NATURE
MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, March 1, 2019 (Friday)
Please advise editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any errors are noted in wording or
photo labeling.
For more information on Nature Moncton, check into the website at www.naturemoncton.com
For more information on Nature Moncton, check into the website at www.naturemoncton.com
Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca
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** A last reminder for the Nature Moncton Gull
Workshop on for tomorrow, Saturday March 2nd. Mother Nature is going to treat us kindly
weather-wise with sun and warmer temperatures, and details are at www.naturemoncton.com under
“Upcoming Events.”
Jane LeBlanc got an interesting photo of a subadult
Bald Eagle as it circled over the St. Martins beach on Thursday morning. Note
the banded tail and the nearly all white face with a dark collar with white
spotting on the wing. It must be near the moult launch to adulthood.
** NORTHERN SHRIKE [Pie-grièche grise] apparently like COMMON REDPOLLS [Sizerin
flammé]. Gordon
Rattray had one to his Weldon bird feeder yard on Monday, and I had one in my
yard. My visitor quietly went to a clump
of bushes to patiently wait for action to come which gave a nice photo
opportunity outside a side window. Note
that ferocious-looking beak that allows this Robin-sized songbird to act like a
raptor.
** The Nature NB Festival of Nature will be taking
place June 7th to the 9th in Saint Andrews. Vanessa and her staff at Nature NB have
arranged an awesome action-packed weekend of nature activities. It is now up and ready to view, and
registrations start today, March 1st, and can be done online or by
mail. Visit the Festival of Nature page
at www.naturenb.ca where all the
line-up of activities can be viewed as well as registration. Early registration is encouraged as some
events have limited number of participants.
Early registration gives a $10 savings as well. A huge thank you to executive director
Vanessa Roy-McDougall and all her staff for all the effort it must have taken
to put together such a great Festival of Nature weekend to whet the appetite of
every naturalist.
** This week’s Sky-at-a-Glance is included in this
edition, courtesy of sky-guru Curt Nason.
I hope everyone is noting the increased number of minutes of daylight
and, on top of that, the seasonal change of the clock is in a mere 9 days.
This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2019 March 2 – March 9
Two of the largest constellations are seen in the southwest and southeast around mid-evening. Eridanus the River flows from Rigel in Orion’s foot to the lower right, and then makes a sharp curve to the left before disappearing below the horizon. It doesn’t end there; it extends at least the same distance southward to terminate at Achernar, the ninth brightest star in the sky. Achernar, of course, means “the river’s end.” The star near Rigel is named Cursa, which means “the footstool.” In terms of square degrees of sky, Eridanus is the sixth largest constellation. It has been associated with many earthly rivers but most often with the Po River in Italy, which the Greeks called Eridanos.
Hydra the female Water Snake rises out of the southeast, with its head reaching as high as Orion’s. A smaller constellation called Hydrus the male Water Snake is near Achernar and is never seen from New Brunswick. Hydra is the largest of the 88 constellations and one of the longest. If you consider the horizon as the ocean surface, and if you have all night, you can picture Hydra leaping completely out of the water and disappearing in a giant belly flop. Its brightest star, Alphard the “solitary one,” just makes the top 50 in terms of brightness. In mythology the Hydra was a multi-headed creature slain by Hercules as his second labour.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:56 am and sunset will occur at 6:06 pm, giving 11 hours, 10 minutes of daylight (7:01 am and 6:12 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:43 am and set at 6:16 pm, giving 11 hours, 33 minutes of daylight (6:48 am and 6:21 pm in Saint John). Sadly, for some, this is the last week of Standard Time. The later sunset times make it more difficult to perform outreach observing for youth groups and elementary schools.
The Moon is new on Wednesday and the slim crescent sits 8 degrees left of Mercury in evening twilight on Thursday. Mars is zipping through the constellation Aries and in a month it will pass between the Pleaides and Hyades star clusters. By the end of the week, Venus, Saturn and Jupiter will be nearly equally spaced along the shallow morning ecliptic.
The Saint John Astronomy Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre on March 2 at 7 pm. Also, RASC NB members will be holding a public observing event at the Kouchibouguac Park Visitor Centre on March 2 from 7:30 to 9:30 pm. All are welcome.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
Two of the largest constellations are seen in the southwest and southeast around mid-evening. Eridanus the River flows from Rigel in Orion’s foot to the lower right, and then makes a sharp curve to the left before disappearing below the horizon. It doesn’t end there; it extends at least the same distance southward to terminate at Achernar, the ninth brightest star in the sky. Achernar, of course, means “the river’s end.” The star near Rigel is named Cursa, which means “the footstool.” In terms of square degrees of sky, Eridanus is the sixth largest constellation. It has been associated with many earthly rivers but most often with the Po River in Italy, which the Greeks called Eridanos.
Hydra the female Water Snake rises out of the southeast, with its head reaching as high as Orion’s. A smaller constellation called Hydrus the male Water Snake is near Achernar and is never seen from New Brunswick. Hydra is the largest of the 88 constellations and one of the longest. If you consider the horizon as the ocean surface, and if you have all night, you can picture Hydra leaping completely out of the water and disappearing in a giant belly flop. Its brightest star, Alphard the “solitary one,” just makes the top 50 in terms of brightness. In mythology the Hydra was a multi-headed creature slain by Hercules as his second labour.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:56 am and sunset will occur at 6:06 pm, giving 11 hours, 10 minutes of daylight (7:01 am and 6:12 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:43 am and set at 6:16 pm, giving 11 hours, 33 minutes of daylight (6:48 am and 6:21 pm in Saint John). Sadly, for some, this is the last week of Standard Time. The later sunset times make it more difficult to perform outreach observing for youth groups and elementary schools.
The Moon is new on Wednesday and the slim crescent sits 8 degrees left of Mercury in evening twilight on Thursday. Mars is zipping through the constellation Aries and in a month it will pass between the Pleaides and Hyades star clusters. By the end of the week, Venus, Saturn and Jupiter will be nearly equally spaced along the shallow morning ecliptic.
The Saint John Astronomy Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre on March 2 at 7 pm. Also, RASC NB members will be holding a public observing event at the Kouchibouguac Park Visitor Centre on March 2 from 7:30 to 9:30 pm. All are welcome.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
BALD EAGLE (SUBADULT). FEB 28, 2019. JANE LeBLANC
Hydra_Eridanus
NORTHERN SHRIKE (MATURE) FEB 28, 2019. NELSON POIRIER
NORTHERN SHRIKE (MATURE) FEB 28, 2019. NELSON POIRIER
