Nature Moncton Nature News: February 16 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

February 16, 2024

Nature Moncton members as well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond are invited to share their photos and descriptions of recent nature sightings to build a fresh (almost) daily edition of Nature News

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Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

** Everyone: Spring is coming. What better time to think about gardening.

This weekend there will be events called Seedy Saturday happening across the country and we are lucky enough to have one close to home at the Hillsborough Farmers Market. Nature Moncton will be there with a table and members representing our club. Why not come out and enjoy the fun? Info below.

https://www.facebook.com/oldchurchfarmersmarket

Saturday, February 17, 2024 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Old Church Farmers Market
Hillsborough, NB

Learn about seeds and backyard gardening. Learn about what you can do with what you grow.

**Jane LeBlanc in St. Martins continues to have 3 Northern Cardinals in her yard. Last Tuesday, she was very surprised (and somewhat dismayed) to see a Grey Squirrel in her feeder. She also has native Red Squirrels, and finds a good deterrent for both is a two-year-old Irish Setter. The Irish Setter also caught and killed a small vole in the yard, much like you see Red Foxes do.

Jane and her husband Ed were in Churchill, Manitoba in June of 2017 to see Beluga whales. That was the first year their rail line was down, so many that had planned to go by train just canceled altogether. They had the place almost to themselves. (They flew.) They found a very avid birder who worked for Parks Canada there to help with IDs. They also had a private zodiac tour of the Churchill River, and got up close to the whales, as they are very curious. They also had the pleasure of sitting on an empty beach as the tide came in, and watched the whales fishing, as well as hearing them 'sing'. It was quite magical. They have booked a trip back this November, hopefully to see the Polar Bears.

**On Thursday afternoon Brian Stone took a break from his intense chess game with Fred Richards to take some photos of a male Northern Cardinal out Fred's window in Taylor Village even though the lighting conditions were poor. He also noted a 22° Solar Halo was present around the Sun in various intensities for most of the day.

Later that evening Brian gave himself a chill out on a dark road trying to find and image Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks in the constellation of Lacerta (the Lizard).

The comet was too low and too dim for Brian to view it visually with binoculars but one of several long exposure photographs caught the comet amongst a group of dim stars that look odd in his photograph due to strong winds vibrating his tripod. Brian will have a few more chances to get a better image of the comet over the next few weeks, but if that doesn't work out he will have to wait for its next appearance in August, 2095.

**It’s Friday and our day to peer into next week’s night sky, courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason, for a preview of what we may see. Curt will be giving a presentation at the Nature Moncton meeting this coming Tuesday night, February 20. Stay tuned for details.

This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2024 February 17 – February 24

Let’s pay attention to the minority this week. By this I mean the Minor constellations: Ursa, Canis and Leo, all of which are now visible in the evening. Ursa Minor, the Little Bear, hosts the Little Dipper asterism and it has what is arguably the most important and famous star of the night sky–Polaris, the North Star–at the tip of its tail. Although smaller and less bright than the nearby Great Bear, Ursa Minor is at the centre of action in our night sky. How many have heard or even believe that Polaris is the brightest star in the night sky? It actually ranks at number 48.

Canis Minor, the Little Dog, is noted for having the eighth brightest star, Procyon. An imaginary arrowhead formed by Orion’s head and shoulder stars points eastward to the Little Dog. We usually see it as just two stars so it is probably a wiener dog. Despite the brilliance of its luminary, the Little Dog is just the opening act for Canis Major and its leading star, Sirius, the brightest one of the night sky. In early winter Procyon rises first to announce the impending arrival of Sirius, hence the name which means “before the dog.”

Leo Minor the Little Lion experiences difficulty in being noticed, and with good reason. It is one of those inconspicuous constellations created by the 17th century astronomer Johannes Hevelius to fill gaps in the sky. We see it as a triangle between the back of Leo and the feet of Ursa Major. To give it some distinction and pride we can imagine the lion cub nipping at the heels of the Great Bear to keep it from attacking Leo.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:19 and sunset will occur at 5:47, giving 10 hours, 28 minutes of daylight (7:23 and 5:53 in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:07 and set at 5:57, giving 10 hours, 50 minutes of daylight (7:11 and 6:03 in Saint John).

The Moon is in the waxing gibbous phase over the week, leading up to the full moon next Saturday. Jupiter is now setting around midnight. Telescope users might see its moon Europa emerge from behind the planet around 8:23 pm next Friday, then disappear into its shadow seven minutes later. Venus and Mars have a close conjunction on Thursday morning but it will be a challenging spectacle with binoculars. Saturn and Mercury are lost in twilight, meeting up beyond the Sun near the end of the month.

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.