Maybe you noticed, maybe you didn’t, but Easter came really early this year. But what does a bunny hand-delivering colored eggs and loads of chocolates have to do with gardening?

Ever wonder why Easter hops around like a bunny trying to get away from a fox? Most, although not all, holidays fall each year on a set date. It’s much easier to keep track of them that way. What if Valentine’s Day and Christmas jumped around the way Easter does? It makes it kind of hard to plan decorating and festivities, doesn’t it? It’s a challenge to even remember when to celebrate.

So why is it that Easter skitters hither and yon like a drop of water on a hot skillet? Is it simply afraid of commitment?

How many of you, enticed by our warmer-than-usual March weather, gleefully donned your shorts and flip-flops and got all gung-ho about planting your garden or your flowerbeds? The big-box stores were certainly eager to foster your addiction with all kinds of Hansel- and Gretel-esque “gingerbread house” plant displays.

Long before Easter was, well, Easter, the date now chosen as the holiest of Christian holidays was earlier established as an ancient planting guide that varied, according to the full moon. Our ancestors didn’t always have calendars. Some of them just didn’t pay that much attention. Others, like some of us, wanted to jump the gun and get a head start on the planting season. Weather was cold, weather turned warm, and then they got antsy, the same way we do.

Unlike us, if they planted and lost their seeds or tender, young plants to frost or cold weather, they couldn’t just run out to the nearest garden center and buy more. Saved seeds were often the difference between having plenty of food and going hungry — or even starving to death.

And then there’s that pesky difference between cole crops and warm-season crops. Some plants thrive in cold weather, and some can’t stand it. Some plants love hot weather, and some melt. It’s like the difference between someone who loves winter and someone who prefers summer.

Not only do we need to know when to plant, we need to know what to plant. Blessed as we are, here on the coast, with multiple growing seasons, there’s still an art to getting the cole crops finished before the heat sets in, and getting the warm season crops in as soon as we can without them getting zapped by frost.

You may be thinking, “We’re not growing crops on the moon, so what difference does the moon make to anything?”

The moon, that gorgeous, greenish cheese wheel in the sky, waxes and wanes on a regular schedule. Full every 28-ish days, its increasing and decreasing size affects far more than we realize. Weather. Animals. Humans. Oceans.

Without looking it up, do you know what phase the moon is in right now? It cycles over 29 ½ days from new, when we can’t see it at all, through waxing crescent, which is a thin crescent on the right; and then first quarter, or half-moon; waxing gibbous, which is between half and full; full; waning gibbous, or between full and half; third quarter or half-moon; and waning gibbous, a thin crescent on the left.

Because it can be full every 28 days, it’s entirely possible to have two full moons in the same month, a phase we call a “blue moon.”

There’s usually a significant weather event a couple days on either side of a full moon, whether it be cold, storms, or what have you. Insects hatch out worse around a full moon. Animals, such as deer or fish, feed at different times, according to the phase of the moon. It’s long been a belief that humans get crazier around a full moon. Just ask any nurse, police officer, or teacher.

The moon, our lovely nightlight, moves all the water on the planet four times a day. Think about that! And since humans are walking, talking, thinking (sometimes) bags of water, it has to have an effect on us as well.

Living mostly inside in our heated and air-conditioned homes, most of us don’t pay much attention to the stages of the moon anymore, or even to the moon itself, unless we happen to catch sight of a full moon while moving from the enclosure of our cars to the enclosure of our homes. In times past, the moon was a valuable predictor or harbinger of numerous different events, and wise people paid attention.

So, what does the full moon have to do with Easter and planting?

The reason the holiday doesn’t fall a set date is this: Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after March 21. The spring equinox is March 21, so depending on the Paschal Full Moon, Easter can fall anywhere between March 22 and April 25. However, if the full moon falls on a Sunday, Easter will be the following Sunday.

The spring, or vernal, equinox, is when the sun rises due east and sets due west, and it was marked by the ancients at places like Stonehenge and Chichen Itza to signify the end of winter and the renewal that follows, the beginning of spring.

Theoretically, in our area, there shouldn’t be any more frost after Easter. Easter this year was April 5, while our last frost date is usually determined to be around the 15th of April.

Now, are you beginning to see why Good Friday is often known as “planting day?” Seeds put out after that time should be OK. Keep in mind, warm season crops such as tomatoes, peppers, cukes and eggplants need nighttime temps in the mid-60s to thrive.

If there’s one thing consistent about weather, it is that it’s going to be weather, and like an exhausted, hyped-up toddler on a sugar rush, it’s going to pitch a fit and do what it wants!

This is exactly why there would always be one wise elder in the village or larger area who carefully and accurately kept track of the moon and its phases — the one who cried out, “Stop! It’s not time yet! It’s too early! Wait!”

Just like now, some people listened and some didn’t. Sometimes their jumping the gun worked, and sometimes they failed abysmally.

This year’s Crystal Coast Star Party and celebration of International Dark Sky Week is set for this weekend on Harkers Island.

The Cape Lookout National Seashore, Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center and the Crystal Coast Stargazers are hosting the two-day event that includes stargazing, children’s activities and a special presentation by a NASA leader.   

The event is being offered at no charge but organizers ask those who plan to attend to register using the online form for planning purposes.

Cape Lookout National Seashore was certified as an International Dark Sky Park in December 2021 for “exceptional quality of the night skies of the park and the opportunities for astronomy-based experiences. Cape Lookout National Seashore is the first Atlantic coastal Dark Sky Place in the NPS to receive this certification,” according to the National Park Service.

As part of the star party programming, NASA’s Nagin Cox, mission lead on the Mars Perseverance Rover and the Curiosity Rover, will give a special talk starting at 4 p.m. Saturday titled, “Dare Mighty Things: Mars Rovers Paving the Way” in the museum’s education hall.

