In Cortney Pachet’s last video she shared some objects from our collection that might be surprising to some – toys from the 1980s! And now she’s back to share some more iconic childhood dolls from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.
Will her ultimate artifact dreams come true? Watch to the end to find out!
Happy New Year, skywatchers! Although the “start” of our year is somewhat arbitrary, it’s a good time to look ahead at the events we will see during our next orbit of the Sun. We don’t have to wait long, though, for many of the year’s best events happen in January.
However, one “event” that is getting a lot of media attention is completely fake. The January 25 “parade of planets” or “planetary alignment” or whatever it’s being called is a complete fabrication. There is nothing happening on January 25th that isn’t also happening every other day this month, and last month, and for the next couple of months at least. See the “Solar System” section and entry for January 25th in the Sky Calendar for more details.
First: no, there is no “grand planetary alignment” or “parade of planets” on January 25th. What’s being claimed on January 25th has been happening every night for a month and will continue for another month – it’s the association with a specific date that is the error. Planets change their position slowly, being visible for weeks or months at a time. Any clear night in January you will be able to spot four planets in the sky plus Earth, and a pair of binoculars will add Uranus and Neptune to that total. Only Mercury will be out of sight from Canadian latitudes. This is NOT uncommon. But once again we see that interest in astronomy makes it the perfect vehicle to attract “clicks” and “likes”.
Anyway, on to reality…
Mercury was visible in the morning sky in December, but it now sinking back into the glare of the Sun. You *might* catch it during the first few days of the month, very low in the southeast just before sunrise.
Venus is putting on its best show of the year for northern hemisphere viewers right now, standing high in the southwest at sunset and blazing brilliantly. It reaches its greatest elongation from the Sun on January 10th, but it will be obvious all month for the first few hours after sunset.
Mars reaches its closest point to Earth this orbit on January 12, appearing bigger and brighter this month than any time since 2022. It’s also in opposition (opposite the Sun in our sky), so it rises in the east as the sun sets in the west, and is visible all night long. Mars is noticeably reddish compared to other nearby stars, a product of its rusty red plains. A telescope can reveal a hint of Mars’ polar ice cap and some dusky marking on the surface, but very steady skies and high magnifications are required. See image at right for a view of Mars in 2020, when it was even better than this year.
Jupiter was in opposition last month, but it’s lost almost none of its luster, standing in the southeast at sunset and rising high into the south by midnight. Alone among the planets, Jupiter will show some detail in a typical pair of binoculars: several tiny “stars” lined up with the bright planet. These are the four largest of Jupiter’s 95 moons. Jupiter in a telescope is a beautiful sight.
Saturn is coming to the end of its period of visibility this time around, shining in the southwest after sunset. Between the 13th and the 23rd, Saturn will sink lower while Venus rises higher, passing Saturn spending time in the same field-of-view of binoculars.
Uranus and Neptune are both too faint to be easily seen with the unaided eye, although Uranus can be glimpsed as a very faint “star” from a very dark location, and both can be seen in binoculars. The trick is to tell which dot is a planet and which is a background star. An online app like Stellarium can help you track down these challenging targets.
Of the dwarf planets, only Ceres is ever bright enough to catch in binoculars, and only at the right time. January 2025 is not the right time – Ceres is setting soon in bright twilight as it passes behind the sun over the next few months. The other dwarf planets – Pluto, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake – require very large telescopes or imaging to spot.
All times are given in Central Standard Time (UTC-6), the local time for Manitoba. However, most of these events are visible across Canada at the same local time without adjusting for time zones.
Friday, Jan 3, 2025 (evening): The waxing crescent Moon is very close to Venus in the evening sky.
Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025 (evening): The crescent Moon is above Saturn in the evening.
Monday, Jan. 6, 2025: First Quarter Moon
Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 (evening): The moon passes through the Pleiades star cluster, occulting many of its stars beginning about 6 p.m. CST. Watch with binoculars to see the Moon’s orbital motion in real time!
Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 (evening): Venus reaches its greatest apparent distance from the Sun, making tonight theoretically the “best” night to see it. (It’s pretty much the same view for a week or more on either side of this date, though.)
Friday, Jan. 10, 2025 (all night): The waxing gibbous Moon is near Jupiter in the sky.
Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025 (evening): Venus begins to pass Saturn in the southwestern sky after sunset. The two planets are visible in the same field of view of typical 7×50 household binoculars. Over the next two weeks, Venus will slowly overtake and pass Saturn, which is slipping west into the sunset. They reach their closest approach on Jan. 18, 2025.
Sunday, Jan 12, 2025: Mars reaches its closest to to Earth for this orbit, almost 243 million km away. Like all planetary events, you won’t notice a difference between today and any other night this month because these distances change very slowly.
Monday, Jan. 13, 2025: The Full Moon eclipses Mars, an uncommon planetary occultation. For Manitoba, the Moon begins to cover Mars at 8:17 p.m. CST, slowly moving over the red planet over the course of about 40 seconds. About an hour later, the Moon uncovers Mars beginning at 9:04 p.m. CST (in Manitoba), again taking about 40 seconds to complete the reveal. Note that these times are different for different locations across Canada; consult a site like In-the-sky.org for local details, but make sure you start observing a few minutes before the predicted times – sometimes sites like these don’t take into account minor details like the elevation above sea level or the slight out-of-roundness of the Earth.
Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025: Mars reaches opposition, the position in the sky opposite our Sun. This and its closest and brightest for the year always occur within a few days of each other, and also mean that the planet is visible all night long.
Friday, Jan. 17, 2025: Mars forms an almost straight line with the stars Castor and Pollux in Gemini. Castor (the top-most star) is a pure white colour, while Pollux is more yellow. Both contrast with Mars-ruddy orange colour. The alignment persists for a day or so after this date as well.
Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025 (evening): Saturn and Venus are at their closest point as they pass each other in the southwestern sky after sunset (see entry for Jan. 11).
Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025: Last Quarter Moon
Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025: Nothing special. Literally, there is no significant difference between the planets this day and on any other day this month. The online stuff you have read about a “cosmic convergence” or “parade of planets” is completely made up. Yes, the planets appear to be in a line as seen from the Earth, but that’s true on every day of every year because the solar system is roughly a plane and we are one of the planets in the plane. It’s like saying that on a certain date, all the cars on the highway will be lined up, with none of them above or below ground level: it’s technically true, but completely meaningless.
Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025: New Moon
Friday, Jan. 31, 2025 (evening): The thin crescent Moon is below Saturn, very low in the southwest after sunset.
Outside of the regular events listed above, there are other things we see in the sky that can’t always be predicted in advance.
Aurora borealis, the northern lights, are becoming a more common sight again as the Sun goes through the maximum of its 11-year cycle of activity. Particles from the Sun interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and the high upper atmosphere to create glowing curtains of light around the north (and south) magnetic poles of the planet. Manitoba is well-positioned relative to the north magnetic pole to see these displays often, but they still can’t be forecast very far in advance. A site like Space Weather can provide updates on solar activity and aurora forecasts for the next 48 hours. The best way to see the aurora is to spend a lot of time out under the stars, so that you are there when they occur.
Random meteors (also known as falling or shooting stars) occur every clear night at the rate of about 5-10 per hour. Most people don’t see them because of light pollution from cities, or because they don’t watch the sky uninterrupted for an hour straight. They happen so quickly that a single glance down at your phone or exposure to light can make you miss one.
Satellites are becoming extremely common sights in the hours after sunset and before dawn. Appearing as a moving star that takes a few minutes to cross the sky, they appear seemingly out of nowhere. These range from the International Space Station and Chinese space station Tianhe, which have people living on them full-time, to remote sensing and spy satellites, to burnt-out rocket parts and dead satellites. These can be predicted in advance (or identified after the fact) using a site like Heavens Above by selecting your location.
Did you know that some minerals glow under ultraviolet light? Join Dr. Joe Moysiuk in the collections storage to see four different glow-in-the-dark minerals, and learn why they glow under UV light.
Which of these colourful glowing rocks is your favourite?
Mornings in the Museum sometimes feel like the movie Night at the Museum. I cannot say that I have ever experienced anything coming to life when I am inside an exhibit or diorama, but when my colleagues walk by and see two Conservator’s standing beside a bull moose – I am sure it may seem like that to them! So, what happens before visitors, school and tour groups walk through the gallery doors to immerse themselves in Manitoba’s History? You will most likely see the Conservation department fixing, repairing, or cleaning many of the wonderful displays before everyone arrives.
The Conservation team is responsible for the long-term preservation of all 2.9 million artifacts and specimens in the Museum’s collection. That means that we look after not only what is held in our collection vaults, but also everything that is on display the 52,000 square feet of exhibition space – including the beautiful dioramas. Gallery maintenance is an ongoing daily, monthly, and annual job where we rotate between different exhibitions to make sure they are being preserved in the best possible way.
This maintenance happens in many different forms. It usually involves brushes, vacuums, drills, glass grippers, ladders and scissor lifts! We investigate exhibit cases for pests that may be attracted to eating certain types of objects and remove them from display if they are found.
Image below: Senior Conservator, Carolyn Sirett, vacuuming the exhibits in the HBC gallery.
The Conservation team will also carefully go into dioramas to vacuum dust-off furry mammals, wash plants that line the riverbed streams, and repair branches on trees. Perhaps what many visitors may not know is that most of the material in our dioramas are real – yes, the plants and mosses are real. These plant materials have been carefully sourced during fieldwork, pickled in a solution for preservation, and painted to bring back the “living colour” of what it looks like in the natural environment. It is irresistible to reach out and touch these very real pieces of art that are just within arm’s reach, but Conservator’s are big on no – touching! Asking visitors to not handle specimens stems from our passion to preserving history for many visitors to enjoy, and it is also the most challenging part for Conservation department to repair in the galleries.
Image above: Assistant Conservator Estelle Girard cleaning interior of an Earth History Case.
Next time you visit the Museum, I hope you have a moment to look around at all the amazing pieces on display, and now know that there are folks hidden behind-the-scenes caring for them each morning before you arrive.
Did you know that museums don’t only collect really old things? Museums collect contemporary objects all the time in anticipation of future research, education, and exhibits well after we’ve all retired.
In this video, Cortney Pachet shows us some of the 80s toys in the collection. Did you have any of these toys growing up? Which of your toys would you want to see represented in the Museum’s collection?
The Manitoba Museum is a place of discovery, and not only for our visitors! Our Curators travel far and wide to acquire specimens and artifacts for the Museum’s collection. Some of these objects eventually end up on display in our galleries, while others may be significant for scientific research. Some even turn out to be new species.
Alongside a large, animated sea scape, you can see a selection of 450-million-year-old fossils of organisms that once inhabited Manitoba in the Earth History Gallery, Ancient Seas Exhibit. ©Manitoba Museum
This past summer, our Curator of Palaeontology and Geology made some spectacular fossil discoveries near Churchill and Grand Rapids, including at least one never-before-seen extinct species. Back at the Museum, these specimens will be carefully prepared under the microscope, removing overlying rock to tease out secrets hidden in stone. Then, they can be studied and shared through publications and exhibits with the scientific community and the public.
