NATURE
MONCTON NATURE NEWS
April 11, 2025
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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To
view the live feed of the Peregrine Falcon nest cam on the summit of Assumption
Place in Moncton, go to:
**Jane LeBlanc again had a 'partridge in the birch tree'
(ruffed grouse) during the light snow on Tuesday. In sunnier weather on
Thursday, she found a double-crested cormorant in the St. Martins
harbour as the tide was rising.
**Brian Stone sends a few photos from the Jemseg area on
Wednesday of the recently returned ospreys that are preparing to nest.
He saw two pairs that had claimed nests and many more nesting platforms that
were still waiting for occupants. Also, a ring-billed gull flew overhead as he was
watching the osprey couple, and it got the photo treatment too.
On Thursday Brian had
a brief walk along a section of the Petitcodiac Riverfront Trail and took
photos of a song sparrow singing his spring song, a Canada goose
walking carefully over an icy patch on the trail, a distant lesser
black-backed gull, and a pussy willow.
**This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2025 April 12 – April
19
One third of the way from Arcturus to Vega is a pretty semicircle of seven
stars that makes up Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown. In the middle of the
semicircle is the constellation’s brightest star, called Alphecca (“bright star
of the broken ring”). Near the second star on the left (eastern) side of the
semicircle is the famous Blaze star, a recurrent nova which is normally too dim
for binoculars but it brightens briefly to rival Apphecca about every 80 years.
This happened last in 1946 and astronomers expect it will recur any time now.
Some ancient societies regarded Corona Borealis as a begging bowl, and in local
aboriginal legend it is the cave from which the bear (the bowl of the Big
Dipper) emerges in spring. In Greek mythology it was a crown worn by Bacchus,
the god of wine, who lived on the island of Naxos. Theseus, an Athenian prince,
went to Crete as part of a group of youth who were to be placed in the
labyrinth as food for the Minotaur. With the aid of Ariadne, the daughter of
King Minos, Theseus slew the Minotaur and found his way out of the labyrinth.
In love with Ariadne, he took her aboard to sail back to Athens. They stopped
at Naxos where Bacchus also fell in love with Ariadne, and he made Theseus
leave without her. To prove his love and his godliness to the skeptical
Ariadne, he tossed the crown into the sky as a symbol of her beauty.
Immortality and a lifetime supply of wine, who could pass that up?
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:37 and sunset will occur at 8:02, giving
13 hours, 25 minutes of daylight (6:43 and 8:06 in Saint John). Next Saturday
the Sun will rise at 6:25 and set at 8:12, giving 13 hours, 47 minutes of
daylight (6:31 and 8:15 in Saint John).
The Moon is full and near Spica this Saturday, and on Wednesday and
Thursday it appears west and then east of Antares. Orion and Taurus are setting
in late evening with Jupiter following them by about an hour. Telescope users
might see Jupiter’s Red Spot around 9 pm Wednesday and 10:30 Friday. Mars
crosses the constellation border into Cancer this weekend, heading toward a
scenic rendezvous with the Beehive star cluster in early May. Mercury and
dimmer Saturn rise together this Saturday morning, about seven degrees directly
below Venus.
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
