NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
June 17, 2022 (Friday)
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Edited by:
Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
**Aldo Dorio photographed a Short-tailed
Swallowtail Butterfly on Thursday at Hay Island.
This predominantly coastal species is
only known from coastal areas of northern and northeastern New Brunswick and
Northern Cape Breton Island. It is not recorded in mainland Nova Scotia or
Prince Edward Island.
The flight period is late May to
early July and a partial second brood in August or early September. It’s
favoured forage plants are Scotch Lovage and Cow Parsnip.
It can be recognized by the shorter
tail and more rounded forewing in comparison to the much more common Black
Swallowtail Butterfly.
**It’s Friday and time to review what
next week night sky will have in store for us, should tonight be clear, all
courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason.
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2022 June 18 – June 25
Seasons are the result of the earth’s rotational axis being tilted about 23.5
degrees off the vertical, with respect to its orbit. The first day of
astronomical summer is this Tuesday. The “astronomical” qualification is used
because meteorologists have taken to confusing people with meteorological
seasons based on temperatures. Meteorological summer in the northern hemisphere
includes June, July and August because they have the highest average
temperatures for the year.
On the summer solstice, the Sun rises and sets at its most northerly points on
the horizon. For those of us at 45 degrees latitude, at midday (1:20 pm in
Moncton) the Sun is about 68.5 degrees above the southern horizon; its highest
altitude for the year. If we lived at latitude 23.5 degrees the Sun would be
directly overhead at midday on the solstice. Several millennia ago the Sun was
“in” the constellation Cancer on the solstice, hence that latitude is marked on
maps as the Tropic of Cancer. The dim constellation does resemble a crab
somewhat, but there is speculation that the Sun’s forth and back movement along
the horizon at that time of year was reminiscent of a crab’s sideways walk.
The summer solstice point on the ecliptic, the Sun’s path through the
constellations, has since passed through Gemini into Taurus. The roaming
solstice is due to Earth’s axis wobbling like a top, making one revolution
every 25,800 years in what we call the precession of the equinoxes. Enjoy your
summer, whenever it starts.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:27 am and sunset will occur at 9:13 pm,
giving 15 hours, 46 minutes of daylight (5:35 am and 9:14 pm in Saint John).
Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:29 am and set at 9:14 pm, giving 15 hours,
45 minutes of daylight (5:37 am and 9:16 pm in Saint John). At 6:14 am on
Tuesday the Sun is at it farthest point north, our summer solstice.
The Moon joins the morning planetary line-up this week, visiting Saturn on
Saturday, Jupiter on Tuesday when it is at third quarter phase, and Mars on
Wednesday. For the few days at the end of the week it represents Earth in the
line-up in order of distance from the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth-Moon, Mars,
Jupiter and Saturn. Although Mercury is now moving toward the Sun it is
also brightening, making it easier to detect with binoculars. By midweek Saturn
will be rising before midnight.
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.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
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