NATURE
MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, March 6, 2020 (Friday)
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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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** Jane LeBlanc comments that she
hasn’t had her RUFFED GROUSE [Gélinotte huppée] patrons appear for a month until one
dropped by her St. Martins driveway on Thursday morning to cooperate for a
photo to show the striking plumage of this bird species.
** I commented on Thursday that the
huge flock of AMERICAN GOLDFINCH [Chardonneret jaune] I had as regular patrons suddenly
dropped to a half dozen. Kevin Renton
reports they must have all headed for Stilesville as their feeder yard has a
high turnout at the moment. Kevin also
reports they had their first COMMON GRACKLES [Quiscale bronzé] arrive on Thursday morning and RED-WINGED
BLACKBIRDS arrived on Friday morning. SNOW BUNTINGS are coming in as well with AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle
d'Amérique] around
their home as well. Sure sounding like Spring has arrived to Stilesville.
** It’s already Friday, and this week’s
Sky-at-a-Glance is included in this edition courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason
with some interesting sky objects to check out and when, but most anticipated
of all is Curt’s reminder to set our clocks ahead one hour for Sunday morning
to end up with that delicious extra hour of end-of-day light. The official change happens at 3:00 AM this
coming Sunday morning, March 8th (2:00 AM if you’re on the old time!).
This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2020 March 7 – March 14
This is a good time to search for a few obscure constellations, if you are up for the challenge. The trio will be at their best, as it were, an hour or two before midnight. You will need dark, clear skies and a good view to the south.
Below Regulus, at the heart of Leo, and to the left of Alphard in serpentine Hydra, is a collection of faint stars that forms Sextans the Sextant. Johannes Hevelius, the creator of Leo Minor, came up with this constellation to commemorate the sextant that he used for measuring star positions, and which he lost when his observatory burned in 1679. Good luck with seeing a sextant here; perhaps it represents what was left after the fire.
Below Sextans and Hydra, very near the horizon, is Antlia the Air Pump. Nicholas Louis de La Caille was an 18th century astronomer who also created obscure constellations to fill in gaps in the sky. The laboratory air pump is one of several scientific instruments honoured with a position in the stars during that era, but in our sky it seems to be past its prime. If you think of a compass as a needle then Pyxis the Compass does look like what it represents. It is between Antlia and Puppis to its right, again low in our sky even at its best. Originally part of the mast of Argo Navis in Ptolemy’s star chart, La Caille re-imagined it as a mariner’s compass, although it is pretty much lost in our sky.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:46 am and sunset will occur at 6:14 pm, giving 11 hours, 28 minutes of daylight (6:50 am and 6:20 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:32 am and set at 7:24 pm, giving 11 hours, 52 minutes of daylight (7:37 am and 7:29 pm in Saint John). Note that the clocks move ahead one hour at 2 am Sunday.
The Moon is full on Monday afternoon, 12 hours before perigee, so we can expect extreme tides midweek. Mars closes the distance to Jupiter by half over the week, resulting in a nice colour contrast view in binoculars, while Jupiter edges toward Saturn. Mercury rises an hour before sunrise midweek, but with the shallow angle of the morning ecliptic it barely gets a binocular width above the horizon before being lost in twilight. Venus rules the sky as Hesperus, the Evening Star, setting around 11:30 pm after the time change. Starting Wednesday, and for two weeks after, the steep angle of the evening ecliptic allows an opportunity to see the zodiacal light from rural areas. Appearing about 75-90 minutes after sunset, it will reach from the horizon toward Venus.
The Saint John Astronomy Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre this Saturday at 7 pm. All are welcome.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
This is a good time to search for a few obscure constellations, if you are up for the challenge. The trio will be at their best, as it were, an hour or two before midnight. You will need dark, clear skies and a good view to the south.
Below Regulus, at the heart of Leo, and to the left of Alphard in serpentine Hydra, is a collection of faint stars that forms Sextans the Sextant. Johannes Hevelius, the creator of Leo Minor, came up with this constellation to commemorate the sextant that he used for measuring star positions, and which he lost when his observatory burned in 1679. Good luck with seeing a sextant here; perhaps it represents what was left after the fire.
Below Sextans and Hydra, very near the horizon, is Antlia the Air Pump. Nicholas Louis de La Caille was an 18th century astronomer who also created obscure constellations to fill in gaps in the sky. The laboratory air pump is one of several scientific instruments honoured with a position in the stars during that era, but in our sky it seems to be past its prime. If you think of a compass as a needle then Pyxis the Compass does look like what it represents. It is between Antlia and Puppis to its right, again low in our sky even at its best. Originally part of the mast of Argo Navis in Ptolemy’s star chart, La Caille re-imagined it as a mariner’s compass, although it is pretty much lost in our sky.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:46 am and sunset will occur at 6:14 pm, giving 11 hours, 28 minutes of daylight (6:50 am and 6:20 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:32 am and set at 7:24 pm, giving 11 hours, 52 minutes of daylight (7:37 am and 7:29 pm in Saint John). Note that the clocks move ahead one hour at 2 am Sunday.
The Moon is full on Monday afternoon, 12 hours before perigee, so we can expect extreme tides midweek. Mars closes the distance to Jupiter by half over the week, resulting in a nice colour contrast view in binoculars, while Jupiter edges toward Saturn. Mercury rises an hour before sunrise midweek, but with the shallow angle of the morning ecliptic it barely gets a binocular width above the horizon before being lost in twilight. Venus rules the sky as Hesperus, the Evening Star, setting around 11:30 pm after the time change. Starting Wednesday, and for two weeks after, the steep angle of the evening ecliptic allows an opportunity to see the zodiacal light from rural areas. Appearing about 75-90 minutes after sunset, it will reach from the horizon toward Venus.
The Saint John Astronomy Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre this Saturday at 7 pm. All are welcome.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
RUFFED GROUSE. MAR. 5, 2020. JANE LEBLANC
Sextans 2020
