NATURE
MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, December 22, 2017 (Friday)
Please advise editor at nelson@nb.sympatico.ca if any errors are noted in wording or
photo labeling.
For more information on Nature Moncton, check into the website at www.naturemoncton.com
For more information on Nature Moncton, check into the website at www.naturemoncton.com
Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca
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your message to the information line editor nelson@nb.sympatico.ca.
** Peter Gadd spotted the MISTLE THRUSH
[Grive draine] at his 473 Manny St. Mountain Ash tree at 8:00 AM Friday
morning, so great to know that it’s very much still present in Miramichi and
possibly still going to its second site in a Mountain Ash tree across from 510
MacMillan Dr., not far from the Manny St. location.
** We seem to be having a challenge to
relocate the white morph GYRFALCON [Faucon gerfaut], but the bonus at the Caissie Cape
wharf, the GRASSHOPPER
SPARROW [Bruant sauterelle],
has brought lots of contented admirers.
Jean-Paul and Stella LeBlanc got a photo of it on Thursday, and Gary
Dupuis got a nice close-up photo to show some of the identification features of
this special visitor. This is a small,
chunky sparrow with a short tail and flat head; the white eye ring and the
yellow/orange spot in front of the eye show as well. This bird breeds in the mid and eastern U.S.,
and would normally overwinter in the southeastern U.S. down to Mexico and
beyond. It’s a skulky sparrow and tends
to run along the ground like a mouse.
It’s a shy sparrow and best admired from a vehicle.
** This week’s Sky-at-a-Glance is added
to this edition, courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason, with lots of seasonal items
to check out on clear nights over the holiday.
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, December
23 – December 30
Having official constellations doesn’t prevent us from imagining our
own. The sight of Orion, with club raised high and a lion-skin shield
warding off the horns of a raging bull, has been etched in my memory for
over half a century. But, come December, reddish Betelgeuse in Orion’s
armpit becomes Santa’s red nose in profile, the curve of the shield
outlines a sack of toys, and the iconic three-star belt is…well, that
wide black leather belt. And on cold, clear nights there is no mistaking
that twinkle in his eye. Look to the north and there is Santa’s sleigh,
usually seen as the Big Dipper, being loaded up for the long night’s ride.
Many doors and windows are decorated with wreaths and the window of the
winter sky is no exception. Here, Betelgeuse is a red light near the
middle of a wreath we call the Winter Circle or Hexagon. By mid-evening
you can trace the lights decorating the wreath, from blue-white Rigel in
Orion’s leg to brilliant Sirius the Dog Star, up through Procyon the
Little Dog Star, around Pollux and Castor in Gemini and Capella in
Auriga to orange Aldebaran as the Bull’s eye, and back to Rigel.
If you prefer an even more traditional Christmas view, but one that will
require binoculars, it is found in the constellation Cancer and is best
seen in late evening when it is higher. A star cluster called the
Beehive also goes by the name Praesepe, which is Latin for the Manger.
Under a clear dark sky the cluster can just be detected as a fuzzy patch
to the eye. It lies within a square of four stars, the two brightest of
which are called Assellus Borealis and Assellus Australis, the northern
and southern asses feeding at the manger. Can you picture Auriga and the
twins of Gemini as the Magi on their eastward journey?
Imagination is a gift and Santa won’t mind if you open yours before
Christmas.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:59 am and sunset will occur at
4:37 pm, giving 8 hours, 38 minutes of daylight (8:01 am and 4:45 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 8:01 am and set at 4:42
pm, giving 8 hours, 41 minutes of daylight (8:03 am and 4:50 pm in Saint
John). Have you noticed the Sun has been setting later over the past
week but it continues to rise later each day?
The Moon is at first quarter on Tuesday, making a great target for any
new telescopes and binoculars found under the Christmas tree. On
December 30 it occults the bright star Aldebaran around 7:30 pm, with
the star reappearing a little less than an hour later. Mars is about
seven degrees to the upper right of Jupiter this weekend, and moves to
within half that distance by next weekend. Mercury can be found in-line
well to their lower left, rising around 6:15 am midweek. Use binoculars
to locate it, and then try to see it without the binos.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Having official constellations doesn’t prevent us from imagining our
own. The sight of Orion, with club raised high and a lion-skin shield
warding off the horns of a raging bull, has been etched in my memory for
over half a century. But, come December, reddish Betelgeuse in Orion’s
armpit becomes Santa’s red nose in profile, the curve of the shield
outlines a sack of toys, and the iconic three-star belt is…well, that
wide black leather belt. And on cold, clear nights there is no mistaking
that twinkle in his eye. Look to the north and there is Santa’s sleigh,
usually seen as the Big Dipper, being loaded up for the long night’s ride.
Many doors and windows are decorated with wreaths and the window of the
winter sky is no exception. Here, Betelgeuse is a red light near the
middle of a wreath we call the Winter Circle or Hexagon. By mid-evening
you can trace the lights decorating the wreath, from blue-white Rigel in
Orion’s leg to brilliant Sirius the Dog Star, up through Procyon the
Little Dog Star, around Pollux and Castor in Gemini and Capella in
Auriga to orange Aldebaran as the Bull’s eye, and back to Rigel.
If you prefer an even more traditional Christmas view, but one that will
require binoculars, it is found in the constellation Cancer and is best
seen in late evening when it is higher. A star cluster called the
Beehive also goes by the name Praesepe, which is Latin for the Manger.
Under a clear dark sky the cluster can just be detected as a fuzzy patch
to the eye. It lies within a square of four stars, the two brightest of
which are called Assellus Borealis and Assellus Australis, the northern
and southern asses feeding at the manger. Can you picture Auriga and the
twins of Gemini as the Magi on their eastward journey?
Imagination is a gift and Santa won’t mind if you open yours before
Christmas.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:59 am and sunset will occur at
4:37 pm, giving 8 hours, 38 minutes of daylight (8:01 am and 4:45 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 8:01 am and set at 4:42
pm, giving 8 hours, 41 minutes of daylight (8:03 am and 4:50 pm in Saint
John). Have you noticed the Sun has been setting later over the past
week but it continues to rise later each day?
The Moon is at first quarter on Tuesday, making a great target for any
new telescopes and binoculars found under the Christmas tree. On
December 30 it occults the bright star Aldebaran around 7:30 pm, with
the star reappearing a little less than an hour later. Mars is about
seven degrees to the upper right of Jupiter this weekend, and moves to
within half that distance by next weekend. Mercury can be found in-line
well to their lower left, rising around 6:15 am midweek. Use binoculars
to locate it, and then try to see it without the binos.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
Christmas wreath
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. DEC. 21 2017, JP LEBLANC
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW.DEC 21, 2017.GARY DUPUIS
