Nature Moncton Nature News: Dec 23 2016

NATURE MONCTON'S NATURE LINE, December 23, 2016 (Friday)

Please advise editor at nelson@nb.sympatico.ca. if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

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Edited by : Nelson Poirier nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca

Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)

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** Jamie and Karen Burris paid a visit to the Tantramar Marsh on Wednesday in hopes for the GOLDEN EAGLE [Aigle royal] which did not co-operate, but the usual nice consolation prizes of 3 BALD EAGLES [Pygargue à tête blanche], 7 RED-TAILED HAWKS [Buse à queue rousse] and 2 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK [Buse pattue] did. Special was a young buck WHITE-TAILED DEER [Cerf de Virginie] that did stop nicely for a fast portrait before bolting. Jamie comments that it had 5 does with it. Sounds like a bit of a happy harem!

** John Inman gets a lot of raptor activity around his 221 Mary's Pt. Rd feeder yard. John captured a photo of a NORTHERN GOSHAWK [Autour des palombes] in flight as well as another from above that was settled on the ground. John also got some nice photos of a RED-TAILED HAWK [Buse à queue rousse] as it came into his feeder area to partake of some scrap meet John had put out for it. John sent his photos via Carmella Melanson who kindly scanned them and forwarded them so that they could be shared with the rest of us. Thank you John.

** After the photos were sent out of a COOPER'S HAWK [Épervier de Cooper] in yesterday's edition, Brian Stone looked through some raptor photo archives and came up with an excellent photo of an immature Cooper's Hawk, taken in August 2008. It was taken on the northern end of Mapleton Rd. in Moncton. Note the thin breast markings that end in the chest area and the robust legs along with the rounded end of the tail to suggest Cooper's Hawk over Sharp-shinned hawk.

** Susan and Fred Richards in Memramcook used a nice photo of their EVENING GROSBEAKS [Gros-bec errant] to wish everyone season's greetings. A very special Christmas photo.

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

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, December 24 – December 31
Evening stargazing can be tricky this time of year with all the festive
lights, especially if you have a neighbourhood Griswald. You can make
the best of it, find a darker location, or wait until most people have
turned their lights off and turned in for the night. Occasionally I make
the best of it by targeting some distant colourful outdoor display with
binoculars or a telescope.

If you happen to be out looking for reindeer early on Christmas Eve, try
identifying a few constellations. In the northeast there is pentagonal
Auriga the Charioteer, with bright Capella the Goat Star at one corner.
Below is the V-shaped face of Taurus the Bull, with the dipper-like star
cluster of the Pleiades marking its shoulder. To the upper right of
Auriga is Perseus the Hero, seemingly standing on the bull’s back. It is
here a patient stargazer can watch a marvel of the night sky.

In mythology, Perseus was a son of Zeus and the mortal princess Danae.
He beheaded Medusa to seek revenge on tormentors by turning them to
stone, but first he rescued Andromeda from the jaws of a sea monster and
made her his wife. 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 one we can see
their combined light diminish and recover. Around 6 pm Saturday the star
is at minimum brightness. By comparing it with nearby stars of similar
brightness you might notice Algol getting brighter.

This Week in the Solar System

Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 8:00 am and sunset will occur at
4:38 pm, giving 8 hours, 38 minutes of daylight (8:02 am and 4:46 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 8:02 am and set at 4:44
pm, giving 8 hours, 42 minutes of daylight (8:04 am and 4:52 pm in Saint
John).

The Moon is new on Thursday, allowing for better views of faint fuzzy
objects with binoculars or a scope during the week. Mercury is at
inferior conjunction on Wednesday, passing between us and the Sun. Venus
continues to edge toward Mars, providing a planetary contrast in
brightness and colour. Mars is a week away from a spectacular New Year’s
Eve conjunction with Neptune, and you can watch them approach all week.
This weekend they are 5 degrees apart, the average size field of view
for binoculars. Take advantage of the late sunrise to observe Jupiter in
the morning with binoculars. Can you see any or all of its four Galilean
moons?

Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton