Betelgeuse Betelgeuse Betelgeuse!

You may have heard that Betelgeuse, one of the brightest stars in the night sky, is fading. The orange star forms the top left corner of Orion, probably winter's most easily recognizable constellations. Prior to this dramatic dimming, Betelgeuse was in the top ten brightest stars. Now it doesn't even crack the top 25. It's been clear the last few nights, and it seems to me that Betelgeuse is a little brighter than it had been, but it may be a matter of lighting since I live in civilization.
While the star will certainly end its stellar life with a supernova explosion, astronomers are fairly certain that won't be happening any time soon. Betelgeuse is a variable star, meaning its brightness changes, but that change isn't usually this noticeable or long-lasting. Current trending possibilities for the dimming are an ejection of dust or a cool surface area.

Betelgeuse's location in Orion (Constellation Guide)

If a cloud of dust came between Betelgeuse and Earth, that would obscure light from the star and make it appear dimmer. It could be an interstellar cloud or material ejected from Betelgeuse itself. The cool area on Betelgeuse's surface wold have to be very large to cause a noticeable dimming here on Earth. That cool spot would be similar to the sunspots we get on our own star, only much larger.
If Betelgeuse were to go supernova, it would be the event of a lifetime. In brightness, it would nearly match a full moon for months. It would be visible during the day for about a year.
This week's information comes from AccuWeather.

Species of the Month

Just because we're past Valentine's Day doesn't mean our Species of the Month isn't still lovey-dovey. This month we're taking a look at the mourning dove, one of the most common birds in my area.

Scientific name: Zenaida macroura

Mourning dove with baby

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class: Aves (birds)

Order: Columbiformes (pigeons and doves)

Range: Southern Canada south to Panama

Habitat: Open woods and forest edges near open areas

Lifespan: Average is 1 1/2 years

Diet: Seeds, grains, fruit, insects

Two mourning doves that hatched from the
nest in my flower basket

Predators: Raptors, raccoons, snakes, domestic dogs and cats

Conservation Status: No special protection

Other Information: Mourning doves form monogamous pairs for mating season, with both parents
caring for the young. The male selects the nesting site and brings material to female. He stands on her
back while she builds. I'm not exactly sure how that helps her, but I saw it happen with my own eyes.
Doves in northern areas may migrate to warmer areas in the winter. They make a whistling noise when
flying, and also audible flapping sometimes. Mourning doves get their name from their mournful
sounding call. When I was a kid, I thought it was an owl. You probably see them sitting on a wire by
the side of the road. They have a pointy tail and call out "Who ah who, who who." I noticed the ones in
Washington sound a little different from those in Pennsylvania. Even birds have a Philly accent.

Check out those pointy tails (eBird)

This week's information comes from the Animal Diversity Web again.

Glossary of Terms

Here at Nature minute, we use a lot of big words, or even just smaller words you've probably never heard before. It's a fine line between going over your head with technical terms and dumbing it down too much. In the interest of walking that line, here are some of the words you might hear thrown around the office or in the field.

Alluvium- eroded sediments, deposited on land by water. Areas are sometimes referred to as "alluvial plains"; these are where the soil is made up of mostly alluvium.
Benthic- the bottom of a body of water. A river bed and the sea floor are benthic zones, or benthos. Benthic also refers to the organisms living in the benthos.

These insect larvae are benthic creatures

Brumation- a state of lowered metabolic activity in cold-blooded animals; it is similar to hibernation.
Crepuscular- active around dawn and dusk. Deer are crepuscular mammals.

Deer being crepuscular in my back yard, circa 2015

Epiphyte- plants which grow on other plants, but are not parasitic. In the Pacific Northwest, ferns often grown in trees.

Epiphytic ferns

Ephemeral- seasonal. During the spring melt, ephemeral streams and waterfalls form in the mountains.

Ephemeral waterfall cascading down a hillside

Fossorial- digging species which live mainly underground. Moles and badgers are fossorial mammals.
Hadal- the deepest oceanic zone. Deep sea trenches are the hadal zone.
Littoral- the nearshore zone of a body of water, from the high tide line to the shoreline.

This horseshoe crab is in the littoral zone

Torpor- a state of lowered metabolic activity and body temperature in warm-blooded animals. Like brumation, it is similar to hibernation.
Transpiration- water exhalation by a plant. Water is lost as vapor through pores in the leaves.
Ungulate- mammals with a hoof. They come in 2 orders: Artiodactyla, which have an even number of toes, and Perissodactyla, which have an odd number of toes. Those crepuscular deer are ungulates.