Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS C/2023 A3 is now visible an hour or more after sunset in the west. The comet is faint and is easier to see with the help of a pair of binoculars. We and a lot of Vineyarders were able to watch the comet last Tuesday night, and a few saw it the previous night.
The night skies this week included a rare phenomena. Northern Lights, usually associated with the arctic and Northern New England observable sites were visible on the Cape and Islands. Photographers posted pictures on social media and from Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.
One particular sighting took place last Sunday night. There was a post of Northern Lights being seen from Aquinnah. Another sighting was seen from Inkwell Beach in Oak Bluffs on the same night. We wandered late at night along East Chop Drive trying to get a good view.
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is so hard to see. This past week we were blessed with clear morning skies, but despite our best efforts the comet was not bright enough for us to see.
Wait a week. The next opportunity to try and see this faint comet will be when it appears low in the western sky after sunset beginning next Thursday night and subsequent nights. We think this comet is going to be hard to see, binoculars will help at best.
Astronomers are watching a comet now in our early morning sky. You may see it starting this weekend and through the coming week. Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS was discovered back in January of 2023. Ever since, astronomers have gathered data and speculated on whether it will be bright enough for us to see without a telescope or binoculars.
If it is as bright as some optimists are hoping, you won't have any trouble finding it low in the east southeastern sky about an hour or less before sunrise.
We've been enjoying the brilliant planet Saturn in the evening sky. The planet is both close and convenient to spot. Look in the southeastern sky about an hour or so after sunset and you'll see the planet pretty much by itself. There is no confusing Saturn with any other object in that area of the sky. Saturn is the brightest.
We've enjoyed looking at the planet through a telescope. The rings are a dramatic sight when compared to any other planet in the sky.
We've got planets in the evening and morning skies. Venus is low in the southwestern sky after sunset. It may be a hard plant to find, since it appears so close to the horizon. This will change in the months ahead, as it appears higher and higher after sunset.
We seldom see hail in Vineyard skies. We got a dose this past Monday afternoon when a line of thunderstorms approached from the Cape. The storm came from the north. The skies darkened. Then the rain came.
Depending on where you were on the Vineyard or in Southern New England, the storm produced vivid lightning and thunder and copious amounts of hail. We haven't seen hail around this parts in a really long time. Or, if you have a memory, you'll agree we haven't seen such a significant amount of hail come quickly in a short splendid time.
Aquinnah selectmen this week held off on signing a conservation restriction on two parcels that are tied to the Moshup Trail Project. Two of the three selectmen told Brendan O’Neill, the executive director of the Vineyard Conservation Society, that there are too many unresolved issues.
Selectman Walter Delaney said: “I do have questions.” Mr. Delaney said at least one of the parcels, five acres belonging to South Shore Beach Inc., is used as a beach access club. Mr. Delaney asked how a conservation restriction can apply to a 16-car parking lot and how it benefits the town.
The best evidence of seasonal change isn't only in the weather and occasional drop with the temperature, it is in the night sky. Go outside late and you are under a canopy of autumn. Late Monday night step out and look for the moon. The Last Quarter moon is in the zodiiacal constellation Taurus, the Bull, a constellation we associate with fall and winter. The moon is right next to the large star cluster Pleiades. Now that is a sign of autumn in the air.