Cox graduated from Cornell University and was commissioned as an officer in the Air Force. She worked in F-16 Aircrew Training and received a master’s in Space Operations Systems Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology. While captain, she served as an Orbital Analyst at NORAD/Space Command in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado Springs.

Cox joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1993 has been a systems engineer and manager on multiple interplanetary robotic missions including NASA/JPL’s Galileo mission to Jupiter, the Mars Exploration Rover Missions and the Kepler telescope mission to search for Earth-like planets around other stars, according to the NASA website.

Other activities include public stargazing at the seashore’s visitor center on Harkers Island starting at 8:30 p.m. both Friday and Saturday. Crystal Coast Stargazers will have their telescopes set up for public stargazing and NASA Solar System Ambassadors are to be on-site.

From 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, NC SciFest Kids’ Astronomy Activities with Cape Lookout Ranger Sabrina Godin will be held in the museum’s education hall, and NASA Solar System Ambassador Jimmy Fulks will be on hand for solar viewing at the seashore’s visitor center.

The starlight cruises to Cape Lookout Lighthouse scheduled for both nights are fully booked and the wait list is closed.

Ocracoke is celebrating the planet April 11-13 with its family friendly Earth Day Weekend Celebration.

In its second year, organizers said there will be a variety of indoor and outdoor activities designed for all ages, including nature walks, history talks, nature crafts, live music, stargazing, a beach cleanup, stargazing, music and storytelling, a fish house tour and a traditional square dance.

Attendees can listen in on discussions about fireflies, dark skies designation, composting and organic farming, trash survey, invasive plants, and climate change.

The event will conclude with a community beach bonfire at Ocracoke’s lifeguard beach.

The full, detailed schedule for the festival is online.

The Ocracoke Earth Day Weekend Celebration is sponsored by Ocracoke Alive, with financial support from Ocracoke occupancy tax revenues, the North Carolina Art Council, Pony Island Inn, and John and Sarah Saunders, longtime supporters from the Charlotte area.

Featured Image

The faint tail of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS pointing away from the setting sun is visible Sunday evening over Taylors Creek in Beaufort. NASA says the “dirty snowball’s” appearance is “a once-in-80,000-years sight.” The comet believed to be from the Oort Cloud at the edge of our Solar System was expected to swing close by at about 44 million miles from Earth — its closest pass — on Saturday. Discovered in 2023, it is named for both China’s Tsuchinshan, or Purple Mountain, Observatory and an Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS, telescope in South Africa. Photo: Mark Hibbs

Featured Image

Aurora borealis, the result of an intense solar geomagnetic storm reaching Earth, lights up the skies over Jockey’s Ridge State Park in Nags Head late Thursday evening. Photo: Catherine Kozak

See why Cape Lookout National Seashore in Carteret County is a certified International Dark Sky Park during the Crystal Coast Star Party scheduled for the first weekend in May.

The seashore is collaborating with the Crystal Coast Stargazers astronomy club, Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center and Island Express Ferry Service to host the party with the theme “Discover the Night” May 3 and May 4.

Except for the cost of ferry transportation for the Starlight Cruise, all activities are being offered at no charge. Registration is open at https://ccgazers.com/crystal-coast-star-party/

The Crystal Coast Stargazers will have telescopes set up for visitor viewing opportunities at 8 p.m. on both days of the star party. If anyone wants to bring their own, they will need to be set up no later than 7:30 p.m.

This year, an area will be designated within the telescope viewing area for astrophotography. Visitors in the telescope and astrophotography areas should not use white lights as they will spoil night viewing and ruin photographs. Red lights are encouraged, and loaner red lights can be provided by the National Park Service at no cost, organizers said.

Though there is no camping on the visitor center grounds, attendees may stay with their telescopes throughout the night. Organizers encourage visitors to bring their own chairs, blankets, bug spray and other comfort items.

All events are child friendly, and there will be hands-on astronomy activities coordinated by Fort Macon State Park ranger Paul Terry and the Crystal Coast Stargazers 1-3 p.m. May 4 at the seashore’s visitor center on Harkers Island.

Robert Harrison, a NASA Solar System Ambassador, will host an ASIAIR Astrophotography Workshop at 4 p.m. on May 3 in the education hall of Core Sound Waterfowl Museum. ASIAIR is a software system that makes the first steps into astrophotography straightforward and exciting for all experience levels.

Ray Lundquist, NASA system engineer for the Artemis Mission will present at 4 p.m. on May 4 “Returning to the Moon – Preparing for Mars,” also in the education hall of the waterfowl museum. He will share some of the results of the many NASA missions he has worked on, as well as behind-the-scenes stories from NASA.

Island Express Ferry Service, the park’s authorized passenger ferry service, will offer starlight cruises on Saturday and Sunday with a NASA Solar System Ambassador who will provide a laser-pointed presentation of the night sky from the Cape Lookout Lighthouse area. The ferry is to depart the Harkers Island visitor center at 7:30 p.m. and returns from the lighthouse dock at 9 p.m. for an arrival back to Harkers Island by 9:30 p.m.

Reservations for this cruise must be made in advance. Call Island Express Ferry Service at 252-728-7433.

For more information on astronomy at Cape Lookout, visit the website.

A scale model of the Hubble Space Telescope and its contributions to the exploration of planets, stars, galaxies and the universe make up a hands-on experience on display through June 23 at Cape Fear Museum of History and Science in Wilmington.

“Hubble Space Telescope: New Views of the Universe” is a traveling exhibit through National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA. Hubble, a space-based observatory launched and deployed by the space shuttle Discovery in 1990, orbits 326 miles above the Earth, according to NASA.

The exhibit features the telescope’s various instruments and the role that each one plays in providing new images and discoveries, and showcases Hubble’s images and data of planets, galaxies, regions around black holes, and many other fascinating cosmic entities.

Visitors also get a glimpse of the various hurdles Hubble faced in its career and discover the role that astronauts played in repairing and servicing the observatory, and be introduced to the James Webb Space Telescope launched Dec. 25, 2021.

Cape Fear Museum at 814 Market St. is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Standard admission prices are $8 for adults; $7 for seniors, students and military with valid ID; $5 for children 6-17; and free for children 5 and under and for museum members.

Astronomers of all ages are invited to Harkers Island April 21-22 for the second annual Crystal Coast Star Party and the 2023 NC SciFest Star Party.

The Crystal Coast Stargazers, Cape Lookout National Seashore and Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center are hosting the Crystal Coast Star Party during International Dark Sky Week.

The two-day Crystal Coast Star Party will feature starlight cruises at 7 p.m. both days, speakers from NASA and public telescope stargazing from the field behind the visitor center at Cape Lookout, a certified Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association.

Fort Macon State Park joined efforts with these organizations to offer the 2023 NC SciFest Star Party themed Celebrating the Night Sky starting at 1 p.m. April 22. In its 11th year, NCSciFest, or North Carolina Science Festival, is a statewide celebration of science featuring more than 400 in-person and virtual events.

Fort Macon Ranger Paul Terry and Crystal Coast Stargazers members will coordinate these activities for children inside and outside of the Harkers Island Visitor Center.

As part of the Crystal Coast Star Party, Dr. Anthony Norris from the NASA/JPL Exoplanet Watch Group will give at 4 p.m. April 21 his presentation, “Exoplanets, Acquiring Transit Curves,” in the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum Education Hall. Exoplanet Watch is a NASA citizen science project designed for everyday amateur astronomers wishing to contribute valuable data.

Dr. Dominic Benford, NASA program scientist for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope project will present at 4 p.m. April 22, also in the education hall. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is a NASA observatory designed to settle essential questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets and infrared astrophysics, according to NASA.

Ferry passengers will disembark from the starlight cruise for a laser-pointed tour of the night sky by a NASA Solar System Ambassador. Call 252-728-7433 for reservations and to purchase tickets, which are $27 for adults and $17 for ages 3 to 11. Starlight cruises are weather-dependent. In the event of inclement weather, there will be astronomy programs and presentations indoors.

All events are free except ferry cruises.

Organizers ask that all guests register in advance. Visit the website for the complete schedule and to register.

Event sponsors include the Carteret County Chamber of Commerce, Crystal Coast Tourism Authority and Island Express Ferry Service.

Deadlines are just around the corner for North Carolina Sea Grant and North Carolina Space Grant funding opportunities.

Sea Grant provides research, education and outreach opportunities relating to current issues affecting the state’s coast and its communities. Space Grant is a NASA-funded grant program that promotes, develops and supports aeronautics and space-related science, engineering and technology education and training in North Carolina. Both are headquartered at North Carolina State University.

The following are funding opportunities from both programs:

North Carolina Sea Grant Coastal Research Preproposals due Jan. 13. The preproposals for the 2024–2026 applied research grant cycle to address problems affecting coastal ecosystems, economies, and communities. The deadline for preproposals is Friday. Preproposals are required first step before full proposals later this year.

Community Collaborations Research Proposals due Jan. 17 for projects that begin in April. Through North Carolina Water Resources Research Institute and Sea Grant, the Community Collaborative Research Grant program brings communities and researchers together to address important statewide water resource issues and coastal challenges. Each proposal requires a community partner/local knowledge expert.

North Carolina Sea Grant is accepting applications until 5 p.m. Feb. 16 from North Carolina graduate students for the 2024 Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship.

North Carolina Sea Grant is accepting applications from North Carolina doctoral students for the 2023 National Marine Fisheries – National Sea Grant Fellowships in both “Population and Ecosystem Dynamics” and “Marine Resource Economics.” Applications are due Jan. 25.

North Carolina Sea Grant is now accepting applications for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coastal Management Fellowships. The deadline is Jan. 27.

North Carolina Sea Grant-North Carolina Space Grant Graduate Research Fellowship invites interdisciplinary proposals from across the state. Proposed work should be relatable to sea and space. The fellowship requires the use of  relevant measurement instruments and/or remote-sensing data sources from NASA, NOAA or other sources, to address a high-priority research need within North Carolina’s nearshore environs, coastal areas, watersheds, or human activities in these areas. Space Grant in partnership with Sea Grant will grant $10,000 per award for up to two student awards.

Student applications are due no later than 5 p.m. Monday, March 31. Late applications will not be accepted for any reason. Faculty letters of recommendations are due along with the proposal at the time of submission.

A Space Grant program, the objective of the Graduate Research Fellowship is to encourage graduate students to pursue research and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields that support NASA’s Mission Directorates. This competitively awarded program requires that students participate in an active, defined research activity in STEM fields that have NASA Mission Directorate applications, inclusive of commercial space or on the ISS. Space Grant will grant $10,000 per award up to 13 student awards.

Also through Space Grant, the Undergraduate Research Scholarship program aims to engage the future STEM workforce in basic and/or applied NASA-related research projects. This program awards scholarships to undergraduate students who are pursuing academic pathways in STEM fields that support NASA’s Mission Directorates, inclusive of commercial space or on the ISS. Space Grant will grant $8,000 per award for up to 12 student awards.

Student applications are due for both no later than 5 p.m. March 13. No late applications will be accepted. Faculty letters of recommendations are due 5 p.m. March 15.

Space Grant will hold three virtual student information sessions. Registration is required but may be done right up to the start of the following meetings:

• Session 1 — Noon-1 p.m. Friday, Jan 27. Register: https://ncsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJArcuCqrTMrHNxhI3go1Axc-62Ul38teLW6.
• Session 2 — 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Friday, Feb 3. Register: https://ncsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIof-ysqD4qEtAZX1MpwiFYCQDU3dAuffux.
• Session 3 — Noon to 1 p.m. Monday, Feb 20. Register: https://ncsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMtfu2vqTosGNOHOqOIrDC-gxuzPwZfwbvL.

Humans will star in Astronomy Days set for 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 28-29 in and around the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

The two-day program, “Humans in Space: Past, Present and Future,” will feature presentations from NASA astronaut and North Carolina native Christina Koch, and other astronomy experts, as well as exhibits and activities. Astronomy Days is free, for all ages, and in-person for the first time since 2020.

Koch’s first trip to the International Space Station broke the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman at 328 days from March 2019 to February 2020, and conducting the first all-female spacewalk with fellow NASA astronaut Jessica Meir.

Related: Christina Koch Describes View of NC Coast

Koch will present at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Jan. 28 and again 1 p.m. Jan. 29. She will share her first-hand experience on what it takes to be an astronaut part of a long-duration mission on the International Space Station. From training to launching, spacewalking, working, landing and returning home, attendees will have the chance to hear about her journey to space and the people who make it possible.

Klaus Pontoppidan, an astronomer with Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, will show at 2:30 p.m. Jan. 28 and Jan. 29 “Setting Sail on the Cosmic Ocean,” a photographic journey through the science of the new James Webb Space Telescope, and a view behind the scenes of the creation of the famous first images.

Pierre Haenecour, assistant professor at University of Arizona who studies early history of the Solar System history, will speak at 12:30 p.m. Jan. 28 on Asteroid Forensics.” As remnants left over from the early solar system, laboratory analysis of samples from asteroids allows us to investigate the origin and evolution of our Solar System. Pierre will discuss how the analysis of samples from asteroid Bennu will help scientists unravel the origin of life, according to the museum.

Exhibits and activities scheduled include the following:

• Museum astronomer Patrick Treuthardt is to host from 1-2:30 p.m. both days solar observing on the fourth floor terrace of the Nature Research Center, weather permitting.
• Visitors will be able to make their own rocket and send it sky high on the plaza in front of the museum.
• “Exploring the Universe: Imagining Life” is a hands-on activity when visitors can imagine and draw an extreme environment beyond Earth, then invent a living thing that could thrive in it.
• From living water bears and vinegar eels to plants small enough to fasten onto necklaces, join members of the North Carolina Academy of Science for a look at life in extreme environments.

Astronomy Days is presented in collaboration with the Raleigh Astronomy Club and NASA. The event is made possible with financial and promotional support from North Carolina Space Grant and in-kind support from Pepsi Bottling Ventures.

For more information about Astronomy Days, visit naturalsciences.org/astrodays or contact Kari Wouk at kari.wouk@naturalsciences.org or 919.707.9879.

Featured Image

A strong southeast wind, heavy rains and an especially high tide combine to create a pool reaching from the ocean to the showers on the west side of the Oceanana Fishing Pier Thursday in Atlantic Beach. While not a king tide, which are the highest high- and lowest low-tide events of the year and happen when the Earth, sun and moon are aligned while the moon is at its perigee, or closest point in its elliptical orbit to Earth, Dec. 26-25 is a period of higher- and lower-than-normal tides. The the lunar perigee is Dec. 24. Photo: Dylan Ray

Update Oct. 12: The auditorium presentation on the James Webb Space Telescope scheduled for Friday night has been canceled. The telescope viewing event is still to take place 7:30-10 p.m. Friday as well as all events scheduled for Saturday.

Original post:

Night sky enthusiasts will have two astronomy nights to check out this month at Cape Lookout National Seashore, a certified International Dark Sky Park.

At 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, NASA Solar System Ambassador Matthew Bruce will provide an introduction to the new James Webb Space Telescope in the Harkers Island Visitor Center Theater. A chance to view the night sky with the the Crystal Coast Stargazers, a NASA Night Sky Network astronomy club, will follow, ending at 10 p.m.

Club members will be on hand to answer questions and share their telescopes. The Solar System Ambassador program will take place regardless of weather. The telescope viewing depends on the weather.

Island Express Ferry Service will host Saturday, Oct. 15, a starlight cruise to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse.

At the lighthouse, NASA Solar System Ambassador Brandon Porter will give a laser-pointed tour of the celestial objects in the night sky.

The ferry departs the Harkers Island Visitor Center promptly at 6:15 p.m. and will return from the lighthouse at 8:30 p.m. The program is free but the ferry is $27 for adults and $17 for ages 11 and younger. Space on the cruise is limited and reservations, which are required, can be made by calling the ferry at 252-728-7433.

The Crystal Coast Stargazers will be back 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 15 with their telescopes for a second night of public stargazing near the Harkers Island Visitor Center.

All events are kid-friendly, but organizers ask no pets. Stargazing and ferry transportation is weather dependent. Call the Harkers Island Visitor Center at 252-728-2250 by 5 p.m. to confirm that day’s events.

Organizers recommend checking the weather and dressing accordingly, bringing a lawn chair or blanket, water, snacks, bug repellent, and flashlight with a red filter to help maintain everyone’s night vision. 

For more information, visit http://go.nps.gov/astronomynight.

Cape Fear Museum of History and Science is hosting a rain-or-shine event for International Observe the Moon Night Saturday.

The event from 6 to 8 p.m. is part of a worldwide celebration of lunar science and exploration that occurs in early fall when the moon is in its first quarter.

The museum at 814 Market St. in Wilmington is hosting hands-on activities, exhibit explorations, moon observation and a themed story time. Participants can also explore Space Place, an interactive exhibit inspired by and modeled after the International Space Station.

Learn more at capefearmuseum.com.

Learn about the James Webb Space Telescope that NASA launched in December 2021 during this month’s astronomy night at Cape Lookout National Seashore, a certified International Dark Sky Park.

Meet in the Harkers Island Visitor Center Theater at 7 p.m. Saturday to hear NASA Solar System Ambassador Matthew Bruce give a 45-minute talk on Webb, “the largest, most powerful and complex space telescope ever built and launched into space,” organizers said.

After the presentation, park staff and area astronomers from the Crystal Coast Stargazers, a NASA Night Sky Network astronomy club, will host a Star Party on the visitor center grounds. Participants will have a chance to view astronomical objects above the Southern Outer Banks through the lens of a telescope.

The free event is child-friendly, but organizers ask no pets. Solar System Ambassador programs are rain or shine but stargazing is weather dependent. Organizers recommend dressing for the weather, bringing lawn chairs, blankets, water, snacks, bug repellent, or any other comfort items, as well as a flashlight with a red filter to help maintain everyone’s night vision.

Folks may also consider bringing their own telescopes to learn how to get the most out of their equipment from members of the Stargazers club.

Update:  Outer Banks Forever, the official nonprofit partner of the three Outer Banks national parks, and the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau announced Thursday that they will jointly livestream National Aviation Day programs at Wright Brothers National Memorial from 11 a.m. to noon Friday, Aug. 19. To join the National Aviation Day livestream event, visit Outer Banks Forever’s Facebook page.

Dr. J. “Bob” Balaram of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will help celebrate National Aviation Day, being observed Aug. 19 and Aug. 20 at the Wright Brothers National Memorial.

Balaram, the originator of the concept that became National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA’s, Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, and served as its chief engineer during its development, test and operations.

The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter took its first flight on Mars on April 19, 2021, marking the first powered flight on another planet. Described as a “Wright Brothers Moment,” this first flight marks the continuation of aviation achievements in the legacy of Wilbur and Orville Wright’s first powered flight in 1903.

At this year’s National Aviation Day event at Wright Brothers National Memorial, Balaram will present a series of public talks at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Aug. 19, a fee-free day, and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Aug. 20, that explore the connections between the Wright Brothers and the Mars Ingenuity Project. A special evening program is scheduled for 8 p.m. Aug. 19.

Following Balaram’s presentations, a team from AeroVironment Inc, the developers of Ingenuity’s rotor system, landing gear and fuselage structure, are expected to demonstrate a working, flying model of Mars Ingenuity in the visitor center’s Flight Room.

Throughout the week, the visitor center is hosting temporary exhibit panels designed in conjunction with NASA highlighting the parallels between the first flights on Earth and Mars.

Learn about the James Webb Space Telescope that NASA launched in December during the next Astronomy Night at Cape Lookout National Seashore.

The free, family friendly event at the certified International Dark Sky Park is to start at 8 p.m. Friday, July 15, at the seashore’s Harkers Island Visitor Center.

Kicking off the night will be a 45-minute talk with NASA Solar System Ambassador Matthew Bruce on the Webb, which organizers said “is the largest, most powerful, and complex space telescope ever built and launched into space.” The first images captured by the telescope will be available to view.    

Immediately after the presentation, park staff and astronomers from the Crystal Coast Stargazers, a NASA Night Sky Network astronomy club, will host a Star Party on the visitor center grounds. Participants will be able to get a close-up view of the moon, and other astronomical objects above the southern Outer Banks using a telescope. 

While stargazing is weather-dependent, programs are rain or shine. 

Please monitor the weather or call the Harkers Island Visitor Center at 252-728-2250 before 5 p.m. the day of the event to confirm status. 

Organizers recommend dressing for the weather. Attendees are welcome to bring lawn chairs or blankets, water, snacks, bug repellent, and flashlight with a red filter that helps in maintaining everyone’s night vision. Leave pets at home.

Folks may also consider bringing their own telescopes to learn how to get the most out of their own telescopic equipment from members of the Stargazers club. 

For more information, visit http://go.nps.gov/astronomynight.   

HARKERS ISLAND — June 17 is the next Astronomy Night at the Cape Lookout National Seashore — a certified International Dark Sky Park — and includes a special screening of the 56-minute, 2018 documentary, “Saving the Dark,” before the event moves outdoors.

“Saving the Dark,” directed by Sriram Murali and created in association with the International Dark Sky Association, is to be presented in the Harkers Island Visitor Center theater at 8:30 p.m.

Because of light pollution, nearly 80% of the North American population can no longer see the Milky Way. “Saving the Dark” explores the need to preserve dark night skies and what can be done to combat light pollution.

Immediately after the film presentation, park staff and local astronomers from the Crystal Coast Stargazers, a NASA Night Sky Network astronomy club, will host a Star Party on the visitor center grounds. This is a chance for participants to witness the moon and various other astronomical objects through a telescope.

This event is child-friendly, but pets are not allowed. Stargazing is weather-dependent, but the film will be shown rain or shine, officials said. Monitor the weather or call the visitor center at 252-728-2250 before 5 p.m. to confirm event status.

There’s no cost to attend.

Make the most of the night by coming prepared. Check the weather and dress accordingly. Also, bring lawn chairs or blankets, water, snacks, bug repellent and flashlight with a red filter that helps in maintaining everyone’s night vision.

Folks may also consider bringing their own telescopes to learn how to get the most out of their equipment from members of the Stargazers club.

For more information, visit http://go.nps.gov/astronomynight.

A certified International Dark Sky Park, Cape Lookout National Seashore is staying open late May 6 for its monthly Astronomy Night.

The free program begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Harkers Island Visitor Center Theater with NASA Solar System Ambassador Matthew Bruce.

Bruce will provide a 45-minute presentation on the James Webb Space Telescope that NASA launched in December 2021. Webb is the largest, most powerful and most complex space telescope ever built and launched into space.    

Following the presentation, park staff and local astronomers from the Crystal Coast Stargazers, a NASA Night Sky Network astronomy club, will host a Star Party on the visitor center grounds. Participants will be able to gaze at the moon, and other astronomical objects above the Southern Outer Banks through the lens of a telescope. 

