The purpose of this feature is to give scout leaders, educators and naturalists an idea of some of the natural events coming up each month.  We will try to cover a variety of natural events ranging from sky events to calling periods of amphibians, bird and mammal watching tips,  prominent wildflowers and anything else that comes to mind.  We will also note prominent constellations appearing over the eastern horizon at mid-evening each month for our area for those who would like to learn the constellations.  If you have suggestions for other types of natural information you would like to see added to this calendar, let us know!

Note: You can click on the hyperlinks to learn more about some of the featured items.  To return to the Calendar, hit the "back" button on your browser, NOT the "back" button on the web page.  All charts are available in a "printer friendly" mode, with black stars on a white background.  Left clicking on each chart will take you to a printable black and white image.  Please note that images on these pages are meant to be displayed at 100%.  If your browser zooms into a higher magnification than that, the images may lose quality.

Though we link book references to nationwide sources, we encourage you to support your local book store whenever possible.

Notes and Images From October 2018

Fall brings sparkling clear nights and starscapes that keep you from noticing the chilly temperatures.  October 4th was such a night.  Looking south from my driveway, the Milky Way stretched from Sagittarius, on the southwest horizon, up over my head and down into Cassiopeia and Perseus. Cygnus the Swan was overhead, its long neck stretched out westward along the Milky Way.  How many flocks of warblers and other songbirds were migrating south in the darkness overhead?  High in the eastern sky, Pegasus the flying horse is inverted, as if caught in the middle of a barrel roll.  I went back inside and got my camera, set it on a tripod, and made the image below. The reddish star Enif, marking the nose of Pegasus, is at upper left. To its right and in the middle of the Milky Way is the bright bluish star Deneb, marking the tail of Cygnus.  Just above it you can see the magenta color of the North American Nebula.  Finally, just above the Milky Way in the center of the image, is Altair, in Aquila the Eagle.  Lots of night flyers overhead!

Looking towards the Milky Way in Sagittarius, one looks towards the core of our galaxy.  But overhead, and into the northeastern sky, the Milky Way traces out our galaxy's spiral arms. The center of our galaxy is dominated by older golden stars. Young bluish stars are more prevalent in the spiral arms, and you can see this color shift in the image.  You may want to compare the colors, and the great dust clouds, with an image of NGC 4565, an edge-on galaxy in Coma Berenices. The brightest part of the Milky Way in the image above is the great Scutum star cloud.  The image shows stars and dust clouds much too faint to be seen with the naked eye, though the eye can make out some of the dark dust lanes. The image was a single 30-second exposure with a Nikon D750 camera and a Rokinon 14mm lens. 

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The Leonid Meteor Shower peaks in the morning hours of November 17th. 

Venus will appear in the eastern sky before sunrise this month, and if you catch it early in the month you should be able to see the tiny waxing crescent.  You can see the crescent in 7x30 binoculars if they are of good quality.  The crescent will wax fuller throughout the month.

Recommended:  The Frogs and Toads of North America, Lang Elliott, Houghton Mifflin Co.