This Week’s Sky at a Glance, December 5 – December 12
Orion can be seen getting out of bed in the early evening, preparing for a night of hunting. Being a giant and very old, it takes an hour and a half for his hourglass shape to clear the horizon. He rises on his side and stands upright when he is in the south. The celestial equator, an imaginary line in the sky directly above our equator, runs very near Mintaka, the star at the right of Orion’s Belt. Therefore, Mintaka rises due east. Notice how huge Orion appears as he gets out of bed, bigger than he appears in the south. This is the same optical illusion that makes the Moon appear larger when it is rising or setting. The twins Castor and Pollux of the constellation Gemini rise on their side at the same time as Orion, just to his left.
If you are into genealogy, Orion, as a son of Poseidon, is a cousin to Pollux, a son of Zeus. Castor had the same mother as Pollux but a mortal father. Genealogy is more complicated when immortals are involved.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:45 am and sunset will occur at 4:34 pm, giving 8 hours, 49 minutes of daylight (7:47 am and 4:42 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:52 am and set at 4:34 pm, giving 8 hours, 42 minutes of daylight (7:54 am and 4:42 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is to the lower left of Mars on Sunday and within a binocular view of Venus Monday morning. If you have never seen Venus in daylight this is an ideal time to try. The crescent Moon will approach it throughout the morning and, around 1:45 pm when they are low in the west, the Moon occults or passes in front of the brightest planet. I recommend checking them out around 7 am and then maybe every 15-30 minutes thereafter to keep track of them. Use binoculars if necessary during daylight, and then try to see both with just your eyes. A clear blue sky will be an asset and perhaps required. When Venus reappears nearly an hour later the Moon will have already set in Moncton but it will be grazing the horizon in Saint John and a moon-width higher in Fredericton. The Moon is new on Friday, December 11.
Mercury sets a half hour after sunset early in the week and about 40 minutes later in the week, making detection possible with binoculars just before it sets. The line of Jupiter, Mars and Venus continues to stretch out, with Jupiter now rising around 1 am. Saturn is too close to the Sun for observing. Late in the week, be on the lookout for early meteors of the Geminid meteor shower, which peaks on December 13/14.
I am happy to report that Comet C/2013 US10 Catalina is visible with binoculars, having seen it in a moonlit sky on the morning of December 1. This week it slides up to the left of Venus, about a binocular width away. It will be easier later in the week with the Moon out of the way. A good map of its location can be found on the Heavens-Above Web site.
The Saint John Astronomy Club meets on Saturday, December 5 at 7 pm at the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre. The William Brydone Jack Astronomy Club meets on Tuesday, December 8 at 7pm, Room 203 of the UNB Fredericton Forestry/Earth Sciences Building. All are welcome to both meetings and there is no fee.
Questions? Contact me at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Orion can be seen getting out of bed in the early evening, preparing for a night of hunting. Being a giant and very old, it takes an hour and a half for his hourglass shape to clear the horizon. He rises on his side and stands upright when he is in the south. The celestial equator, an imaginary line in the sky directly above our equator, runs very near Mintaka, the star at the right of Orion’s Belt. Therefore, Mintaka rises due east. Notice how huge Orion appears as he gets out of bed, bigger than he appears in the south. This is the same optical illusion that makes the Moon appear larger when it is rising or setting. The twins Castor and Pollux of the constellation Gemini rise on their side at the same time as Orion, just to his left.
If you are into genealogy, Orion, as a son of Poseidon, is a cousin to Pollux, a son of Zeus. Castor had the same mother as Pollux but a mortal father. Genealogy is more complicated when immortals are involved.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:45 am and sunset will occur at 4:34 pm, giving 8 hours, 49 minutes of daylight (7:47 am and 4:42 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:52 am and set at 4:34 pm, giving 8 hours, 42 minutes of daylight (7:54 am and 4:42 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is to the lower left of Mars on Sunday and within a binocular view of Venus Monday morning. If you have never seen Venus in daylight this is an ideal time to try. The crescent Moon will approach it throughout the morning and, around 1:45 pm when they are low in the west, the Moon occults or passes in front of the brightest planet. I recommend checking them out around 7 am and then maybe every 15-30 minutes thereafter to keep track of them. Use binoculars if necessary during daylight, and then try to see both with just your eyes. A clear blue sky will be an asset and perhaps required. When Venus reappears nearly an hour later the Moon will have already set in Moncton but it will be grazing the horizon in Saint John and a moon-width higher in Fredericton. The Moon is new on Friday, December 11.
Mercury sets a half hour after sunset early in the week and about 40 minutes later in the week, making detection possible with binoculars just before it sets. The line of Jupiter, Mars and Venus continues to stretch out, with Jupiter now rising around 1 am. Saturn is too close to the Sun for observing. Late in the week, be on the lookout for early meteors of the Geminid meteor shower, which peaks on December 13/14.
I am happy to report that Comet C/2013 US10 Catalina is visible with binoculars, having seen it in a moonlit sky on the morning of December 1. This week it slides up to the left of Venus, about a binocular width away. It will be easier later in the week with the Moon out of the way. A good map of its location can be found on the Heavens-Above Web site.
The Saint John Astronomy Club meets on Saturday, December 5 at 7 pm at the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre. The William Brydone Jack Astronomy Club meets on Tuesday, December 8 at 7pm, Room 203 of the UNB Fredericton Forestry/Earth Sciences Building. All are welcome to both meetings and there is no fee.
Questions? Contact me at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
** It's a bit early to be reminding of the Dec. 8th Nature Moncton meeting
night, but we'll post it today so everyone will know it is on the second Tuesday
of the month in December, not the third Tuesday as it normally is. The
announcement of the speaker is added to this transcription.
Santa’s Birds. Tuesday, December 8 at
7:00 at the Mapleton Rotary Lodge at 7:00 p.m.
Outtakes from a
filming trip to the Arctic
With Christmas
quickly approaching, it seems the jolly old guy in red is everywhere you
go.
But way up North,
where legend has it he lives, you can find lots of birds that
are the best
life-time gifts for birders. Things like Snowy Owls, King Eiders and Long-tailed
Jaegers nest way up there and our own Roger Leblanc was lucky enough to visit
them on a recent documentary shooting trip. In this kind of work there is a lot
more footage taken than what you will see in the finished product. Still a lot
of it is of great interest if you want to know about birds, their nesting
territories and their breeding behavior.
So if you want to have a feel for the birds of the Arctic come join us to
hear Roger’s stories and see his “director’s choice” of panoramic video which
will show us the birds that make it home for the summer.
A Nature Moncton
Workshop will be held this coming Saturday, December 5 with the details below.
Winter birds are
coming!
News
flash: winter is coming! But instead of getting depressed over
something so natural that can’t be changed, a lot of bird watchers are looking
forward to winter because the changing season will bring with it the chance to
see some of those famous “winter birds” that seasoned birders talk about all the
time. Which species are we talking about
and why – and when are they coming?
These are
the kinds of questions that will be addressed in the upcoming workshop offered
by Nature Moncton on “winter birds.”
Join Roger LeBlanc who has been watching and trying to understand the
behaviors of these winter visitors for a long time. And if you by chance
participated in the recent bird feeding workshop offered by Nature Moncton, this
would be a very natural follow-up to help you recognize what you might be
attracting to your backyard. Together we will try to work out some of the
patterns that will help you know what is to be expected as well as when and
where you should be looking. In
addition, Roger will help you understand exactly what you are looking at on that
snow-covered branch in a workshop that will combine bird photographs with a few
video surprises.
So whether
you are quite content with checking out the “winter birds” that will be invading
your feeders or are ready to bundle up and head outside to search for them in
the snow-covered landscape, this workshop aims to help you enjoy their presence
even more. Roger will also talk about
the annual Christmas Bird Counts that take place throughout the province. Roger is the organizer of the Moncton count
and is always looking for eager participants – a chance to put your new
knowledge of winter birds to work!
Saturday December
5th , 1:00 to 4:00 pm
Tankville School, 1665 Elmwood Dr.,
Moncton
Registration with Judi Berry-Steeves at jbsteeve@nbnet.nb.ca or
phone Judi at 387-4778.
$8 to cover costs
payable at the door. All are welcome,
Nature Moncton member or not.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
Orion rising
