NATURE
MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, August 30, 2019 (Friday)
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Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca
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** Georges Brun visited Bis Marsh (Louis St.) in
Dieppe on Thursday to see a surprising 4 Great Egrets. I doubt many of us have ever seen 4 GREAT EGRETS [Grande
Aigrette] in one spot in New Brunswick. There were also lots of shorebirds of various
species and Georges tallied 42 GREAT BLUE HERONS [Grand Héron]. A BALD EAGLE [Pygargue à tête
blanche] as well as a NORTHERN HARRIER [Busard
Saint-Martin] were also scouting the marsh, as well as four DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS
[Cormoran à aigrettes], a BELTED KINGFISHER [Martin-pêcheur
d'Amérique] and lots of ducks.
This marsh and the not-far-away from it Riverview Marsh have been very
good to us this year in providing lots of food items to attract many birds.
** The warm-day sound of a cicada from high up in a
tree is a common sound of summer, but we don’t often see these large fly-like
insects as they leave the ground larval stage and head up to the heights to
emit their unique sound (stridulation) mating calls. Debbie Batog was lucky to see a DOG-DAY
CICADA [Cigale caniculaire] in her yard which was a first time for her although
she was very familiar with their sound.
It appears to be on the bark of a pine tree, one of their favourite tree
species.
** John Massey sends a photo of a bumble bee. It appears to be the COMMON EASTERN BUMBLE BEE
[Bourdon fébrile]. This is our most common and largest bumble bee
and with mostly yellow thorax and abdominal segments 2 to 5 black. This species has been greenhouse reared in
the past to increase the number of wild pollinators.
** Brian Stone had a dozen young-of-the-year AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle
d'Amérique] hanging out in his Moncton backyard and on his back
deck on Thursday afternoon. One of them
appeared to be practicing its foraging techniques by picking up sticks, leaves,
rocks and other objects and playing with them.
It eventually even untied knotted ribbon around a small plant pot on the
back deck. It played with it until the
knot was untied, and then tried to remove it but failed. Then a squirrel came along and scared all of
them off. A series of photos of the
activity is attached.
** This week’s Sky-at-a-Glance for the first week
of September is added to this edition, courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason.
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2019
August 31 – September 7
From late summer into autumn, the Greek tale of Perseus and Andromeda plays out on the eastern stage of the night sky each evening. Princess Andromeda, the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, is chained to the rocky coast of Ethiopia as a sacrifice to a vicious sea monster, portrayed by the constellation Cetus the Whale. Our hero Perseus, on his way home aboard Pegasus after beheading Medusa, rescues the princess and wins her unchained hand in matrimony.
The constellation Andromeda consists of two lines of stars stretching toward Perseus from a common point. That point is the bright star Alpheratz, which is officially Andromeda’s head but it also forms one corner of the Great Square of Pegasus. The bottom line of stars is more prominent, containing the orange star Mirach and ending with Almach, which resolves as a pretty double star in a small scope.
The highlight of the constellation is M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, the nearest spiral galaxy to our own Milky Way. A telescope is not required to see this. It looks great in binoculars, and in a rural area on a cloudless night you can see it with the naked eye as a smudge of light. Place Mirach at the bottom of your binocular view and perhaps raise it a bit to see a slightly dimmer star in the upper line of Andromeda. Continue up about the same distance to another star and find the fuzzy expanse of the Andromeda Galaxy nearby. A small telescope will show two other galaxies, M32 and M110, in the same field of view. M31 is 2.5 million light years distant and heading our way. We will have a spectacularly starry sky in four billion years.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:37 am and sunset will occur at 7:59 pm, giving 13 hours, 22 minutes of daylight (6:44 am and 8:03 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:46 am and set at 7:46 pm, giving 13 hours of daylight (6:52 am and 7:50 pm in Saint John).
The Moon was new and at perigee on August 30, making for a great long weekend of dark sky observing and extreme tides. The Moon is at first quarter just after midnight on Thursday evening, giving stunning views through a small telescope of its craters and mountains over several days. Jupiter sets around 11 pm, and telescope users might see its Red Spot around 10 pm on Monday. Saturn is at its highest and best for observing at 9:30 pm. Mars is in conjunction behind the Sun on Monday, being joined the next day by Mercury in superior conjunction.
The annual RASC NB Fundy Stargaze will be held on August 30 and 31 at the Herring Cove campsite in Fundy National Park. There will be public observing at Dutch Point Park in Hampton on September 5 and at the Irving Nature Park in Saint John on September 6. The Saint John Astronomy Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre on September 7, possibly moving to September 14 if a previously mentioned observing event gets shifted to September 7 due to clouds.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
From late summer into autumn, the Greek tale of Perseus and Andromeda plays out on the eastern stage of the night sky each evening. Princess Andromeda, the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, is chained to the rocky coast of Ethiopia as a sacrifice to a vicious sea monster, portrayed by the constellation Cetus the Whale. Our hero Perseus, on his way home aboard Pegasus after beheading Medusa, rescues the princess and wins her unchained hand in matrimony.
The constellation Andromeda consists of two lines of stars stretching toward Perseus from a common point. That point is the bright star Alpheratz, which is officially Andromeda’s head but it also forms one corner of the Great Square of Pegasus. The bottom line of stars is more prominent, containing the orange star Mirach and ending with Almach, which resolves as a pretty double star in a small scope.
The highlight of the constellation is M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, the nearest spiral galaxy to our own Milky Way. A telescope is not required to see this. It looks great in binoculars, and in a rural area on a cloudless night you can see it with the naked eye as a smudge of light. Place Mirach at the bottom of your binocular view and perhaps raise it a bit to see a slightly dimmer star in the upper line of Andromeda. Continue up about the same distance to another star and find the fuzzy expanse of the Andromeda Galaxy nearby. A small telescope will show two other galaxies, M32 and M110, in the same field of view. M31 is 2.5 million light years distant and heading our way. We will have a spectacularly starry sky in four billion years.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:37 am and sunset will occur at 7:59 pm, giving 13 hours, 22 minutes of daylight (6:44 am and 8:03 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:46 am and set at 7:46 pm, giving 13 hours of daylight (6:52 am and 7:50 pm in Saint John).
The Moon was new and at perigee on August 30, making for a great long weekend of dark sky observing and extreme tides. The Moon is at first quarter just after midnight on Thursday evening, giving stunning views through a small telescope of its craters and mountains over several days. Jupiter sets around 11 pm, and telescope users might see its Red Spot around 10 pm on Monday. Saturn is at its highest and best for observing at 9:30 pm. Mars is in conjunction behind the Sun on Monday, being joined the next day by Mercury in superior conjunction.
The annual RASC NB Fundy Stargaze will be held on August 30 and 31 at the Herring Cove campsite in Fundy National Park. There will be public observing at Dutch Point Park in Hampton on September 5 and at the Irving Nature Park in Saint John on September 6. The Saint John Astronomy Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre on September 7, possibly moving to September 14 if a previously mentioned observing event gets shifted to September 7 due to clouds.
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
AMERICAN ROBIN (YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR). 1. AUG. 29, 2019. BRIAN STONE
AMERICAN ROBIN (YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR). 2. AUG. 29, 2019. BRIAN STONE
AMERICAN ROBIN (YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR). 3. AUG. 29, 2019. BRIAN STONE
AMERICAN ROBIN (YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR). 4. AUG. 29, 2019. BRIAN STONE
AMERICAN ROBIN (YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR). 5. AUG. 29, 2019. BRIAN STONE
Andromeda 2019
COMMON EASTERN BUMBLE BEE. AUG 27, 2019. JOHN MASSEY
DOG DAY CICADA. AUG 29, 2019. DEBBIE BATOG
DOG DAY CICADA. AUG 29, 2019. DEBBIE BATOG
GREAT EGRETS (4) AUG 28, 2019. GEORGES BRUN
NORTHERN HARRIER. AUG 28, 2019. GEORGES BRUN
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