NATURE
MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, July 7, 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.
** Gordon
Rattray got a photo of a LARGE YELLOW UNDERWING MOTH [La Fiancée], showing its
telltale yellow underwing with black band at the base. This is a medium-sized moth that has become
very common after being introduced.
Gordon’s photo also shows the black dots on the forewing that are
characteristic of this species, but this species is quite variable in the
ground colour of the forewing when the wings are closed.
** David and
Elizabeth Eagles got a great photo of a
male YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER [Pic maculé] that lives in
their Centennial Park neighbourhood in Moncton.
Their photo nicely shows the brilliant red throat and crown of the
male. The female dresses similarly, but
lacks the red throat. They comment that
it does not get along at all with the neighbourhood DOWNY
WOODPECKERS [Pic mineur] and HAIRY WOODPECKERS [Pic
chevelu], noting it gets quite pushy at times with them.
** On
Thursday afternoon, Peggy Bohus and her husband were sitting in their gazebo in
their backyard Cape Breton Rd. home.
Approximately 100 feet away, they spotted a big cat, golden brown with a
long tail. Peggy comments that it was
not a domestic cat as it was standing far too tall. It was smallish German Shepherd in size. It watched them for a short time not moving,
then very suddenly leaped back into the woods.
We are attaching no suggested identification to this report, but feel it
is important to report that an animal of this description was spotted in that
area.
** Aldo
Dorio submits a photo of a very alert-looking RUFFED
GROUSE [Gélinotte huppée].
** This
week’s Sky-at-a-Glance is added to this edition, courtesy of our man of the
night sky, Curt Nason.
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, July 8 –
July 15
With the Milky Way becoming prominent on summer evenings, binocular
stargazing is a great way to pass the time. Save the campfire and ghost
stories for cloudy evenings. A good place to start this year is with
Saturn, which is as bright as orange Antares to its lower right. If you
steady your binoculars on a railing or tripod you might be able to
discern the planet’s rings or at least see that it looks elongated.
Check out the colour of Antares, and pick out the globular cluster M4 in
the same field of view to its right.
Lower left of Saturn is the Teapot asterism that makes up much of
Sagittarius the Archer. If you extend the two stars at the top of the
teapot’s spout to the right you will find M6, the aptly named Butterfly
Cluster. To its lower left is a large star cluster called M7 or
Ptolemy’s Cluster. To the right of M7 is a pair of bright stars, Shaula
and Lesath, which marks the stinger of Scorpius. They have been
nicknamed the Cat’s Eyes.
About a binocular-field width above the teapot’s spout you will find a
fuzzy patch with a small cluster of stars in or near it. The fuzzy patch
is a cloud of dust and gas called M8, the Lagoon Nebula, where stars are
forming. Radiation from hot young stars makes the gas glow, and it can
be seen with the naked eye in rural areas. The cluster of stars is
called NGC 6530, where NGC stands for New General Catalogue. A telescope
will reveal dark dust lanes in the nebula that suggest its lagoon name.
Just above M8 is a smaller cloud, M20 or the Trifid Nebula, and the
nearby star cluster M21. A large scope will show M20’s dust lanes that
separate it into three petals; no relation to the mobile plants that had
their day in the 1962 movie based on John Wyndham’s novel.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:36 am and sunset will occur at
9:11 pm, giving 15 hours, 35 minutes of daylight (5:45 am and 9:13 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:43 am and set at 9:06
pm, giving 15 hours, 23 minutes of daylight (5:51 am and 9:08 pm in
Saint John).
The Moon is full on Sunday, the Mi’kmaq Birds Shed Feathers Moon.
Mercury sets 70 minutes after sunset midweek but binoculars are
recommended to locate it. 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 spends the week moving through the Hyades star
cluster, which forms the V-shaped face of Taurus the Bull.
The Saint John Astronomy Club meets on Saturday, July 8 at 7 pm in the
Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre. All are welcome.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
With the Milky Way becoming prominent on summer evenings, binocular
stargazing is a great way to pass the time. Save the campfire and ghost
stories for cloudy evenings. A good place to start this year is with
Saturn, which is as bright as orange Antares to its lower right. If you
steady your binoculars on a railing or tripod you might be able to
discern the planet’s rings or at least see that it looks elongated.
Check out the colour of Antares, and pick out the globular cluster M4 in
the same field of view to its right.
Lower left of Saturn is the Teapot asterism that makes up much of
Sagittarius the Archer. If you extend the two stars at the top of the
teapot’s spout to the right you will find M6, the aptly named Butterfly
Cluster. To its lower left is a large star cluster called M7 or
Ptolemy’s Cluster. To the right of M7 is a pair of bright stars, Shaula
and Lesath, which marks the stinger of Scorpius. They have been
nicknamed the Cat’s Eyes.
About a binocular-field width above the teapot’s spout you will find a
fuzzy patch with a small cluster of stars in or near it. The fuzzy patch
is a cloud of dust and gas called M8, the Lagoon Nebula, where stars are
forming. Radiation from hot young stars makes the gas glow, and it can
be seen with the naked eye in rural areas. The cluster of stars is
called NGC 6530, where NGC stands for New General Catalogue. A telescope
will reveal dark dust lanes in the nebula that suggest its lagoon name.
Just above M8 is a smaller cloud, M20 or the Trifid Nebula, and the
nearby star cluster M21. A large scope will show M20’s dust lanes that
separate it into three petals; no relation to the mobile plants that had
their day in the 1962 movie based on John Wyndham’s novel.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:36 am and sunset will occur at
9:11 pm, giving 15 hours, 35 minutes of daylight (5:45 am and 9:13 pm in
Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:43 am and set at 9:06
pm, giving 15 hours, 23 minutes of daylight (5:51 am and 9:08 pm in
Saint John).
The Moon is full on Sunday, the Mi’kmaq Birds Shed Feathers Moon.
Mercury sets 70 minutes after sunset midweek but binoculars are
recommended to locate it. 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 spends the week moving through the Hyades star
cluster, which forms the V-shaped face of Taurus the Bull.
The Saint John Astronomy Club meets on Saturday, July 8 at 7 pm in the
Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre. All are welcome.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
Lagoon
LARGE YELLOW UNDERWING MOTH. JULY 5, 2017. GORDON RATTRAY
RUFFED GROUSE.JULY 4, 2017.ALDO DORIO
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (MALE).JULY 6, 2017.DAVID AND ELIZABETH EAGLES
