NATURE
MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, August 17, 2018 (Friday)
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For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .
** Brian Bauld reports that his son in
law Max Perren captured a photo of a GREAT EGRET [Grande Aigrette] when they
visited the Beaubassin Research Station, just outside of Sackville, on August
13. It is definitely something to watch for in the area as it may be moving
about as there are several sites in the area that are good Great Egret habitat.
** It is that time of year when we are
much more apt to see COMMON NIGHTHAWKS [Engoulevent d'Amérique] flying during
the day hawking insects as they migrate south. Jill Greening in Saskatchewan
sends a photo of one that she suspects may have hit a wire while foraging. It
is an unfortunate incident but it does show a plumage view that we don’t get to
see. I am assuming that it is a young of the year bird as the white patch on
the neck is not standing out as it does in an adult. An interesting side
comment from Jill who said that all the street lights were on in her area as it
got near pitch black for approximately an hour at noon on Wednesday from the
smoke from the forest fires in B.C.
** Brian Stone got a photo of a GIANT
SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY [Grand porte-queue] just outside Perth, Ont. on Thursday.
This large butterfly has a wingspan of 83 to 113 mm. vs our Canadian Tiger
Swallowtail butterfly at 53 to 90 mm. This is a common tropical species in
Central America and northward through the eastern U.S. up to the Canadian
border and has become a resident in southwestern Ontario. They have strayed
into New Brunswick and I recall Jean Renton coming across one in Canaan several
years ago. It is definitely a potential stray to keep watch for. Brian comments
that it was so big that it needed to continuously flutter its wings while
nectaring to support its weight.
Nadia Parisella got a photo of a
Pepper-and-Salt Geometer moth caterpillar on a Sunburst Honey Locust tree in
her Sussex yard. This amazing small but long caterpillar is able to camouflage
itself changing colour to brownish on a branch, then to greenish as Nadia’s
photo shows when on greenery. It also has that unique way of moving arching its
body in the middle and moving quickly when necessary. Thanks to Suzanne
Rousseau for getting Nadia’s photos shared. Am attaching a low resolution photo
from the BugGuide site that shows its identification feature in the head area.
** This week’s Sky-at-a-Glance is
included with this edition courtesy of Curt Nason.
This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, August 18 – August 25
With the hot and muggy weather this summer there is nothing like an ice cream to cool you down. If the night sky had a constellation honouring the ice cream cone it would have to be the one we call Boötes (bo-OH-teez). Boötes is easy to pick out because it is anchored by Arcturus, the fourth brightest star of the sky. To identify the star, “just follow the arc (of the Big Dipper’s handle) to Arcturus.” This star is the bottom of the cone and the ice cream is to the left of the Dipper’s handle, somewhat northward where it will stay cold and not melt. The constellation can also pass for a kite or a necktie.
The name Boötes means ox driver but the constellation is often regarded as a bear driver or a ploughman. With his hunting dogs, the Canes Venatici constellation, he is seen chasing the two bears (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor) around the pole. In Britain the Big Dipper is usually called the Plough, and in mythology the goddess of agriculture requested Zeus to honour Boötes in the sky for inventing the plough. I guess he is the John Deere of the night sky, or perhaps Ernest Hamwi who popularized the edible ice cream cone at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.
Speaking of World’s Fairs, the 1893 and 1933 fairs were held in Chicago. To commemorate technology, the lights for the latter fair were lit using a current generated from photocells and the starlight of Arcturus. It was believed the star was 40 light years distant, so the light reaching them would have been emitted during the previous Chicago fair. We now know Arcturus is only 37 light years away. Several observatories supplied starlight for the opening but, considering the shape of the constellation, it is unfortunate that one of them wasn’t the Lick Observatory in California.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:22 am and sunset will occur at 8:22 pm, giving 14 hours of daylight (6:28 am and 8:26 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:31 am and set at 8:10 pm, giving 13 hours, 39 minutes of daylight (6:37 am and 8:14 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is at first quarter on Saturday, making a great weekend for lunar observing. Venus sets at 9:45 pm midweek, followed by Jupiter an hour and a half later. Jupiter’s Red Spot can be seen with a telescope around 10 pm next Friday, August 24. Saturn is at its highest and best around 9:30 pm, while Mars reaches its best two hours later. Mercury is popping up in the morning sky, rising an hour before sunrise this weekend.
Moncton members of RASC NB are hosting free public observing at Moncton High School Observatory this Friday, August 17 from 9 to 11 pm.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
With the hot and muggy weather this summer there is nothing like an ice cream to cool you down. If the night sky had a constellation honouring the ice cream cone it would have to be the one we call Boötes (bo-OH-teez). Boötes is easy to pick out because it is anchored by Arcturus, the fourth brightest star of the sky. To identify the star, “just follow the arc (of the Big Dipper’s handle) to Arcturus.” This star is the bottom of the cone and the ice cream is to the left of the Dipper’s handle, somewhat northward where it will stay cold and not melt. The constellation can also pass for a kite or a necktie.
The name Boötes means ox driver but the constellation is often regarded as a bear driver or a ploughman. With his hunting dogs, the Canes Venatici constellation, he is seen chasing the two bears (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor) around the pole. In Britain the Big Dipper is usually called the Plough, and in mythology the goddess of agriculture requested Zeus to honour Boötes in the sky for inventing the plough. I guess he is the John Deere of the night sky, or perhaps Ernest Hamwi who popularized the edible ice cream cone at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.
Speaking of World’s Fairs, the 1893 and 1933 fairs were held in Chicago. To commemorate technology, the lights for the latter fair were lit using a current generated from photocells and the starlight of Arcturus. It was believed the star was 40 light years distant, so the light reaching them would have been emitted during the previous Chicago fair. We now know Arcturus is only 37 light years away. Several observatories supplied starlight for the opening but, considering the shape of the constellation, it is unfortunate that one of them wasn’t the Lick Observatory in California.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:22 am and sunset will occur at 8:22 pm, giving 14 hours of daylight (6:28 am and 8:26 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:31 am and set at 8:10 pm, giving 13 hours, 39 minutes of daylight (6:37 am and 8:14 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is at first quarter on Saturday, making a great weekend for lunar observing. Venus sets at 9:45 pm midweek, followed by Jupiter an hour and a half later. Jupiter’s Red Spot can be seen with a telescope around 10 pm next Friday, August 24. Saturn is at its highest and best around 9:30 pm, while Mars reaches its best two hours later. Mercury is popping up in the morning sky, rising an hour before sunrise this weekend.
Moncton members of RASC NB are hosting free public observing at Moncton High School Observatory this Friday, August 17 from 9 to 11 pm.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
COMMON NIGHTHAWK CASUALTY. AUG 16, 2018. JILL GREENING
GIANT SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY. AUG. 16, 2018. BRIAN STONE
GIANT SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY. AUG. 16, 2018. BRIAN STONE
GREAT EGRET. AUG 13, 2018. MAX PERREN
PEPPER AND SALT GEOMETER MOTH CATERPILLAR (Biston betularia). AUG 16, 2018. NADIA PARISELLA
PEPPER AND SALT GEOMETER MOTH CATERPILLAR (Biston betularia). AUG 16, 2018. NADIA PARISELLA
PEPPER AND SALT GEOMETER MOTH CATERPILLAR.BUGGUIDE
