Astroportrait by Charity Grace Mofsen

Maria Mitchell Association Monthly e-Comet Newsletter

JANUARY 2024

Dear Friends –

It's the last day of the year and I am just back from the Christmas Bird Count, my first time. After speaking with Ken Blackshaw, Libby Buck, and of course, Ginger Andrews how could I not? 

The Nantucket count started in the 1950’s with Ginger’s parents at the UMASS Field Station and in the most fitting way, that’s where I started this morning. 

The experience was rich with life lessons and a perfect way to reflect on the close of 2023 and the promise of 2024. First, birder’s are intrepid. They are up at dawn and out all day, they are not counting just today but there is pre- and post-counting. They are armed with tools of the trade, Ebird and Merlin, both new to me, as well as binoculars and scopes. They comb specific sections of Nantucket noting birds – how many, male or female, color, location and time, creating data sheets that are transmitted to the leader. Our leader was Yvonne Vaillencourt who was extremely patient with explaining the rules. We lasted about three hours and saw around seventy birds, no Frigates (once in a lifetime bird reference). 

Here are my takeaways-

1. Dress warmly – in life and in general; better to need to take things off than add things you don’t have.
2. Beginner’s Mind – when was the last time you had a completely new experience? It’s awesome. 
3. Be quiet and be patient – the birds come to you.
4. Listen – when you are still in the woods you can hear.
5. Write everything down – every detail is important on the count.
6. It is enough to just be out there doing it - we didn’t see a lot of birds, it was cold, and to spend time in nature with no phones focused on something other and as basic as counting birds was refreshing.

We (the MMA and me) have written about wonder this past year, how do we experience it and nurture it in our children, how do we make time for it in our lives and create that connection. Well, today at around 9am on a tree, hanging over a vernal pool looking for a chickadee or a sparrow I found it, and also my new word for 2024. Curiosity, the driver of wonder. 

Thank you dear friends and supporters of Maria Mitchell – thank you for showing up at our events, for your energy, your children and their wonder, your ideas, your enthusiasm, your time spent volunteering, and your generous gifts that ensure we keep pushing the wonder of nature and science out into our community and the world.

Cheers to 2024! 

With deep appreciation,

Joanna Roche

Executive Director

jroche@mariamitchell.org

THIS MONTH AT THE MMA

THE CURIOSITY PROJECT

Curiosity can change the world.

The Maria Mitchell Association is launching the Ack Curious Project this month.

Over the next year, as we aim to build awareness of our Discovery Center & Aquarium project and ultimately support, we want to focus on curiosity. 

We want to know what you are curious about. 

We will field questions, offer explanations, find information, and offer inspiration, on anything SKY, LAND, AND SEA. Find something on the beach? See a bird on a walk? Want to know the name of the constellation you saw? We’ve got you. 

Our team of researchers, biologists, ecologists, collective experts on all things nature will answer your questions. We’re going to do all of this on Instagram, and we will use the hashtag #AckCurious. Tag your question with this hashtag, and we’ll comment and repost an answer to stories or feed. Or e-mail us, call us, or ask us in-person.

By sharing the questions and answers, we encourage curiosity about our habitat, the inhabitants, and the wonder of Nantucket’s nature. 

Maria Mitchell was known for her nature walks. She took one everyday. We invite you to join us in creating that simple practice in your life, taking a walk, where you are present and curious. We hope this sparks all kinds of questions, and we can’t wait to hear from you! 

We remain grateful for your support — in all forms, and the privilege of inspiring and nurturing curiosity. 

Read more and watch our video on our Discovery Center & Aquarium Project in the MMA News & Events section below.

BECOME A MEMBER!

Our Members are Essential to Everything We Do

Members Give:

• Support that enables us to create 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.

2024 Members Receive:

• Unlimited free admission to the Aquarium, Natural Science Museum, Loines Observatory, and the Historic Mitchell House;
• Guest Passes (4 per year);
• Registration access for Discovery Camp programs;
• Free admission to Open Nights and lectures;
• Free subscription to online newsletter, the e-Comet;
• Discounts on field trips, workshops, and other programs;
• 20% discount on programs and merchandise;
• Invitations to special Member-Only events;
• Membership Sticker;
• 25% off Kids Birthday Parties;
• Acknowledgement in our Annual Report.

After You Join, please use the link below to activate your membership, giving you access to your online benefits, including program discounts.

This step is required to receive program discounts.

SUMMER DISCOVERY CAMP REGISTRATION

COMING SOON!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

Island Family Registration begins January 8, 2024 at 6am.

All Members Registration begins January 15, 2024 at 6am.

Camp registration is available to MMA Members only. You must register for membership prior to camp enrollment. If your membership expired, or is about to expire, we encourage you to renew at your earliest convenience so that you are ready to book our 2024 Camps.

If you have any questions, please contact our offices at info@mariamitchell.org or at 508.228.9198.

We are EXCITED to welcome students back for our

After-School Series and Early Release Days beginning in January.

Winter Break Discovery Camp will run the week of February 26.

Click the links below for more information.

AQUARIUM NEWS

The MMA bid an emotional farewell to our Aquarium location at 28 Washington Street and will be moving to a temporary location for the 2024 season.

DISCOVERY CENTER & AQUARIUM PROJECT

The Maria Mitchell Association is on a mission to create a Discovery Center & Aquarium that takes on climate change education and coastal resiliency adaptation. We've unveiled plans for renovating our waterfront property into the first coastal resiliency project on Nantucket. The project is specifically designed to adapt to the rising waters in real-time. We need and remain grateful to community and colleague support to manifest this vision.

The re-imagined space will feature hands-on and experiential learning opportunities, an expanded, state-of-the-art aquarium and marine biology lab, rotating exhibits highlighting the history of Maria Mitchell and her role in history and science, community gathering spaces, and improved residential housing for MMA staff.

On October 7, 2023, the MMA announced preliminary plans to move and expand its popular Aquarium. The new expansion will be located at 33 Washington Street and will incorporate four of the existing buildings on the site. The MMA will open a temporary aquarium during the construction phase.

THE 2024 MARIA MITCHELL ASSOCIATION INTERNSHIP

APPLICATIONS ARE LIVE!

Summer 2024 Internship Opportunities are now posted on our website!

Students studying marine biology, the natural sciences, astronomy, education, history/art history/historic preservation, non-profit development, and communications and marketing are invited to apply.

If you have a qualified undergraduate or graduate student in mind who'd enjoy interning on picturesque Nantucket Island this summer,

help us spread the word by sharing the link below!

Come join our amazing team!

THE MMA ASTRONOMERS TRAVELED TO LARGEST

GROUND-BASED OPTICAL TELESCOPES IN THE WORLD

FOR RESEARCH

Image from video by SEAN GOEBEL/W. M. KECK OBSERVATORY

In mid-December, the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association’s astronomy staff traveled to the site of the largest ground-based optical telescopes in the world, the Keck Observatory, located on the Big Island of Hawai’i. The MMA’s National Science Foundation (NSF) astronomy post-baccalaureate research fellows, Emmy Wisz and August Muller, traveled to the Big Island of Hawai’i to use the famous Keck telescopes to obtain data for their research projects unraveling the mysteries of the universe.

Read more here.

Stay tuned for updates from their trip.

REU INTERNS TO PRESENT AT

THE AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

This month, the REU Interns and the MMA Astronomy team head to New Orleans, Louisiana for the 243rd annual American Astronomical Society (AAS) Meeting to present their summer research findings. Each summer, six college students participate in the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates Astronomy internship, funded by the National Science Foundation. The interns conduct their own individual research projects, as well as lead thrice-weekly Open Nights at Loines Observatory. According to Dr. Jorgenson, the MMA’s Director of Astronomy, "The AAS meeting is both a highlight and the grand conclusion of the summer research experience for each student. The interns work hard all summer and this is their chance to share their research with professional astronomers from around the world. This summer’s interns are fantastic ambassadors for the Maria Mitchell Association and science on Nantucket Island.”

THE HINCHMAN HOUSE NATURAL SCIENCE MUSEUM

Reopens Friday, January 5

Stop by Friday through Sunday, from 10am to 2pm, to feed and meet the animals, and to learn more about the natural world.

MMA PROGRAMMING

Resumes Friday, January 12

WINTER 2023 PROGRAMS AT A GLANCE:

Ravenous Reptiles: Friday through Sunday, 9am - 10am

Nature Story Hour: Friday through Sunday, 10:15am - 11:15am

Sensational Science: Saturdays, 12pm - 1pm

Biological Collections Open Hours: Saturdays, 10am - 12pm

Nantucket Bird Walk: Saturday mornings, dates coming soon

Please view our calendar here.

"If you don't look, you don't see. You have to go and look."

-Edith Andrews

BIRD ON! JANUARY

BY GINGER ANDREWS

Winter birding? For die-hard birders, it’s a no-brainer. Of course we want to look at birds in the winter! That’s the best time! Undistracted by summer hordes, birds enjoy the extra space, not to mention peace and quiet, that winter brings. And the cast of characters we see in winter is as different from the summer regulars, as lolling half naked on a towel is from the winter coat, gloves, headgear, boots, etc. that we put on to keep frostbite away.

For winter comfort, forget fleece. Layer wool. Insist on wind and water proof, emphasis on proof. It takes a serious commitment on the part of a manufacturer to produce functional clothing, and most can’t be bothered. Let’s face it, most so-called winter garb favors appearance over comfort and is designed to only cover the thirty seconds between the car and the door. But assuming one has already heeded the Irish maxim, “There’s no bad weather, just improper dressing,” there are still a few useful extra tips. One is to find a lee. Try a beach with the wind off-shore that day. Get on the lee side of a dune, a tree, a building. Or park in such a way that the car blocks the wind.

This makes it easier to enjoy the White-winged Gulls, alcids such as Razorbills, two species of Loons, three species of Scoters, or Harlequin, Common Eider, or Long-tailed Ducks. Red-necked or Horned Grebes in salt water, Pied-billed in fresh; the ubiquitous Buffleheads; or Canvasbacks or Red-heads, American Wigeon or Coot: there is plenty to look at in the winter. Yellow-rumped Warblers will be with us as long as there are bayberries to eat, and a stray Palm or Orange-crowned Warbler may linger into January.

No matter where you go, Nantucket is still a wonderful spot for birds in any season.

NIGHT SKY JANUARY ALMANAC

By Nick Graber, MMA Astronomy Program Assistant

Our view of the night sky is constantly changing as the Earth makes its way around the Sun. Each month gives us a chance to observe some new things, so check out our highlights below for January 2024!

Our galaxy is home to many nebulae, structured clouds of gas and dust that are often photographed in gorgeous multicolor. One of the most impressive of these is the Orion Nebula, which is particularly close to Earth and particularly well-studied. Its great sweeping arc of gas is an active star forming region, constantly creating new stars out of collapsing gas clouds, and it stretches twenty-four light-years from end to end (that’s over one hundred trillion miles). It’s so big, in fact, and so close to Earth, that the Orion Nebula is visible with the naked eye on a dark, clear night. Better yet, a pair of binoculars will do wonders for bringing out this fuzzy nebula! Look for it within the constellation of Orion, detailed more below. The nebula appears as one of the middle stars in Orion’s sword, and to human eyes it will appear as a lopsided gray star a bit larger than those around it. Binoculars may bring out more structure, like the primary arc of gas spreading out from a hook-shaped center. Not many nebulae are visible without a larger telescope and a camera, so the Orion Nebula is a great way to get a firsthand look at these beautiful regions of space.

As the Earth makes its way around the Sun, different constellations will be visible in the night sky. January is the best time to view the constellations Taurus, Orion, and the Winter Hexagon. Taurus the bull, a zodiacal constellation, was featured back in November when discussing the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters. Its central “head” or triangle-shape has two longer horns rising from it, while the body stretches down towards the horizon at a diagonal. Orion the hunter appears right next to Taurus, since the Greek hero is actually shooting an arrow at the bull! Look for the signature three stars of Orion’s belt, from which his shoulders go up to red-tinted Betelgeuse and his hips go down to white star Rigel. Orion’s sword, where the nebula resides, hangs from his belt towards Rigel.

Our third constellation is not a constellation at all, but is instead an asterism. Asterisms are patterns of stars useful for orienting oneself in the night sky, but don’t have the official constellation designation. The Winter Hexagon, so named for showing up in the winter and having six sides, is a useful asterism for remembering the names of the brightest stars in the winter sky, starting with the star in the center of the hexagon, Betelgeuse. You’ll be able to find this star on Orion’s left shoulder, and from there you can find the other points of the hexagon spread out around it. Bright and straight overhead is Capella, and going around the hexagon counter-clockwise gives you star names in (almost) alphabetical order: after Capella it goes Castor-and-Pollux (the twin stars of Gemini), Procyon, Sirius, and Rigel, before jumping back to the beginning of the alphabet for Aldebaran, and finally back to Capella. Altogether, these stars form an irregular hexagon in the night sky, and can be a good anchor when finding other constellations!

LOOKING SKYWARD

In this edition of "Looking Skyward," WCAI's John Basile talks with Dr. Regina Jorgenson of the Maria Mitchell Association Observatory about two recent missions to learn more abut asteroids.



Listen here!

MARIA MITCHELL'S ATTIC

Learn more about Maria Mitchell and the MMA with "Maria Mitchell's Attic," a blog written on a weekly basis by MMA Deputy Director and Curator, Jascin Leonardo Finger.



Read here!

The MMA Gift Shop at the Hinchman House Natural Science Museum at 7 Milk Street will reopen Friday, January 5.

Stop by Friday - Sunday from 10am - 2pm to see our unique selection of apparel and gifts for your nature and science lover, or shop online here!

The Hinchman House Natural Science Museum:

Reopening Friday, January 5

10am - 2pm, Friday - Sunday

Loines Observatory:

Closed until April 2024

The MMA Aquarium:

Closed for the season

The Historic Mitchell House:

Closed for the season

Research Center:

Reopening Saturday, January 6

10am - 12pm, Saturdays

The MMA Administrative Offices will Reopen Tuesday, January 2

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.

Support the Maria Mitchell Association: