NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, November
6, 2020 (Friday)
To respond by e-mail, please address
your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .
Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any
errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.
For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .
Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
** Lots of SNOW BUNTINGS [Bruant des
neiges] moving
in. Jean Renton reports seeing a flock
of approximately 50 in the Blueberry fields in the Canaan area, and often
seeing small numbers from the roadside while driving to Sussex.
** The sunflower seed order from New
Brunswick farmer Mike Dickinson will be arriving next week to be picked up at
the coliseum parking lot between 4:00 and 6:00 PM. Dale Gaskin is handling the logistics and
said that he and Mike would decide the day on Sunday so it could be announced
on Monday morning. Stay tuned. There are 150 bags ordered and room for more
if needed, via Dale at 734-2197. All
thanks to Dale for making the arrangements.
** It was a bit of a surprise to see a
modest number of moths day-flying about our camp yard on Thursday afternoon at
about 11 degrees C. Jim Edsall helped
confirm them as FALL CANKERWORM MOTHS [Arpenteuse d’automne]. These moths normally emerge, fly, mate, and
lay eggs in September/October. The
females are wingless, so all those flying on Thursday were obviously males. Jim also comments that he has seen them well
into December if temperatures are above 0, so maybe not so late after all.
** Am attaching photos of English Oak
that I noticed growing on the path along the highway that leads to the
Tantramar Wetlands behind the Tantramar Regional High School. English Oak is
not a native tree but naturalized in NB at this point. I noted it back in
August when checking out the Blue Herons visiting at the time.
It takes up to 20 years for the tree to
produce nuts so has been there potentially that long. The nuts are very
favoured by several members of the wildlife community. Red arrows in the photos point to the indentation at the base of the leaf that helps to identify it. This species is woven into history and
folklore in the UK that has led to it common name.
Doug Hiltz from the Maritime College of
Forest Technology confirmed the identification.
** It’s Friday and time to review the
next week’s Sky-at-a-Glace, with some nice planet-viewing opportunities, all courtesy
of sky-guru Curt Nason.
This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2020 November 7 – November 14
One way to maintain interest in stargazing is to set observing goals, and it
helps to maintain a log of your activities. One of my annual goals is to see
all eight planets in one night or calendar day; usually when faint Uranus and
Neptune are in the evening sky and Mercury is far enough from the Sun. All can
be seen with binoculars, and the next two weeks are optimal for this challenge.
Starting in the evening, Jupiter and Mars are hard to miss as they are bright,
and slightly dimmer Saturn is within the same field of view as Jupiter for most
binoculars. Since they are easy naked-eye objects, try to see what detail you
can discern, if any, with binoculars. While you are at it, take in some local
scenery so you can claim to have observed Earth. Neptune and Uranus are tougher
and you will require a detailed map to distinguish them from stars. I use one
from the Sky & Telescope website:
https://skyandtelescope.org/wp-content/uploads/UranusNeptune2020_BW_WebFinder.pdf
You might notice these planets do not twinkle like stars, and there might even
be a hint of blue or green colour. Observing them with a telescope at high
magnification will reveal them as a tiny discs rather than pinpoints of light.
You will have to wait for morning to get the final two planets in the
east-southeast. Venus is a can’t-miss, being the brightest planet, and now
Mercury is at its morning best to the lower left. I recommend trying at least
an hour before sunrise.
How about an extra challenge: a dwarf planet. When Pluto was reclassified in
2006, the largest asteroid, Ceres, also fit the requirements for dwarf planet
status. It will look like a dim star among others brighter and dimmer, but by
using binoculars and the Ceres map under Asteroids on the Heavens-Above website
you might be able to pick it out. The reward for completing or even
attempting this challenge is the best reward of all: A night under the stars.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:09 am and sunset will occur at 4:55 pm,
giving 9 hours, 46 minutes of daylight (7:12 am and 5:03 pm in Saint
John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:19 am and set at 4:47 pm,
giving 9 hours, 28 minutes of daylight (7:21 am and 4:55 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is at third quarter on Sunday, and it will be about 7 degrees above
Venus on Thursday morning and the same distance above Mercury on Friday.
Jupiter and Saturn are in good position for early evening observing, while Mars
gives good views through a telescope for most of the night. Mercury is in its
best morning apparition for the year, shining about 12 degrees to the lower
left of Venus. The North Taurid meteor shower might add of few shooting stars
for viewers over Wednesday night to Thursday morning.
With astronomy meetings and outreach activities on hold, you can watch the
local Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm, and view archived shows, on YouTube
at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAEHfOWyL-kNH7dBVHK8spg
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
