Nature Moncton Nature News: Nov 26 2021

NATURE MONCTON NATURE INFORMATION LINE,

Nov 25, 2021 (Thursday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

**The flocking Northerners are starting to arrive in New Brunswick for their winter solace. Jane LeBlanc was walking the St. Martins marsh and beach on November 25th and heard and then saw a flock of SNOW BUNTINGS. Finally, walking slowly on the beach, she almost stepped on one as it sat quietly. She managed to walk all the way around it, taking photos all the way, and finally walked away with it still sitting there. It may have been trying to stay out of the brisk wind.

**The Cattle Egret continues to be present on the Covedell Road in Tabusintac in the company of cattle. Aldo Dorio photographic care on Thursday, possibly appearing not to be impressed with the cool weather.

Aldo also photographed a lone Common Merganser in the rough water off Hay Island on Thursday.

**It’s Friday and time to look at what next week’s night sky may have in store for us courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason.

And yes, Curt advises the sun will set today in Moncton at 4:37 PM!

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2021 November 27 – December 4
By 1930 the borders of the 88 constellations had been set to cover the entire sky by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the overlords of all things astronomical. Many constellations were created by stargazers in Babylonia more than 6000 years ago, later to be adopted and expanded by the Greeks. Claudius Ptolemy’s second-century treatise, The Almagest, included a star map which included 48 constellations, most of which survived the IAU. A few centuries ago many constellations were made up for the newly “discovered” skies of the deep southern hemisphere and to fill in gaps in the familiar northern hemisphere. In New Brunswick we get to see all or parts of 66 constellations, but some are rather elusive.

Two of the gap-fillers lurk between the traditional autumn and winter constellations in the northeast these evenings, and they can be as difficult to see as their namesakes in New Brunswick. Stretching between Ursa Major and the Gemini-Auriga pair is a sparse zigzag of stars making the Lynx. Just as you are unlikely to see a lynx near urban areas, you need to be in a rural region to spot Lynx. Between Lynx and the semicircle of Cepheus, Cassiopeia and Perseus is the enigmatic and tough-to-pronounce-after-a-few Camelopardalis, which of course is a giraffe. With its head near Polaris, a critter this far north should have been a reindeer. Before you have a few, go out and see if you can locate them.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:36 am and sunset will occur at 4:37 pm, giving 9 hours, 1 minute of daylight (7:38 am and 4:44 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:44 am and set at 4:34 pm, giving 8 hours, 50 minutes of daylight (7:46 am and 4:42 pm in Saint John).

The Moon is at third quarter phase on Saturday morning, rising around 11 pm Friday and setting 1:35 pm Saturday. Mercury is at superior conjunction on Monday, and Friday Venus is at its greatest illuminated extent. As it nears Earth it looks bigger, but also the sunlit portion reduces to a crescent. At some point, about five weeks before and after inferior conjunction, we see Venus at its brightest when the largest visible area is sunlit. Although Jupiter and Saturn are dimmer, they offer more interesting targets in a telescope to the east of Venus. On Wednesday telescope and binocular users might see Jupiter’s moon Callisto disappear behind the planet at 5:37 pm, followed by Europa at 6:48. Mars can be seen with binoculars in the morning sky, rising 85 minutes ahead of the Sun. The International Space Station will be making one or two evening passes each night throughout the week. Check the Heavens-Above website for times of visibility.

On Sunday evening at 8 pm, tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show via the Facebook page or YouTube channel of Astronomy by the Bay.

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