Enthusiasts can bring their own telescopes to learn how to get the most out of their own telescopic equipment from members of the Stargazers club. 

This event is child-friendly, but leave the pets at home. 

Stargazing is weather dependent. Solar System Ambassador programs are rain or shine. Call the Harkers Island visitor center at 252-728-2250 by 5 p.m. to confirm status.

Organizers recommend checking the weather and dressing accordingly, bring lawn chairs or blankets, water, snacks, bug repellent and flashlight with a red filter that helps in maintaining everyone’s night vision. 

Cape Lookout National Seashore officials, the Crystal Coast Stargazers and Island Express Ferry Service are celebrating International Dark Sky Week, April 22-23, and “Discover the Night” is the theme for the week set aside to bring awareness to light pollution.

Both nights are to feature stargazing at the national seashore’s Harkers Island Visitor Center and a nighttime cruise offered by Island Express Ferry Service.

The International Dark Sky Association recently named Cape Lookout National Seashore an International Dark Sky Park, in recognition of the “exceptional quality of the night skies of the park and the opportunities for astronomy-based experiences for park visitors,” according to the National Park Service. The Cape Lookout National Seashore is the first Atlantic Coast Dark Sky Place in the park service to receive the certification.

Both nights of stargazing at Harkers Island visitor center begin at 8 p.m. The Crystal Coast Stargazers plan to set up their own telescopes for the public to use or visitors can bring their own telescopes. 

All stargazers should be set up by 7:30 p.m. While there is no camping on the visitor center grounds, astronomers may stay with their telescopes throughout the night. 

Island Express Ferry Service, the park’s authorized passenger ferry service concessionaire, is offering visitors the chance to experience a starlight cruise, accompanied by NASA Solar System Ambassador Brandon Porter, who will provide a laser-pointed presentation of the night sky from the Cape Lookout Lighthouse area. 

The ferry departs the Harkers Island visitor center at 7:30 p.m. each night and returns from the lighthouse dock at 9 p.m., returning to Harkers Island by 9:30 p.m. For reservations and ticket prices call Island Express Ferry Service at 252-728-7433. 

Cape Lookout National Seashore is readying for the season by resuming a monthly outdoor stargazing event and opening its visitor center in Beaufort on April 1. Neither are offered during the winter months.

The national seashore’s next monthly Astronomy Night at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 26 at the Harkers Island Visitor Center.

During Astronomy Night, National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Solar System Ambassador, Brandon Porter, will introduce attendees to the celestial objects in the night sky that can be viewed with the naked eye, and with a telescope. 

After the presentation, park staff and astronomers from the Crystal Coast Stargazers, a NASA Night Sky Network astronomy club, will host a Star Party to view the moon and other astronomical objects above the Southern Outer Banks through a telescope. 

Organizers recommend that participants check the weather and dress accordingly, bring lawn chairs or blankets, water, snacks, bug repellent and flashlight with a red filter that helps maintain everyone’s night vision. 

The Beaufort Visitor Information Center is at 701 Front St., housed in the town hall building. Hours of the center will be 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily after reopening April 1. Inside the center there are exhibits on the ecology and history of the southern Outer Banks.

The visitor center is across the street from the Island Express Ferry Service dock, which is the authorized concessioner for passenger transport to Shackleford Banks. Call the ferry at 252-728-7433 or visit islandexpressferryservice.com for details.

Thirty-five sky-watching events are planned across the state, including a few on the coast, in April as part of the 10th annual Statewide Star Party.

Sponsored by North Carolina Space Grant, this year’s Star Party theme set for April 8-9 is “Understanding the Universe,” with a focus on science and engineering related to National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s James Webb Space Telescope. Host organizations are to be provided with a Star Party kit with hands-on activities and NASA resources on this theme.

Planned are public sky-watching events at state and local parks, colleges and universities, planetariums, science centers, nature centers and libraries. Organizers expect about 3,500 visitors to participate in the 35 events.

Activities on the coast are scheduled at the following locations:

• Fort Macon State Park with in Carteret County with the Crystal Coast Stargazers at 7 p.m. April 8.
• Dowdy Park in Nags Head with the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island and Back Bay Amateur Astronomy Club at 6:30 p.m. April 8.
• Carolina Beach State Park with Cape Fear Museum and Cape Fear Astronomical Society at 7 p.m. April 8.
• College of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City at 7 p.m. April 8.

“Star Party participants provide the curiosity, and host sites provide the telescopes. Hosts lead hands-on activities from the Star Party kit that help visitors explore the question of whether there is life elsewhere in the universe, how we might find it and what it might look like,” organizers said.

The Star Party is an initiative of the North Carolina Science Festival, a monthlong, statewide celebration of the educational, cultural and financial impact of science in the state.

This month’s Astronomy Night at Cape Lookout National Seashore Friday will begin with a presentation on fall constellations before heading out to look at the night sky from the seashore’s Harkers Island Visitor Center.

The 45-minute presentation with NASA Solar System Ambassador Matthew Bruce on “Fall Constellations — What to look for!” begins at 7 p.m. Friday. The program will introduce visitors to various celestial objects in the autumn sky that can be viewed with the naked eye and a telescope. 

Immediately after the presentation, park staff and astronomers from the Crystal Coast Stargazers, a NASA Night Sky Network astronomy club, will host a Star Party, depending on the weather, that will offer participants the chance to witness the moon and other sky-bound objects above the Southern Outer Banks through the lens of a telescope. 

Organizers recommend coming prepared by wearing a mask, which is required, especially in groups while using the telescopes, to dress for the weather and bring chairs for seating, water, snacks, bug repellent, and a flashlight with a red filter that helps in maintaining everyone’s night vision. 

Visitors can bring their own telescopes to learn tips from members of the Stargazers club. 

For more information, go to http://go.nps.gov/astronomynight.    

HARKERS ISLAND — Celestial objects will come into focus when Astronomy Night returns this month to the Cape Lookout National Seashore.

