NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
Dec 13, 2024
Nature
Moncton members as well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond are invited to share their photos and
descriptions of recent nature sightings to build a fresh (almost) daily edition
of Nature News
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by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .
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advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com and proofreader Louise Nichols at Nicholsl@eastlink.ca if any
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For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .
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courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
(Editor’s note: the colours may be off in Jane’s
photo, but that dark upper mandible with yellow lower mandible shouts American
Tree Sparrow to make one little brown job very easy to identify.)
**For those who may have missed it, or for those
who may wish to tune in again, the presentation on Treasured Wetlands that was given by Alain
Clavette to Nature Moncton Tuesday evening is available at the link below:
**This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2024
December 14 – December 21
Evening stargazing can be tricky this time of year with all the festive lights,
especially if you have a neighbourhood Griswald. If you happen to be out, try
identifying a few constellations. In the northeast there is pentagonal Auriga
the Charioteer, with bright Capella the Goat Star at one corner. To the right
is the V-shaped face of Taurus the Bull, with the dipper-like star cluster of
the Pleiades marking its shoulder and Jupiter currently residing within its
horns. Orion and Gemini follow below Taurus and Auriga. Above Auriga is
Perseus, seemingly standing on the bull’s back. It is here a patient stargazer
can watch a marvel of the night sky.
In mythology, Perseus beheaded Medusa and used her snaky head to seek revenge
on tormentors by turning them to stone. The second brightest star in the
constellation Perseus represents the evil eye of Medusa and it is called Algol,
the ghoul or demon. There is a reason for this name. Every three days, minus
about three hours, this star slowly dims by a factor of three and regains
brightness over several hours. Algol is an eclipsing binary, two stars
orbiting each other closely and aligned to our line of sight. When the smaller,
dimmer star passes in front of the brighter star we can see the stars’ combined
light dim and recover. By comparing it with nearby stars of similar brightness
you might notice Algol putting on its show. Our next convenient evening
opportunity to watch this is on Wednesday when Algol is dimmest around 7:50 pm,
so start watching an hour or two sooner and check on it every 15 minutes.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:54 and sunset will occur at 4:33, giving
8 hours, 39 minutes of daylight (7:56 and 4:42 in Saint John). Next Saturday
the Sun will rise at 7:58 and set at 4:36, giving 8 hours, 38 minutes of
daylight (8:00 and 4:44 in Saint John). The Sun reaches the Winter Solstice
point around 5:21 on the morning of December 21, the shortest daylight of the
year (by one second).
The Moon rises near Jupiter around sunset this Saturday; it is full early
Sunday and within a binocular view above Mars on Tuesday evening. Brilliant
Venus can be seen in the southwest soon after sunset, slowly gaining altitude
nightly and setting after 8 pm. Saturn is at its highest and best for observing
around 6 pm, showing its rings nearly edge on. On Tuesday evening at 8:05
telescope users might see Jupiter’s moon Io begin transiting the planet,
followed by Io’s shadow at 8:20 when the Red Spot is in mid-transit. Mars
slowly edges westward against the background stars over the week but remains within
a binocular view of the Beehive star cluster. The Geminid meteor shower is
at its peak early this weekend, a worthy view despite the bright moonlight.
Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and
Facebook page of Astronomy by the Bay.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
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