Nature Moncton Nature News: March 20 2020

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, March 20, 2020 (Friday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Brian Stone bjpstone@gmail.com

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

** A special observation for Louise Nichols happened on Thursday on her Aulac property. She came across a pair of WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS [Bec-croisé bifascié] feeding a fledgling. The White-winged Crossbill can nest any time of the year, including mid-winter as obviously this pair did. The fledglings are very streaked on the chest area and are readily picked out with binoculars, which Louise had but unfortunately the camera was back in the house. It was a very lucky observation by happening to be in the right place at the right time.

** A male HOODED MERGANSER [Harle couronné] gave Gordon Rattray a close visit at Gray Island pond on Thursday to provide an awesome photo of this strikingly plumaged bird in its spring finery. Gordon also got a flight photo.

** Jane Leblanc photographed a NORTHERN SHRIKE [Pie-grièche grise] in the St. Martins area on Thursday. We are approaching that relatively short time window to potentially hear a Northern Shrike singing. It is fairly distinct and sort of scratchy to melodious. It is a good time to check on apps or the internet to familiarize ourselves with its vocalization.

** I stopped by a few spots along the coast between Bouctouche and Shediac on Thursday. A leucistic, female MALLARD DUCK [Canard colvert] was among a group of Mallards and AMERICAN BLACK DUCKS [Canard noir] at the small pond beside the Bouctouche lagoon. The photos show the normal “saddle” mark on the bill and the faded speculum to be fairly sure of it being a female Mallard. A photo shows it alongside a normally plumaged female. Lots of COMMON GOLDENEYE [Garrot à oeil d'or] and lesser numbers of BARROW'S GOLDENEYE [Garrot d'Islande] ducks were at several sites, as well as COMMON MERGANSERS [Grand Harle]. BLACK SCOTERS [Macreuse noire] were scattered in the extensive open water. At the south side of the Foch Bridge in Shediac were a pair of HOODED MERGANSERS [Harle couronné] and 2 male GREATER SCAUP [Fuligule milouinan]. Approximately 60 CANADA GEESE [Bernaches du Canada] were there as well, being very vocal and having lots of seemingly family disagreements.

** It’s Friday and it’s the time of the week for this weeks “Sky at a Glance” courtesy of Sky Guru Curt Nason with planets to see morning and evening along with Tuesday’s new moon which of course we won’t see, but as Curt puts it “the waxing crescent will smile on us later in the week”. Take note of Curt’s indoor astronomy to view on line with so many public cancellations.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2020 March 21 – March 28
For stargazers, early spring means it is time for a Messier Marathon. In 1758 a French comet hunter, Charles Messier, started compiling a catalogue of nebulous objects in the sky that resembled comets but weren’t. His completed catalogue was issued 13 years later with 103 objects. In the mid-20th century the catalogue was expanded to 110 based on Messier’s notes. Under a clear, dark sky all of the Messier objects can be seen in a small telescope, and it is a rite of passage for amateur astronomers to locate and observe them all.

The Messier catalogue includes 57 star clusters, 40 galaxies, 12 nebulae of new or dying stars, and an enigmatic pair of stars. The first on the list, called M1, is the Crab Nebula, the gaseous remnant of a supernova that was seen in daylight in 1054. M110 is a galaxy seen near M31, the Andromeda galaxy. The easiest to see is M45, the star cluster also known as the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. The Orion Nebula, a stellar nursery in Orion’s sword, is M42, with the much less spectacular M43 nearby. Ursa Major has seven Messiers including M51, the Whirlpool galaxy, and M97, the Owl Nebula.

For a few weeks in March and April, around the time of a new Moon, it is possible to see all the Messier objects in one night, hence the Messier Marathon. However, from New Brunswick, the globular cluster M30 in Capricornus rises in bright twilight and is pretty much impossible to see at this time of year. That hasn’t kept some stellar stalwarts from trying.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:19 am and sunset will occur at 7:33 pm, giving 12 hours, 14 minutes of daylight (7:24 am and 7:38 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:05 am and set at 7:43 pm, giving 12 hours, 38 minutes of daylight (7:11 am and 7:47 pm in Saint John).

The Moon is new on Tuesday, with the waxing crescent smiling at us after sunset later in the week. Check out the planetary line-up each morning, with Mars moving from Jupiter toward Saturn. On Tuesday morning Mercury is at its greatest elongation from the Sun, and that evening Venus reaches its greatest elongation.

All local public astronomy events are cancelled. However, you can catch the local Sunday Night Astronomy Show on YouTube (March 22 and 29) at 9 pm, and watch previous shows, by going to:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAEHfOWyL-kNH7dBVHK8spg

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

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton