Nature Moncton Nature News: July 8 2016

** Kerry-Lee Morris Cormier reports in just to let everyone know the Nature Conservancy of Canada Shorebird Interpretive Centre at Johnson's Mills is open daily from 9:00 to 5:00. They're located at 2724, Rte 935, 8 km past Dorchester. Admission is by donation. Visitors are welcome after hours. The Centre is now powered by solar energy. The observation deck was improved thanks to the Moncton carpentry students and NBCC. and they have a cell phone charging station and Wi-Fi now. The shoreline that they protect for shorebirds eroded in some areas over the past two years. After monitoring roosts during the 13.2 meter high tide on July 5th, they were relieved to find that large areas of beach remain available above the high tide mark. No shorebirds to report yet, but maybe by next weekend. Recent sightings include PEREGRINE FALCON [Faucon pèlerin], BALD EAGLE [Pygargue à tête blanche], NORTHERN HARRIER [Busard Saint-Martin], GREAT BLUE HERON [Grand Héron], DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT [Cormoran à aigrettes], BLACK SCOTER [Macreuse noire], BANK SWALLOW [Hirondelle de rivage], SWAINSON'S THRUSH [Grive à dos olive] and lots of other songbirds.

** Jamie Burris shares a group of excellent photos of recent observations that include the saprophyte plant PINESAP [Monotrope sucepin], the mushrooms CHANTERELE [Girolle] and KING BOLETE [Cèpe de Bordeaux], both of which are delicious edibles, a pink LADY SLIPPER ORCHID, SNOWSHOE HARE [Lièvre d'Amérique], WHITE-TAILED DEER [Cerf de Virginie], a SILVER-BORDERED FRITILLARY [Boloria à taches argentées] butterfly and more. The photos were all taken between Riverview, Dawson and Hillsborough over the past few weeks.

** Brian Stone shares some nature photos over the past few days of MALLARD [Canard colvert] and ducklings now closing in on the size of the hen and a cloud formation that caught his photographic eye.

** This week's Sky-at-a-Glance is added to this transcription, courtesy of Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, July 9 – July 16

Astronomically, the fate of Mars is in the balance. That is, the planet
currently is within the constellation of Libra the Balance (or Scales).
The Greeks saw this area as the claws of the scorpion, but later it
became a balance. One possibility for the change was that Scorpius was
considered too large for a single zodiac constellation, and the Sun was
in this area at the autumnal equinox when the lengths of day and night
were balanced. A balance was also used for weighing crops at this time
of year. Babylonians saw the constellation as a balance before the
Greeks, and the Babylonian name for balance bears a resemblance to the
Greek word for a scorpion’s claw.

The two brightest stars in Libra are favourites of mine, as I consider
it a victory to say them rapidly. They are Zubeneschamali, which means
the northern claw, and Zubenelgenubi the southern claw. I like to call
them Zubie Deux or ZZ Atop. Zubie South is a double star in binoculars,
and some people see Zubie North as having a greenish tinge. It might
have been the power of suggestion but I noticed that once when viewing
it with a telescope. Although many stars display colour, which indicates
their outer temperature, stars with a temperature corresponding to green
would also have enough red and blue components to make the star look white.

The two Zubies form the beam of the balance, while the next two
brightest stars to the lower left are seen as the weighing pans of
Libra. The Sun’s path, called the ecliptic, passes just south of
Zubenelgenubi. Therefore, the planets and the Moon can pass between the
two Zubies on occasion, prompting the ancient Greeks to call them the
Pillars of Hercules after the rocks of Gibraltar.

This Week in the Solar System

Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:38 am and sunset will occur at
9:11 pm, giving 15 hours, 33 minutes of daylight (5:46 am and 9:13 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:44 am and set at 9:06
pm, giving 15 hours, 22 minutes of daylight (5:52 am and 9:08 pm in
Saint John).

The Moon is at first quarter on Monday and it teams up with Mars and
Saturn late in the week. On Tuesday use a scope to see Jupiter’s largest
moon Ganymede reappear from behind the planet at 9:38 pm and then
disappear into Jupiter’s shadow at 10:46. Mars and Saturn make a
colourful pair in the south, with Mars being bright orange and Saturn
displaying a subtle yellow shade less than a hand span to its left. For
a binocular challenge late in the week, try to spot Venus and Mercury
close together above the WNW horizon a half hour after sunset. Mercury
is about a degree to the right of brighter Venus on Thursday and Friday
and above it on the weekend.

Due to an unfavourable weather forecast the RASC NB star party at
Mactaquac campground this weekend has been postponed.

Questions? Contact me at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton