E-Comet Newsletter of the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association |
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Dear Friends,
Please join me in wishing Maria Mitchell a happy birthday! She would be 204 today, August 1st and how the world has changed! Yet equality, science, education, curiosity remain the touchstones to her legacy. To me, the very best way to honor her life is to be in nature. Maria Mitchell represents the connection to nature on Nantucket – whether it is the sky, the land or the sea, we encourage you to take a moment to be in the presence of the natural world.
This month we celebrate our interns for their amazing contributions – a MMA internship is so special – we had over 400 applications for 30 spots in astronomy, history, education, natural science, marine biology and marketing. This group was magical – coming from all over the country – and jumping into island life and learning by doing. We thank them all and expect that they will continue to grow and make the world a better place.
It’s also green crab time – read below and get involved in our contest! And our Gala is on the 4th – visit our website to bid on the fantastic auction items for amazing trips and experiences.
Finally, stay tuned for big news on our aquarium project – we will be making a big announcement this month and we are so excited to share with you all.
Next time you watch the sunset, enjoy the starry night sky, or hear the birdsong on an early morning – celebrate that connection to nature and know that those special things provide the rhythm to life on this tiny island.
–Joanna
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Joanna Roche
Executive Director
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Green Crab Week & Derby
August 8-12, 2022
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Join the MMA, Sustainable Nantucket and the Nantucket Land Council for a full schedule of activities designed to generate awareness regarding Nantucket’s green crab population. We have identification workshops, cooking demonstrations, and a thrilling Green Crab Derby! Grab your nets and a few friends and come join the FUN!
Check here for a full list of events.
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A Big Thank You to Our 2022 Interns |
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Stargazer Gala Online Auction is Live |
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Maria Mitchell's 204th Birthday Celebration
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Celebrate with us!
August 1, 2022 1 PM - 4 PM
4 Vestal Street
Period inspired music by Susan Berman, a special silhouette project with Joanna & Laura, live animal displays, research demonstrations, astronomy activities, punch & cookies, lots of old-fashioned family fun.
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Scallop Presentation with Dr. Val Hall and her Student Interns |
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Tuesday August 9, 2022
4:00 PM
Great Harbor Yacht Club
Val Hall and her students will give a formal overview of bay scallop biology, define their research questions, and describe the procedures used to study bay scallops. In recent years, bay scallops have declined in numbers. Dr. Hall's research is an important component to our understanding of our ecosystem’s overall health.
This presentation is free and open to the public
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Our Very Special Limited-Edition
Heritage Placemats!
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Long-time MMA supporter, Missy Steiner-Griffiths, had the vision for these special Nantucket keepsakes. All proceeds benefit the MMA. The images are from collected antique post cards and archival images provided by the MMA. They are a set of 4 unique designs and are manufactured by the Pickering Company, a small business located in Castine, Maine. |
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Women of Science Symposium |
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“If you don’t look, you don’t see. You have to go and look.”
-Edith Andrews
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Keep Calm and Bird On
By Ginger Andrews
August means shorebirds. The local shore-breeding birds are now sharing the flats and shoals with migrants who nested in the far north. Most individuals make only a brief pit-stop on their way south, although the stream continues as birds of the year follow after their parents.
Sanderlings are just beginning to return, their dances back and forth with the waves endlessly entertaining. Feeding shorebirds signal a healthy beach ecosystem: mole crabs, copepods, marine worms or tiny mollusks, the often otherwise-invisible life of the shore. Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plover, these are relatively easy to identify.
Sandpipers are more of a challenge.
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ASTRONOMY NEWS
National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF-REU)
Student Presentations
August 10, 2022 | MMA Research Center | 2 Vestal Street
This presentation is free and open to the public
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Danya Albosani
University of Connecticut
3D Simulations of Nova Explosions
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Chris Chang
Willamette University
Understanding the Evolution of Magnetically Active Subgiant Stars
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Will Jarvis
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Using Integral Field Spectroscopy to Reveal the Secrets of Galaxy Formation and Evolution
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Kate Shavelle
Columbia University
Dark and Luminous Matter in Colliding Galaxy Clusters
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Devisree Tallapaneni
Cornell University
Astromineralogy with the Energy-resolved Dust Scattering Halo of GX 13+1
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Annavi Uppal
Yale University
Getting Ready to Pinpoint the Locations of Massive Black Holes Lurking in Galaxies with Rubin/LSST
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Listen to the latest episode of "Looking Skyward," a podcast with MMA Director of Astronomy, Dr. Regina Jorgenson, on WCAI. In this episode, Dr. Jorgenson discusses the newly released James Webb Space Telescope images.
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Learn more about Maria Mitchell and the MMA with "Maria Mitchell's Attic," a blog written on a weekly basis by the MMA's Deputy Director and Curator, Jascin Leonardo Finger.
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The Maria Mitchell Association creates opportunities for all to develop a life-long passion for science through education, research, and first-hand exploration of the sky, land, and sea of Nantucket Island. |
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Support the Maria Mitchell Association: |
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