Nature Moncton Nature News: Feb 17 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

Feb 17, 2023

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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

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**Seedy Saturday is a nation-wide event promoted by Seeds of Diversity.

Nature Moncton will be attending the Seedy Saturday event on Saturday, February 18, 2023, 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM at the Old Church Farmers Market, 2807 Main St., Hillsborough, NB, Canada E4H2X5. We plan to have a table to promote our club and maybe give some seeds away and get some as well. If anyone has collected some seeds to give away please feel free to join us or let me know and we will try to pick them up.

Feel free to come and check it out. Thanks

Fred Richards

President Nature Moncton

**The numbers of Common Redpoll that vacationed with us in New Brunswick this winter have been low. Presumably, there is enough food for them in the north to remain for the winter.
Aldo Dorio did spot and photograph 2 Common Redpolls in Neguac on Wednesday. They appeared brightly plumaged and preparing for the season ahead.

**Fred and Lynn Dube put out some dog kibble in their Lower Coverdale driveway (surrounded by subdivision) on Wednesday night to see what would show up and were quite surprised at the results!

A Coyote and a Raccoon triggered the trail camera with always the possibility they were not alone.

**Nelson Poirier drove along the highway through the Jemseg wetlands bordering Grand Lake and took note of the muskrat lodges that melting snow had exposed. This area must be a muskrat heaven for the species. Some of the lodges when zoomed in were surprisingly large, assumedly multiunit dwellings. One could easily see the building material of a muskrat lodge is compacted plant material, whereas the beaver lodge would have a stick component.

**It’s Friday, and time to review what next week’s night sky will have for us to peruse courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2023 February 18 – February 25
Winter is open cluster season for stargazers. They are also called galactic clusters because they form in the spiral arms of our galaxy. In winter, we are looking toward a spiral arm opposite the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Two such clusters, the Pleiades (M45) and the Hyades, form the shoulder and face of Taurus the Bull, and they are bright enough to be seen within urban areas. Other clusters are visible to the naked eye but require a clear sky with minimal light pollution.

One of these is the Beehive cluster (M44) in the constellation Cancer the Crab, which lies between Gemini and Leo. The Beehive resembles a large glowing patch of haze to the eye, and its many stars fill the view in a telescope, but large clusters like this are appreciated best with binoculars. In times long past, the cluster was used as a storm predictor as it would be one of the first objects to disappear when the light clouds that precede a weather system would move in.

The Coma star cluster, or Melotte 111, lies in Coma Berenices between the tail of Leo and Canes Venatici. It is a large, somewhat sparse cluster that spills beyond the view of most binoculars, and centuries ago, it was regarded as the tuft of Leo’s tail. Another one, or two, is the Double Cluster between Perseus and Cassiopeia. This pair fits within the view of a low-power telescope eyepiece, but binoculars give a better perspective. Following a nearby string of stars with binos will bring you to the large Stock 2 star cluster, which is less spectacular but delightful to observe.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:17 am, and sunset will occur at 5:49 pm, giving 10 hours and 32 minutes of daylight (7:21 am and 5:55 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday, the Sun will rise at 7:05 am and set at 5:59 pm, giving 10 hours and 54 minutes of daylight (7:09 am and 6:05 pm in Saint John).

The Moon is new and near perigee on Monday, resulting in extreme tides early in the week. The Moon will be below Venus on Tuesday and near Jupiter Wednesday. Watch speedy Venus close the gap to Jupiter over the rest of the month. Mars inches between the horns of Taurus, highlighting a red triangle with Aldebaran and Betelgeuse. Mercury is heading toward a morning meet-up with Saturn at the end of the month but they will be too close to the Sun for observing. Comet E3 ZTF fades as it spends the rest of the month sliding to the western side of Orion’s shield, and a telescope is recommended to observe it.

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.