These polar bears interrupted us while collecting an important fossil specimen along the coast near Churchill. Fortunately, we were able to enjoy the photo opportunity and return to collect the specimen once the coast was clear. ©Michael Cuggy
A freshly split rock surface showing a specimen of Lunataspis aurora, the oldest known horseshoe crab. The species was first found in northern Manitoba and described by Manitoba Museum researchers and colleagues in 2008. The specimen is about 4 cm long. ©Manitoba Museum/Joseph Moysiuk
Modern horseshoe crabs, Limulus polyphemus, gathering on the shores of Long Island, New York, to reproduce. ©Joseph Moysiuk
Fossil deposits in northern Manitoba are of global scientific significance and Manitoba Museum researchers have been at the forefront in their discovery and study. These fossils are remarkable for their quality of preservation – even traces of soft organisms like jellyfish and seaweeds have been preserved. The rock layers date back to about 450 million years ago, a time long before the dinosaurs when Manitoba was covered by a shallow, tropical sea.
Dr. Joe Moysiuk, Curator of Palaeontology and Geology (front) and a colleague making the discovery of the new sea scorpion. ©Manitoba Museum/Joseph Moysiuk
A new species of eurypterid (sea scorpion) discovered this past summer, showing the head at left and segmented body to the right. So far this is the only specimen known and the largest sea scorpion that has been found in Manitoba. ©Manitoba Museum/Joseph Moysiuk
Few other places in the world preserve such a remarkable record of this time period, and the Manitoba Museum is the only place you can see specimens from these sites on exhibit.
The Nonsuch is famous for its trip to Canada in 1668 to trade for furs in Hudson Bay. The success of this trip encouraged investors to establish the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1670. But, did you know that the Nonsuch Gallery at the Museum is not set in Canada, but rather in England after the Nonsuch’s return journey?
In this video with Erin, learn about the Deptford businesses you can explore on your next visit to the Museum.
Charitable giving isn’t about charity, it’s about community.
I often think back to my childhood after we arrived in Canada. It wasn’t quite as expected. Starting over in a new country, not knowing the language, struggling to make ends meet, and not having a community was very hard.
I don’t remember being poor, per se. As a child, I’m not sure I would have understood what that even meant. We had what we had.
What I do remember is how much I loved the times we went swimming at our local pool, how proud my mama was of me when I got a good grade on my English homework, how excited I was to unwrap gifts from under our little tree, and how beautiful the table looked on Christmas Eve when we sat down together to enjoy a delicious feast.
I didn’t know at the time that we only went to the pool when it was free swim time, that the people who stayed after school to help me do my homework were volunteers, that the gifts came from a hamper, and our meal from the food bank.
What I did know, is that my life was made better, easier, and more joyful because of all of those things. Because people like you, who didn’t know my family, gave of their own savings to make sure we felt welcomed, supported, and loved in our new home.
My childhood was enriched by the kindness of strangers.
Fast forward a few decades, and now I understand it all. I’ve spent the majority of my career working in community organizations; I’ve personally witnessed the joys experienced by families who receive help from strangers. And I’ve come to understand that when we give to charities, we’re actually giving to our neighbours, the kids sitting next to our own in class, the families enjoying the local pool, the visitors entering the Manitoba Museum to see their stories honoured.
So when I say, charitable giving isn’t about charity, I mean it, I lived it.
Giving to causes close to our hearts it about extending a warm hand of friendship to others, it’s about reminding them that in their moments of hardship, they are not alone.
This year, I donated to a few community organizations whose work changes lives… those who care for our houseless relatives, help Indigenous women escape violence, encourage new Canadians to rebuild their lives, rescue, rehabilitate, and release wildlife in our beautiful province, and of course to my favourite museum (😉). I gave what I could because every gift makes a difference.
I invite you to join me in giving to our community.
If you would like to support the work the Museum does as a vibrant centre of community connection, research, and learning, you can click here to give. Through the generosity of the Johnston Group, all donations made up until December 31, 2024, will be matched dollar for dollar—up to $20,000. Every donation helps us build a stronger, brighter future for our community and beyond. Thank you for being part of our journey and for supporting the Manitoba Museum’s mission to preserve, educate, and inspire!
Dorota Blumczyńska
Manitoba Museum CEO
P.S. In case I haven’t said it enough, thank you. Thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way. I will forever be grateful for your kindness.
P.P.S. This is me on the Nonsuch, about a year after we came to Canada. Then and now, I’ve always loved the Manitoba Museum.
We’ve all had the experience of reading something when a word, a name, or a concept piques our curiosity and sets us off on a research quest. This often happens when I am working with human history collections at the Manitoba Museum and regularly inspires my inner ‘Nancy Drew’.
One such search started with a donation mailed from England. About 40 years ago the donor had purchased a box of old cards and letters for a few pence in a second-hand shop. Amongst them was a black-bordered letter sent by Leonard Beer to Mary Thurman in Sheffield England, dated June 1914. Sadly, the letter contained a funeral card for Leonard’s wife Rebecca Annie and their infant daughter Mary. Leonard lived at 499 Inglewood, Karnac, MB. The donor asked if we knew where Karnac was located as he was unable to find it on a map.
A quick search of reference books on Manitoba geographical names didn’t turn up any results, past or present. Fortunately, we live in a world with vast on-line resources at our fingertips. The next step was a quick Google search for Karnac which naturally turned up thousands of hits for the famous Karnak temple complex near Luxor, Egypt. It is not unusual for Manitoba communities to be named for places all around the world.
But what about “Karnac Manitoba”? Far fewer hits this time including a site with a list of WWI soldiers, one of whom gave an address on Parkview St., Karnac. There were also some Free Press classified ads listing a Karnac address.
My next search led me to an on-line library that includes a digitized copy of a 1926 publication titled Distribution for Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The book contains lists of post offices and rail distribution schedules for mail from Fort William. I didn’t find Karnac where it should have been after Kaleval and Kane but before Katrime and Kawende. It was there however, on the “Nixie” List for Manitoba. Nixie was the designation given to post offices that had been closed. Karnac mail was now to be sent via Winnipeg.
Now I knew that Karnac was not a community but the name given to a post office district. On Library and Archives Canada’s web site I came across a feature on postal history with data base of Post Offices and Postmasters. The Karnac post office, located at 1841 Portage Avenue, was opened on May 1, 1913 and operated until June 26, 1923. For the first four years, Ralph R. Magee served as the postmaster. Following his resignation, the position was filled by A.J. Perrie until closing.
Another great resource for researching local history are the annual Henderson directories for the City of Winnipeg. They are a great way to explore changes in older neighbourhoods in the city and perhaps find out who used to live in your house. Our Karnac Post office first appears the 1914 edition. That year, in addition to the main post office at Portage and Garry, there were 32 sub offices and suburban post offices. Most had only a letter or number designation but some like Norwood Grove, Grand Vital and Morse Place survive as neighbourhood names. Others such as Karnac, Dickens or Derry may be less familiar to us today.
The Karnac Post office was located near the corner of Roseberry St. where today you will find the Good Earth Restaurant. The block from Roseberry to College was home to numerous shops including John Watson Co. Grocers at 1849 Portage, while Ralph R. Magee, ran the post office and a drug store next door at 1849-1/2. By 1918 at Harold Harris operated the grocers and Alex J. Perrie was the new druggist and postmaster. According to The History of Pharmacy in Manitoba, 1878-1953 Percy Braund opened the first pharmacy in St. James at the corner of Roseberry and Portage in 1910. Ralph Magee was the first manager and he purchased the business in 1913. He was succeeded by Alex. J. Perrie ran Perrie’s Pharmacy until he retired in 1945.
On May 1, 1913 the Winnipeg Free Press had reported that a new post office would be opening in St. James, “in R. Magee’s drug store at the corner of Roseberry street and Portage Avenue”. Known as the Karnac post office, it was intended to serve “all the district lying between Brooklyn and Rutland streets”. This would be the third post office in the area along with the St. James post office and the King Edward at the Winnipeg city limits. Readers were reminded that they should add the proper post office to the address rather than just name and St. James or a street address and ‘city’ in order to avoid a delay in mail reaching its destination. That would explain why our letter writer, Leonard Beer, used Karnac as his return address.
The same article mentioned that “the residents of St. James would like to draw the attention of their Winnipeg correspondents to the fact that letters sent to them require a two-cent stamp as St. James is not in the city” where only a one-cent stamp was needed. Residents of St. James often “have to pay two cents extra before they can receive their mail on account of only a one-cent stamp being on the envelope.” On March 17, 1916 the paper reported a change in policy meant that “all territory adjoining the city has been taken into the Winnipeg postal area.” Postage rates within the city had doubled to 2¢ but the 1¢ surcharge to mail a letter from Winnipeg to Karnac was no longer required. Readers could also look forward to letter carrier delivery in the future.
In the end, a simple question from a donor about an unusual place name led me to some interesting postal and neighbourhood history. Along the trail, I also discovered the Karnac Picture Palace or the Karnac Theatre, not far from the post office at 334 Roseberry and Ness Ave. It appears to have operated from 1915 to 1920. But that will have to be a case for another day.
Winter nights start early and last long, making them perfect for star watching. Except for the temperature… and the clouds… Catch a clear December night, though, and you’ll be treated to the brightest stars and planets in the sky.
The great fall comet, 2023 A3 (Tsuchinshen-ATLAS) has come and (mostly) gone, providing some beautiful views in October and November. It’s still in the evening sky, but only visible with telescopes as it rockets away from the inner solar system.
Another comet, Comet 2024 G3 (ATLAS), was discovered by the same program that helped find 2023A3 – the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS. This comet, a so-called “sun-grazer” will likely get quite bright, but only be visible in the daytime sky and from the southern hemisphere, so that means most Manitobans won’t be able to see it.
Mercury passes between Earth and Sun (and slightly above the Sun as viewed from Earth), so it remains invisible until the second half of December, when it appears low in the southeastern sky just before sunrise. On the morning of December 28, the thin crescent Moon is nearby, next to the reddish star Antares.
Venus spends the month in the evening sky, low in the southwest after sunset. The thin crescent Moon approaches on the 3rd, is nearby on the 4th, and is still close on the 5th, making a nice photo op. It stands a little higher at sunset each night, and sets about three hours after sunset. In a telescope, Venus displays phases like the Moon, and in December it is about 50% illuminated, a tiny half-moon shape at high power.
Mars rises in the northeast about 9pm in early December, and a bit after 7pm by month’s end. By midnight it is high in the south, providing the clearest telescope views. Mars reaches its best next month, its closest point to Earth on this orbit, but it’s worth looking at now.
Saturn is low in the south at sunset, and sets before midnight. The rings are nearly edge-on as seen from Earth, but visible in a telescope with more than about 30x magnification. Saturn edges closer to Venus and the setting sun each night, making it lower and harder to get clear telescopic views.
Dec. 1 : New Moon
Dec. 4: The thin crescent Moon is below Venus, just after sunset, low in the southwestern sky.
Dec. 5: The thin crescent Moon is to the left of Venus in the southwestern sky, just after sunset.
Dec. 7: Jupiter at opposition, visible all night.
Dec. 7: The crescent Moon is below and to the right of Saturn in the evening sky.
Dec. 8: The First Quarter Moon is to the left of Saturn in the evening sky.
Dec. 13-14: Peak of the Geminid meteor shower. The nearyl-full Moon will reduce the number of meteors seen, but you can still expect 20-40 meteors per hour in late evening and early morning.
Dec. 14: The nearly-full Moon forms a line with Jupiter and the bright star Aldebaran in the eastern sky.
Dec. 15: Full Moon
Dec. 17: The waning gibbous Moon is just above Mars as the pair rises in the East about 7:15 p.m. local time.
Dec. 21: The winter solstice occurs at 4:20 a.m. Central Time, marking the beginning of astronomical winter in the northern hemisphere (and the beginning of summer in the southern hemisphere).
Dec. 22: Last Quarter Moon
Dec. 22-23: The peak of the Ursids meteor shower, which radiate from near the North Star. They only produce a few meteors per hour, though.
