NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
March 15, 2024
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**Karen and
Jamie Burris awoke to the sound of a Carolina Wren singing in their Riverview backyard on
Thursday. There is no way you can sleep when one of these guys is near! The Burris' were not complaining as it was sunny and mild and they were ready for coffee
and a ringside seat.
**Ray Gauvin
in Shediac reports his pair of Northern Cardinals are still very much in courting mode. They are pecking at his living room window quite frequently
every day to ward off potential interlopers! Take a look at the action below in
a video Ray captured:
**Bob Blake reports they had their first Common Grackles back to their Second North
River feeder yard on Thursday which for them is a month early this year.
They also have Tulips up about 6”.
**The very popular ‘Birds Birds Birds’ event will be taking
place at Harvey Hall on Saturday, April 6. An event not to miss! All details in the poster below:
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This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2024 March 16 – March 23
With Sunday being party time for many O’Revelers, is there anything green that
we can see in the sky? Yes, but rarely. We can see stars that are red, orange,
yellow, blue or white, but not green. The colours are representative of their
outer temperature, with red being coolest and blue the hottest. Any star with
an outer temperature corresponding to green, which is in the middle wavelengths
of the visible spectrum, emits approximately equal but lesser amounts of red
and blue light. This combination gives us white light. Our Sun’s outer
temperature of 5500 C puts it just on the green side of yellow.
Some stargazers have claimed to see green stars that are part of a binary pair
with a red giant star. Green is the complementary colour of red, and it is
thought that if you observe a white star after staring at a red one, the
complementary after-image can make the white star look green. It is said that
Zubeneschamali, the brightest star in Libra and the one with the longest single
common name, is green. I did see it once as a very pale green in an 8-inch
telescope, but that might have been due to the power of suggestion. Uranus
usually looks pale green in a backyard telescope.
The most common reason for green in the sky, although still fairly rare in New
Brunswick, is the northern lights. Energetic electrons from the Sun (aka Sol,
the shortest name for a star) can make oxygen atoms in our upper atmosphere
emit green light in a manner similar to that of a neon light. Northern lights
are seen more frequently around the equinoxes, and if electrons in the solar
wind have escaped the Sun through flares or holes in its magnetic field lines,
we could get lucky this week. If not, then take a break from the partying to
look up at the constellation O’Ryan.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:28 and sunset will occur at 7:27, giving
11 hours, 59 minutes of daylight (7:33 and 7:32 in Saint John). Next Saturday
the Sun will rise at 7:15 and set at 7:36, giving 12 hours, 21 minutes of
daylight (7:20 and 7:41 in Saint John). The Sun crosses the equator at 6
minutes past midnight Wednesday morning, and spring will have sprung. Sunday is
the day closest to having equal daylight, having 85 seconds more than 12 hours.
The Moon is at first quarter on Sunday and riding about as high as it can be
in our sky. For the next two weeks Mercury will be at its evening best
for the year and setting after 9 pm. Jupiter sets at 11:30 midweek, and on
Thursday a telescope might reveal Jupiter’s Red Spot between 9 and 10 pm. Mars
is rising around 6:30 this week. Venus and Saturn cross paths Friday morning
but they are lost in bright morning twilight.
On Sunday evening at 8 pm, tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show via the
Facebook page or YouTube channel of Astronomy by the Bay.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
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