** Another day, another NORTHERN CARDINAL [Cardinal rouge]. Suzanne
LeBlanc had a visit from a female Northern Cardinal to her Chapelle St. Dieppe
feeder yard on Thursday. AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS [Bruant hudsonien] have also
arrived. PURPLE FINCH [Roselin pourpré] are still present, and Suzanne has many
RING-NECKED PHEASANTS [Faisan de Colchide] coming up from the marsh area having
noted 10 cocks and 7 hen pheasants in recent days.
** Norm Belliveau, Cecile Legere and Rose-Alma Mallet made a productive
run from Shediac to Cap Pelé and across to the Tantramar Marsh by taking rte 950
at Shemoque. In the area of civic # 2431, they spotted a BRANT [Bernache
cravant] in the water there with a group of CANADA GEESE [Bernache du Canada] as
well as 68 HOODED MERGANSERS [Harle couronné]. A RED-TAILED HAWK [Buse à queue
rousse] was noted on route. A nice shorebird group at the lower Cap Pelé wharf
area were spotted, including SANDERLINGS [Bécasseau sanderling], 20+ DUNLINS
[Bécasseau variable] and a few WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS [Bécasseau à croupion
blanc] to make approximately 150 shorebirds in all. At the Tantramar Marsh,
they spotted 6 to 8 NORTHERN HARRIERS [Busard Saint-Martin], but very
interesting to see 3 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS [Buse pattue] -- two dark morph and one
light morph. At the Aulac Fort Beauséjour marsh, they spotted one AMERICAN COOT
[Foulque d'Amérique] and later in the day, went back to the Tantramar marsh to
spot two SHORT-EARED OWLS [Hibou des marais], not far from the newest barn on
the marsh, just before the corral area. A very successful late fall birding
day.
This week's Sky-at-a-glance is added to today's transcript, courtesy of
Curt Nason.
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, November 14 – November 21
The lamp is about to be lit to welcome winter, as the Pleaides star cluster rises at sunset this week. In my youthful exuberance or ignorance I thought I had discovered a new constellation when this cluster caught my eye one winter evening. It resembled a lamp and I named it so. Many people have believed it to be the Little Dipper. The Pleiades cluster is also called the Seven Sisters or M45. It is an open cluster, which is a family of stars formed from the same vast cloud of gas and dust. Such a cloud can be seen with binoculars in Orion’s sword, another winter showpiece object called the Orion Nebula or M42.
The Pleaides is thought to be 75-100 million years old (as we see it) and is one of the nearer open clusters at about 440 light years distance. It is composed of more than 1000 stars, of which most people see six with the naked eye but up to 14 are possible under ideal conditions. I believe I saw 12 early one summer morning at the Mactaquac star party but either my vision or my imagination could have been enhanced by a few beer at the time. This is one object that is seen best with binoculars, which reveal dozens of stars, because most telescopes cannot show the entire cluster at once.
In mythology the Pleiades were the daughters of Atlas and Pleione. Atlas obviously didn’t spend all of his time supporting the heavens for he is also the father of the Hyades sisters, perhaps with another woman. The V-shaped Hyades open cluster starts rising an hour after the Pleiades, anchored by the bright red giant star Aldebaran. The Hyades is somewhat older than the Pleiades and three times closer, hence the larger size. Aldebaran, at a distance of 65 light years, is not part of the Hyades cluster but lies within the line of sight. The Hyades form the face of Taurus the Bull, with Aldebaran as the bull’s eye and the Pleiades marking its shoulder.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:18 am and sunset will occur at 4:49 pm, giving 9 hours, 31 minutes of daylight (7:21 am and 4:56 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:28 am and set at 4:42 pm, giving 9 hours, 14 minutes of daylight (7:30 am and 4:49 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is at first quarter on Thursday, November 19, giving great views through a scope all week.
Venus, Mars and Jupiter continue to spread out in the morning sky. By midweek Jupiter and Venus are separated by a hand-span at arm’s length, and Mars no longer shares a binocular view with Venus. Mercury is behind the Sun in superior conjunction on Tuesday and Saturn is nearing its date with the Sun at the end of the month. The Leonid meteor shower peaks after midnight on the evening of November 17 but a strong display is not expected. We are about halfway between passages of its parent comet, which has a period of 33 years.
The monthly meeting of the Saint John Astronomy Club is Saturday, November 14 at 7 pm at the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre. No fees and all are welcome.
Questions? Contact me at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
The lamp is about to be lit to welcome winter, as the Pleaides star cluster rises at sunset this week. In my youthful exuberance or ignorance I thought I had discovered a new constellation when this cluster caught my eye one winter evening. It resembled a lamp and I named it so. Many people have believed it to be the Little Dipper. The Pleiades cluster is also called the Seven Sisters or M45. It is an open cluster, which is a family of stars formed from the same vast cloud of gas and dust. Such a cloud can be seen with binoculars in Orion’s sword, another winter showpiece object called the Orion Nebula or M42.
The Pleaides is thought to be 75-100 million years old (as we see it) and is one of the nearer open clusters at about 440 light years distance. It is composed of more than 1000 stars, of which most people see six with the naked eye but up to 14 are possible under ideal conditions. I believe I saw 12 early one summer morning at the Mactaquac star party but either my vision or my imagination could have been enhanced by a few beer at the time. This is one object that is seen best with binoculars, which reveal dozens of stars, because most telescopes cannot show the entire cluster at once.
In mythology the Pleiades were the daughters of Atlas and Pleione. Atlas obviously didn’t spend all of his time supporting the heavens for he is also the father of the Hyades sisters, perhaps with another woman. The V-shaped Hyades open cluster starts rising an hour after the Pleiades, anchored by the bright red giant star Aldebaran. The Hyades is somewhat older than the Pleiades and three times closer, hence the larger size. Aldebaran, at a distance of 65 light years, is not part of the Hyades cluster but lies within the line of sight. The Hyades form the face of Taurus the Bull, with Aldebaran as the bull’s eye and the Pleiades marking its shoulder.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:18 am and sunset will occur at 4:49 pm, giving 9 hours, 31 minutes of daylight (7:21 am and 4:56 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:28 am and set at 4:42 pm, giving 9 hours, 14 minutes of daylight (7:30 am and 4:49 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is at first quarter on Thursday, November 19, giving great views through a scope all week.
Venus, Mars and Jupiter continue to spread out in the morning sky. By midweek Jupiter and Venus are separated by a hand-span at arm’s length, and Mars no longer shares a binocular view with Venus. Mercury is behind the Sun in superior conjunction on Tuesday and Saturn is nearing its date with the Sun at the end of the month. The Leonid meteor shower peaks after midnight on the evening of November 17 but a strong display is not expected. We are about halfway between passages of its parent comet, which has a period of 33 years.
The monthly meeting of the Saint John Astronomy Club is Saturday, November 14 at 7 pm at the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre. No fees and all are welcome.
Questions? Contact me at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
Taurus
