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**We mentioned in an
earlier edition that barn swallows had been seen this week in the vicinity
of the Quaco light in St. Martins. Ted Sears shares a photo of one he saw on November 5.
(Editor’s note: This is
normally a late date to still be seeing barn swallows. It is important to take
special note of any swallows seen in New Brunswick this late. Over the years,
the occasional cave swallow has appeared as an accidental at this time of
year.)
**The recent damp, cool weather is causing some mushrooms to fruit that we did not see with the dry conditions.
John Inman photographed
some shaggy mane mushrooms in
their prime. These are a very tasty edible and hard to mistake for something
else.
Shannon Inman photographed
a mushroom that looks like the king bolete mushroom which, if correct,
is also an excellent edible. To be more certain, a photo of the underside is necessary,
including the spot where the stalk/stipe meets the cap to look for the ‘fishnet’ marked
area.
**This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2025 November 8 – November 15
Jupiter is like a miniature version of the solar system, having four large
moons that we can see with binoculars – Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto in
order of distance – and four smaller moons orbiting closer but beyond the reach
of most amateur telescopes.
When a moon passes behind Jupiter and comes into view on the other side hours
later, these events are called an occultation disappearance and reappearance.
Often they also pass into and out of Jupiter’s shadow, called an eclipse
disappearance and reappearance. They can be seen with mounted binoculars but a
telescope will show them better. A telescope, preferably a larger one and with
high magnification, is required to see the moons transit or cross in front of
Jupiter, and then with difficulty unless they are just entering or exiting
(called ingress and egress). Easier to see is the shadow of a moon transiting
as a small black circle, preceding the moon before Jupiter reaches opposition and
trailing after opposition.
The Red Spot is a large storm in Jupiter’s atmosphere, perhaps looking reddish
or salmon-coloured in a larger telescope at high power. Jupiter has two
brownish gas belts above and below the equator, and the Red Spot is on the
outer edge of the southern belt (which could appear above the equator,
depending on the type of telescope). The Red Spot transits, or appears in the
middle of, Jupiter every ten hours as the planet rotates. A monthly calendar is
posted on the websites or Facebook pages of the local astronomy clubs, showing
the types and times of Jupiter’s visible moon action and the Red Spot transits
up to 1 am.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 7:10 and sunset will occur at 4:54, giving
9 hours, 44 minutes of daylight (7:13 and 5:02 in Saint John). Next Saturday
the Sun will rise at 7:20 and set at 4:46, giving 9 hours, 26 minutes of
daylight (7:23 and 4:54 in Saint John).
The Moon slides between Jupiter and Pollux Sunday night and it is at third
quarter on Wednesday. Jupiter is stationary on Tuesday, after which it begins
four months of retrograde motion as it retreats to the middle of Gemini.
Mercury is low in the southwest, setting about 59 minutes after sunset, with
Mars two binocular widths to its right. Mercury and Mars are hidden in evening
twilight. Saturn’s edge-on rings are a wonderful sight in a telescope
mid-evening, and in the morning Venus rises 75 minutes before sunrise. The
North Taurid meteor shower peaks on Wednesday, best seen an hour or two around
midnight when Taurus is highest.
There is public observing
this Saturday evening between 6 and 8:30 pm at the Irving Nature Park in Saint
John. Check the Saint John Astronomy Club website for updates. The Fredericton
Astronomy Club meets in the UNB Forestry/Earth Sciences building on Tuesday at
7 pm. 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.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
