Nature Moncton Nature News: Sept 7 2018

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, September 7, 2018 (Friday)

Please advise editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any errors are noted in wording or photo labeling.

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca

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** Jamie Burris caught a MONARCH BUTTERFLY [Monarque] chrysalis looking like it was about to hatch to set up his photographic gear to catch the event with 17 awesome photos. The first photo is what the chrysalis looked like on Wednesday evening and the rest of the series is what happened over a period of 10 minutes, labeling the photos 1 to 16, with the 17^th being the release 2 hours later. Jamie and Karen have had a lively summer raising CEDAR WAXWING [Jaseur d'Amérique] nestlings to release and Monarch butterfly caterpillars to release. An incredible set of images.

** What a year it has been for MONARCH BUTTERFLIES [Monarque] in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Jane LeBlanc photographed another freshly hatched male ready to head to Mexico. Note the dark patches on the hind wing to indicate it as being a male.

** This week’s Sky-at-a-Glance is included in this edition, courtesy of sky-guru Curt Nason. Lots more to see in the night sky with darkness coming earlier these nights.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, September 8 – September 15
Technically, any three stars in the sky will form some sort of a triangle, but there are those that stand out. Overhead in early evening is the best known celestial threesome, the isosceles Summer Triangle of Vega, Deneb and Altair. Straddling the Milky Way, each star is the brightest in their respective constellations of Lyra the Harp, Cygnus the Swan and Aquila the Eagle. An ancient tale of Eastern mythology depicted Vega and Altair as lovers separated by a river (the Milky Way). I look at them as an updated version of that tale, that of Running Bear and White Dove in the Johnny Preston hit written by the Big Bopper, J.P. Richardson. The Big Bopper would be a good name for a constellation.

With the Summer Triangle overhead, the constellation Triangulum the Triangle is low in the east below Andromeda. Known as a constellation for thousands of years, it has been said to represent, among other things, the Nile Delta and the island of Sicily. If you have a dark sky, use binoculars to look about a third of the way, and a tad to the right, between the tip of Triangulum and the orange star Mirach in Andromeda above to see the face-on spiral galaxy M33.

Now that summer is fading, and if you can't wait for winter, just look to the east in morning darkness for the Winter Triangle. Orange Betelgeuse in Orion's armpit joins with Orion's companion Dog Stars of Sirius and Procyon to form an equilateral triangle. All three stars make the top ten in brightness, with Sirius leading the pack.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:48 am and sunset will occur at 7:44 pm, giving 12 hours, 56 minutes of daylight (6:54 am and 7:48 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:57 am and set at 7:30 pm, giving 12 hours, 33 minutes of daylight (7:02 am and 7:35 pm in Saint John).

The Moon is new on Sunday and passes near Jupiter on Thursday. Venus is low in the west after sunset, setting before 9 pm and appearing about one-third illuminated in a telescope. Jupiter sets at 10 pm so it is observed best in late twilight. Look for its Red Spot with a telescope at 9 pm on Monday. Saturn continues to give awesome views in the early evening while Mars is at its best after 10 pm. Mercury is moving sunward but can still be seen with binoculars. Comet 21P/ Giacobini-Zinner might be seen late evenings and early mornings this weekend within the same binocular field of star clusters M38 and M36 in Auriga, and close to M37 on Monday.

The Saint John Astronomy Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre on September 8 at 7 pm. The William Brydone Jack Astronomy Club meets on Tuesday at 7 pm in the UNB Fredericton Forestry / Earth Sciences Building. Next weekend has the final RASC NB star party of the season at the Kouchibouguac Fall Festival on September 14/15, and there is public observing at the Irving Nature Park in Saint John on September 14 from 7:30 to 11 pm (cloud date September 15).

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

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton