Nature Moncton Nature News: October 18 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

October 18, 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

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**For those who missed Diana Hamilton’s presentation on shorebirds at the Nature Moncton meeting on Tuesday evening, the recorded version can be heard/seen at the link below:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/kgsmj5yw21twc8dnz58gv/Diana-Hamilton-Shore-Birds-2024.mp4?rlkey=ee8704tll3e45bh3edligvza1&st=284ll6zb&dl=0

**Finally! ... On Thursday evening the skies were clear and Brian Stone got some comet photographs before the cosmic visitor gets too dim to be worth photographing. Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is now very visible (in binoculars unless you have super good vision and dark skies) in the evening sky over the western horizon where the Sun sets. The October full Moon was extra large and bright in the sky opposite the comet but was unable to wash it out as the comet is a bright one.

A camera or even a cell phone can record and enhance the brightness of the comet and show details that the eye can't see even in binoculars. Over the next few evenings, the comet will remain visible but dimmer each day, and if the skies stay clear a few more photos of it will likely show up to celebrate such a special visitor. Mark your calendars as it will return in 80,000 years or so. You don't want to miss it a second time around!

(Editor’s note: Brian has some very dramatic photos of this comet. With clear skies predicted the next few days, it will be a great chance to see this once-in-many-lifetimes comet. Icy snowballs can be very dramatic speeding through space!)

**Yolande LeBlanc reports there are at least four Snow Geese tagging along with the large flock of Canada Geese in the Memramcook marsh. They stick together as a group.

Yolande jests she feels they should counted as yard birds!

There is also a new Ducks Unlimited pond. It's so new, it's taking a long time to fill. Yolande has not visited it and is not sure how to get there. She believes you can access it from Leandre St. It's on the Gaudet farmlands. It should be interesting. There is now four sewage lagoons and four or five DU ponds in the Memramcook Valley.

**A heads up on a Nature Moncton field trip to take place this coming Saturday, October 19, with details below:

Nature Moncton Outing – Shorebirds and Waterfowl!

Location: Sackville Water Retention Ponds and Waterfowl Park

Start time: 10:00 AM; Saturday, Oct 19, 2024

Host: Louise Nichols

Starting Location: Parking is available along the side of Charles St. in Sackville. Driving the TransCanada, take Sackville exit #504. Go through the lights and continue along Main St. (Rte 940) as it veers to the left. You will reach a 2nd set of lights at the intersection of Main and Bridge St. Turn left on Bridge St. Follow Bridge St. past Lorne St, past the Marshlands Inn, and then turn right on Charles St. Drive until you pass St. James St. (on the right) and then park anywhere along the side of the road.

The Sackville Retention Ponds were created in the heart of Sackville to divert rainwater through a series of ponds connected by culverts and ditches out to the Tantramar River. Not only does the system provide flood protection to the town, but it is also a significant area for waterfowl and shorebirds. This fall, a group of shorebirds has been frequenting the ponds and this group has included occasional Stilt Sandpipers and Long-billed Dowitchers which are not as often seen. Pectoral Sandpipers are also often among the group along with the usual yellowlegs and occasional smaller sandpipers.

We will visit the ponds and look for the shorebirds in the morning. After a brief picnic lunch, we will walk through the town’s Waterfowl Park in the afternoon to observe the ducks who are by now finished their summer molt and are once again sporting their beautiful bright plumages.

Bring a snack and lunch (if you forget a lunch, there are several fast-food places close to the waterfowl park).

Don’t forget to wear your name tag! All are welcome, Nature Moncton members or not.

**This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2024 October 19 – October 26

The western side of the Square of Pegasus points southward to the solitary bright star Fomalhaut in the mouth of Piscis Austrinus, the Southern Fish. Fomalhaut is the 17th brightest star in our night sky, and astronomers have known it is surrounded by discs of debris for many years. In 2008 an exoplanet was imaged near the inner edge of a disc but more recent images have shown it be remnants from a collision. The eastern side of Pegasus points down to Diphda, the brightest star in the tail of Cetus the Whale. A circlet of stars well to the east forms the head of the whale.

Between Piscis Austrinus and Cetus is the dim constellation Sculptor, which is a shortened version of its original name, Apparatus Sculptoris (the sculptor’s studio), given by Louis de Lacaille in the 18th century. By 11 pm it is low in the south but it does have a prominent marker. Use binoculars to seek out a long triangle of dim stars stretching eastward from Fomalhaut, but don’t be discouraged if your attempt to locate Sculptor is a bust.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:42 and sunset will occur at 6:24, giving 10 hours, 42 minutes of daylight (7:46 and 6:31 in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 7:52 and set at 6:13, giving 10 hours, 21 minutes of daylight (7:55 and 6:19 in Saint John).

The Moon is near Jupiter on Monday evening, near Pollux and Mars on Wednesday, and it is at third quarter phase on Thursday. Venus shines brightly low in the southeast in the early evening, setting around 8 pm midweek. Mercury is in the evening sky but it sets too soon after sunset to be seen comfortably. Saturn is at its highest and best for observing in late evening, showing off its rings nearly edge-on. Jupiter will be rising around 9 pm midweek, and on Thursday telescope users might catch its moon Io disappearing into the planet’s shadow at 9:55. Reddish Mars can be seen rising below Gemini around 11:30, making its way toward Cancer over the week.

With the Moon out of the sky in early evening, comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS should remain a beautiful sight in binoculars, approximately a hand-span above Venus and a fist-width to the right this weekend. It will climb up through Ophiuchus over the week. The Orionid meteor shower, caused by remnants of Halley’s comet, peaks on Monday morning. Look for shooting stars emanating from Orion’s upraised club. Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and Facebook page of Astronomy by the Bay.

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