connoisseurs despite its very large seed. Aldo also photographed some SANDERLINGS [Bécasseau sanderling] enjoying the Hay Island shoreline.

** Brian Stone recently got some excellent photos of our largest dragonfly, the DRAGONHUNTER [l’Hagénie]. This colourful dragonfly preys on a variety of insects, but that can also include other smaller dragonflies and damselflies. This dragonfly is in the clubtail group. Note the enlarged area at the end of the abdominal segments. Brian also got a photo of a POWEDERED DANCER [Argie svelte] Damselfly.

** This week’s Sky-at-a-Glance is included in this edition, courtesy of sky-guru Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, September 15 – September 22
This is the time of year when the evening sky seems static; the stars are in the same place night after night when they appear in twilight. As you can see below, the Sun sets about two minutes earlier each evening. With reference to the stars, Earth rotates once every 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds. But since our clocks are based on a 24-hour solar day rather than the sidereal day, the stars rise about 4 minutes earlier each evening. The rate of earlier sunsets this time of year cancels much of that. Although the stars rise earlier we see also see them sooner. That is a bonus because many of the finest objects to observe in a telescope are prominent now, particularly the Milky Way.

The opposite occurs in spring when the later sunsets add to the earlier rising of stars. The constellations seem to fly past over a month or two, much to the chagrin of those who delight in observing the distant galaxies that abound in those constellations. Earth’s motion around the Sun results in many of the constellations being seasonal. For example, we currently see Orion in the southeast before sunrise. Come January it will be there after sunset and stick around in the evening sky until mid-spring. Those constellations near the north are circumpolar, meaning they never set and we see them year round. There are 22 constellations in the southern hemisphere sky that we see no part of at all from New Brunswick.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:57 am and sunset will occur at 7:30 pm, giving 12 hours, 33 minutes of daylight (7:02 am and 7:35 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:06 am and set at 7:16 pm, giving 12 hours, 10 minutes of daylight (7:11 am and 7:21 pm in Saint John). It crosses the equator heading south for winter at 10:54 pm on September 22, marking the beginning of autumn.

The Moon is at first quarter on Sunday and passes near Saturn on Monday. Venus is at its brightest, or greatest illuminated extent, on Friday but low enough after sunset to be hidden by trees or houses. Jupiter sets at 10 pm so it is observed best in late twilight before it gets too low for a steady view. Saturn continues to give awesome views in the early evening and sets around midnight this week. Mars remains a bright orange beacon toward the south all evening. Mercury is at superior conjunction behind the Sun on Thursday. If you are in a dark clear sky 60-90 minutes before sunrise, look for a subtle pyramid of light angling up from the eastern horizon: the zodiacal light, caused by sunlight reflecting off dust along the ecliptic.

This weekend has the final RASC NB star party of the season at the Kouchibouguac Fall Festival on September 14/15, and there is public observing at the Irving Nature Park in Saint John on September 14 from 7:30 to 11 pm (cloud date September 15).

Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton