NATURE
MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, July 14, 2017 (Friday)
Please advise editor at nelson@nb.sympatico.ca if any errors are noted in wording or
photo labeling.
Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca
To respond by e-mail, please address
your message to the information line editor nelson@nb.sympatico.ca.
** The Nature Moncton Information Line
will not be updated tomorrow, Saturday July 15th. All will be back to normal on Sunday, July 16th.
** A nice surprise for Maria Alain when an adult SANDHILL
CRANE [Grue du Canada] appeared in her birdfeeder yard at 9:00
am on Thursday. Maria lives in
Grande-Digue on Route 530 at 58 Rue Nova near the Caissie Seafood outlet.
** Mac Wilmot spotted a cow MOOSE [Orignal] and her calf at Little Kendrick Lake in the Miramichi area recently. Not too often do we get the privilege of
seeing a moose calf being fed. Mac’s
photo of the calf separated could fool anyone into thinking it was a horse.
** Alain Clavette got a nice photo of a
pair of EASTERN BLUEBIRD [Merlebleu de l'Est] enjoying
their mealworm lunch. The video can be
seen at the attached link.
** Beth MacMillan took some excellent photos
of some small finger-sized jellyfish while visiting Salmon Cove,
Newfoundland. It was difficult to get
these identified. Rebecca Milne at the
Atlantic Reference Centre said that they are one of the hydrozoan jellyfish,
scientific name Aglantha digitale. There
are many types of jellies along our coastline, this being one of them. Beth MacMillan comments that there were many
of these finger-sized jellies in shallow water near shore.
** Brian Stone got some nice odonata
photos recently to nicely compare the male and the female versions of the EBONY
JEWELWING DAMSELFLY [Caloptéryx bistre] and the COMMON WHITETAIL DRAGONFLY [La
lydienne]. He also got a BLUET DAMSELFLY
[Agrion] pair in a mating wheel as well as the EUROPEAN SKIPPER [Hespérie des
graminées] which is abundant at the moment and one of the Surphid FLOWERFLIES
to show their incredible wasp mimicry.
** This
week’s Sky-at-a-Glance is added to this edition, courtesy of Curt Nason.
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, July 15
– July 22
Serpens the Serpent is unique among the 88 constellations in that it is
split in two by another constellation, Ophiuchus. As the name suggests,
Ophiuchus is the Serpent Bearer, and he is often depicted holding a
large snake behind his back. The two constellations are also intertwined
in mythology.
Ophiuchus represents Asclepius, a renowned healer who could raise the
dead. After killing a snake one day, he watched as another snake placed
an herb on its dead companion and revived it. From this, Asclepius
learned the healing arts and his success at reviving people drew the ire
of Hades, a brother of Zeus and ruler of the underworld. Receiving a
complaint from Hades that he was being robbed of subjects, Zeus killed
Asclepius with a thunderbolt.
The part of Serpens west of Ophiuchus is called Serpens Caput (meaning
head); to the east is Serpens Cauda (for tail). M16, the Eagle Nebula,
is a rather faint nebula with a star cluster in Serpens Cauda. It gained
fame as the iconic Pillars of Creation photo from the early years of the
Hubble Space Telescope. The delightful globular cluster M5 is found in
Serpens Caput.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:43 am and sunset will occur at
9:06 pm, giving 15 hours, 23 minutes of daylight (5:51 am and 9:08 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:50 am and set at 9:00
pm, giving 15 hours, 10 minutes of daylight (5:58 am and 9:02 pm in
Saint John).
The Moon is at third quarter on Sunday, and it passes near Venus on
Thursday morning. Mercury continues to pull away from the Sun in the
evening sky but it still sets 70 minutes after sunset midweek. Jupiter
is best observed in the first hour or so after sunset, before it gets
too low in the west for steady viewing. Saturn is well placed for
observing all evening between Scorpius and Sagittarius. Venus is the
bright Morning Star, also called Phosphorus by the ancient Greeks and
Lucifer by their Roman counterparts.
Astronomy clubs across the country are participating in a public
National Star Party on the evening of July 29. New Brunswick locations
are Mactaquac Provincial Park and the Irving Nature Park in Saint John.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Serpens the Serpent is unique among the 88 constellations in that it is
split in two by another constellation, Ophiuchus. As the name suggests,
Ophiuchus is the Serpent Bearer, and he is often depicted holding a
large snake behind his back. The two constellations are also intertwined
in mythology.
Ophiuchus represents Asclepius, a renowned healer who could raise the
dead. After killing a snake one day, he watched as another snake placed
an herb on its dead companion and revived it. From this, Asclepius
learned the healing arts and his success at reviving people drew the ire
of Hades, a brother of Zeus and ruler of the underworld. Receiving a
complaint from Hades that he was being robbed of subjects, Zeus killed
Asclepius with a thunderbolt.
The part of Serpens west of Ophiuchus is called Serpens Caput (meaning
head); to the east is Serpens Cauda (for tail). M16, the Eagle Nebula,
is a rather faint nebula with a star cluster in Serpens Cauda. It gained
fame as the iconic Pillars of Creation photo from the early years of the
Hubble Space Telescope. The delightful globular cluster M5 is found in
Serpens Caput.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:43 am and sunset will occur at
9:06 pm, giving 15 hours, 23 minutes of daylight (5:51 am and 9:08 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:50 am and set at 9:00
pm, giving 15 hours, 10 minutes of daylight (5:58 am and 9:02 pm in
Saint John).
The Moon is at third quarter on Sunday, and it passes near Venus on
Thursday morning. Mercury continues to pull away from the Sun in the
evening sky but it still sets 70 minutes after sunset midweek. Jupiter
is best observed in the first hour or so after sunset, before it gets
too low in the west for steady viewing. Saturn is well placed for
observing all evening between Scorpius and Sagittarius. Venus is the
bright Morning Star, also called Phosphorus by the ancient Greeks and
Lucifer by their Roman counterparts.
Astronomy clubs across the country are participating in a public
National Star Party on the evening of July 29. New Brunswick locations
are Mactaquac Provincial Park and the Irving Nature Park in Saint John.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
BLUET DAMSELFLIES MATING 02. JULY 12, 2017. BRIAN STONE
COMMON WHITETAIL DRAGONFLY (FEMALE). JULY 12, 2017. BRIAN STONE
COMMON WHITETAIL DRAGONFLY (MALE). JULY 12, 2017. BRIAN STONE
EBONY JEWELWING DAMSELFLY ( FEMALE ) 01. JULY 12, 2017. BRIAN STONE
EBONY JEWELWING DAMSELFLY ( MALE ) 01. JULY 12, 2017. BRIAN STONE
EUROPEAN SKIPPER BUTTERFLY . JULY 12, 2017. BRIAN STONE
EUROPEAN SKIPPER BUTTERFLY. JULY 12, 2017. BRIAN STONE
FLOWER FLY (SURPHID). JULY 12, 2017. BRIAN STONE
FOUR SPOTTED SKIMMER DRAGONFLY. JULY 12, 2017. BRIAN STONE
HYDROZOAN JELLYFISH (AGLANTHA DIGITALE).JULY 10, 2017. BETH MacMILLAN
HYDROZOAN JELLYFISH (AGLANTHA DIGITALE).JULY 10, 2017. BETH MacMILLAN
HYDROZOAN JELLYFISH (AGLANTHA DIGITALE).JULY 10, 2017. BETH MacMILLAN
LONGHORN FLOWER BEETLES MATING. JULY 12, 2017. BRIAN STONE
MOOSE AND CALF. JULY 10, 2017.MAC WILMOT
MOOSE CALF. JULY 10, 2017.MAC WILMOT
SANDHILL CRANE (ADULT).JUNE 13, 2017.MARIA ALLAIN
SANDHILL CRANE (ADULT).JUNE 13, 2017.MARIA ALLAIN
Serpens
WATER LILY AND ODONATE EXUVIA. JULY 12, 2017. BRIAN STONE