There’s no charge to attend the event set for 8-10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13, at the Harkers Island Visitor Center.

NASA Solar System Ambassador Brandon Porter is to present a 45-minute presentation, “Let’s Talk Astronomy,” in the Harkers Island Theater. The program will introduce visitors to various celestial objects that can be viewed with or without a telescope.

Immediately after the presentation, park staff and astronomers from the Crystal Coast Stargazers, a NASA Night Sky Network astronomy club, plan to host a “Star Party” viewing with telescopes outside the visitor center, if weather allows. 

Attendees are advised to check the weather beforehand and dress accordingly.  Also, bring water, snacks, bug repellent and a flashlight with a red filter that helps in maintaining everyone’s night vision. 

Attendees are also encouraged to bring their own telescopes to learn from members of the Stargazers club how to get the most out of their equipment. 

For more information, visit http://go.nps.gov/astronomynight    

UPDATE Aug. 4: The launch has been postponed again, first from for the Aug. 3 attempt, when mission teams detected indications that not all valves were in the proper configuration needed for launch, and again Aug. 4 as the problem continued to be analyzed.

UPDATE: NASA and Boeing postponed Friday’s launch after what was blamed on a software issue with the International Space Station, according to reports. Officials said the earliest available launch opportunity would be 1:20 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3.

The rocket launching an uncrewed spacecraft at 2:53 p.m. Friday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida should be visible from the North Carolina coast within seconds of its launch time.

The space launch provider, United Launch Alliance, or ULA, provided a visibility map showing best times along the eastern seaboard to spot the rocket. Based on the map, visibility in North Carolina will be about 240 seconds, or 4 minutes, from launch.

The ULA Atlas V rocket was readied at Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex-41 Thursday for Friday’s launch of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner on the Orbital Flight Test-2 in support of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

NASA will provide coverage of the prelaunch, launch, and docking activities for the agency’s Boeing OFT-2 mission to the International Space Station. Starliner is expected to arrive at the space station for docking about 24 hours after launch with more than 400 pounds of NASA cargo and crew supplies.

Coverage of the Boeing Starliner OFT-2 Mission to the International Space Station will begin at 2 p.m. and a post-launch news conference is scheduled for 4 p.m., but that time could change.

This is the second uncrewed launch of Boeing’s Starliner. Rosie the Rocketeer, Boeing’s anthropometric test device, will be commanding the ship.

The mission will test the end-to-end capabilities of Starliner from launch to docking, atmospheric re-entry, and a desert landing in the western United States. OFT-2 will provide valuable data that will help NASA certify Boeing’s crew transportation system to carry astronauts to and from the space station. 

Starliner also will test its vision-based navigation system to autonomously dock with the space station. Docking is scheduled for 3:06 p.m. Saturday, about 24 hours after launch.

After a successful docking, Starliner will spend five to 10 days aboard the orbiting laboratory before returning to Earth in the western United States. The spacecraft will return with more than 550 pounds of cargo, including reusable Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System tanks that provide breathable air to station crew members.

As long as Starliner’s second uncrewed mission meets all necessary objectives, NASA and Boeing will look for opportunities toward the end of this year to fly Starliner’s first crewed mission to the space station, the Crew Flight Test, with NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore, Nicole Mann, and Mike Fincke on board, according to NASA.

Astronomy Night is returning to Cape Lookout National Seashore 8-10 p.m. Friday, July 16, at the Harkers Island Visitor Center.

The national park hasn’t held the program in well over a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

NASA Solar System Ambassador Lisa Pelletier Harman will give a 45-minute presentation in the Harkers Island Theater on “Celestial Navigation Along the Graveyard of the Atlantic.” The program will show visitors the basics of maritime navigation using the night sky. 

Following the presentation, park staff and astronomers from the Crystal Coast Stargazers, a NASA Night Sky Network astronomy club will host a star party, depending on the weather, in front of the visitor center. Visitors will be able to look at the moon and other sky-bound objects above the Southern Outer Banks through a telescope. 

Organizers recommend checking the weather before hand and dressing accordingly and to bring water, snacks, bug repellent, and flashlight with a red filter, which helps in maintaining everyone’s night vision. 

Those with telescopes are are encouraged to bring them along to learn how to get the most out of their own telescopic equipment from members of the Stargazers club.  

The Crystal Coast Stargazers Club members and Cape Lookout National Seashore rangers are working together to preserve the night sky by having the seashore designated as an International Dark Sky Park.

A group of astronomy and space enthusiasts in eastern North Carolina that organize and participate in stargazing activities, the Crystal Coast Startgazers Club approached the seashore about applying for the designation through the International Dark Sky Association, or IDA. The IDA was founded in 1988 to preserve the night sky by promoting efforts to reduce light pollution, or the inappropriate or excessive use of artificial light that can have serious environmental consequences for humans, wildlife and the climate.

An International Dark Sky Park, or IDSP, is land with “exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a nocturnal environment,”that is protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural heritage resource or public enjoyment,” according to the application. The land can be publicly owned or privately owned with the landowner’s consent.

“International Dark Sky Association recognizes entities that demonstrate and document their commitment to preserving the night skies. There are designations for parks, reserves, preserves, communities. It’s a pretty rigorous application process — and there’s a chance we may not make it on the first try,” club member Vermandel Nienstedt said in an interview Tuesday.

Nienstedt, along with Cape Lookout Superintendent Jeff West and Stargazers club coordinator David Heflin, asked Carteret County for support Sept. 21 during the board of commissioners meeting.

Nienstedt explained to the board that as part of the application process, applicants are to go out in the community and educate the public about light pollution. She also mentioned the emerging astrotourism industry.

“Astrotourism is a real simple concept. If we have dark skies, they will come,” she said, citing examples of the number of visitors dark skies attract to other destinations.

Also as part the application, Cape Lookout has to create a five-year plan for replacing any light in the park that is not what “we call dark sky compliant. We’ve had to do an inventory of every light in park,” Nienstedt told the board, which is still being taken.

The board voted to approve a resolution in support of the Dark Sky designation, after repeated questions confirming that there would be no regulations or rules imposed outside the 56 miles of national seashore.

The Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center, which neighbors Cape Lookout’s visitor center on Harkers Island, the town of Beaufort and the Carteret County Chamber of Commerce have also voiced their support of the designation.

Cape Lookout chief of interpretation and education BG Horvat told Coastal Review Online that from this point, “we continue to take our light readings and finish our lighting inventory around the park. Then, we need to put our application together. We hope to submit our application for review in January. From there it will go under review by the IDA Board. A decision could come sometime next year.”

Horvat added that COVID-19 pandemic precautions from Gov. Roy Cooper prohibiting large gatherings “perhaps may have ‘wrinkled the process’ in terms of providing educational night sky programming over the summer, out of a concern for everyone’s safety.

“However, the application process for Night Sky Park Designation can’t be pursued until we get some things in order first,” he explained, such as the extensive lighting inventory around the park, taking readings of the amount of light observed around various areas throughout the park, and documented support from park partners and community leaders.

“All of this takes time, and we were able to use this year to get all of that in place. Educational programming, which is another aspect of the application process and is also a big part of the designation, is still to come and in the works, whether virtual or in-person,” Horvat said. “To date, we really haven’t been thrown off track in pursuit of this designation much at all, given the other work and steps that go into the application process for this designation.”

Nienstedt added that the Stargazers Club will continue to working with the park on documentation, giving presentations as COVID-19 allows and assisting the park staff with the observations and readings required.

“Part of the application requirements are that we will have programs throughout the year on the topic of preserving night skies. So this will be an ongoing project which we will have to document with a yearly report after we get the designation,” she said. Adding they had numerous presentations scheduled that had to be canceled for the time being.

Having the Dark Sky Designation will help the Crystal Coast Stargazers Club members continue stargazing and attract other enthusiasts.

“For those of us that love stargazing and the night skies, our participation is literally efforts to preserve what we love. Another benefit we have seen from our outreach activities for the application is exposure for the CCS Club,” she said. “Even though we have been doing public programs for both Cape Lookout National Seashore and Fort Macon State Park for several years and we have a great social media presence, we still are now reaching people that didn’t know about us. Hopefully, this will result in more folks coming out to enjoy our night skies.”

For the seashore, Horvat said achieving an International Dark Sky Park, or IDSP, designation recognizes the park’s effort to protect dark skies. He noted benefits highlighted in the application, such as that the designation “raises the awareness of dark skies among Park leadership, staff, visitors, and the surrounding community. IDSP designation entitles the Park to display the IDA logo in official Park publications and promotions, and enables use of this logo by commercial or other groups within the community when identifying the park area itself.”

This means that that Cape Lookout National Seashore will be able to promote as an International Dark Sky Park.

The idea came to pursue the designation from the club coordinator Heflin, Nienstedt said.

“We were already working with Cape Lookout providing programs and observing for the public so we talked with Superintendent Jeff West and B.G. Horvat. Mr. West was onboard from day one,” she said. “In fact, the National Park Service already had a policy about preserving the skies. Without Mr. West’s leadership and commitment this would not be happening.”

Horvat expounded that the national seashore has partnered for two years with Crystal Coast Stargazers in community-based night sky programs. “The relationship grew into a common interest to preserve and educate visitors about this unique, and rich resource of Cape Lookout National Seashore – the view of the ‘Milky Way’ and a myriad of seasonal, and constant awe-inspiring features available to us all in the dark, above.”

Nienstedt interest in astronomy began about five years ago when she and her husband got their first telescope.

“We were really kind of lost at first — then we heard about the Crystal Coast Stargazers and made contact with David. He immediately welcomed us into the group and with his and the group’s help we have learned so much. This past Christmas we moved up to a new telescope — it’s kind of additive,” she said.

Due to COVID-19, the club did have to move their meetings online in March because of the pandemic, Nienstedt added, but as late summer approached, a few stargazers met up to observe together. “With the equipment involved, keeping the 6-foot social distancing is not a problem. We miss having programs for the public — you get a lot of ‘wow moments’ when folks look through a scope the first time.”

Nienstedt impressed that this application is about preserving night skies as a natural resource for future generations.

“It’s a sad fact that only two people out of 10 worldwide can see the Milky Way where they live — something that is easily seen in our county at dark sites,” she said, adding that when we get back to normal, folks should visit “our beautiful skies in Carteret County.”

Earlier this year Cape Lookout National Seashore and the Crystal Coast Stargazers began work on applying to become an International Dark Sky Park.

The National Park Service announced Tuesday that it was partnering with the Carteret County Chamber of Commerce and the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center to pursue the designation.

An International Dark Sky Park designation promotes public education and astronomy-based recreation in parks, while improving energy efficiency and reduced operational costs through outdoor lighting upgrades that create economic opportunities for neighboring communities through astronomy-based tourism. The plan is to submit the application to the International Dark Sky Association by January 2021.

The chamber is to promote and publicize the park’s application and objectives among its member organizations and the waterfowl museum will be a part of planned tourism activities, including outreach presentations on promoting the preservation of night skies during museum events.

“The Chamber of Commerce is very excited to be a partner in bringing astronomy-based tourism opportunities to our county. It’s another great reason to visit the Crystal Coast,” said chamber President Tom Kies.

“We look forward to partnering with the Crystal Coast Stargazers with our education programming in the future,” said Karen Amspacher, executive director of the waterfowl museum. “Core Sound Waterfowl Museum is totally committed to preserving our cultural and natural resources, even our skies!  For us, this will be an opportunity to increase our understanding and appreciation for the beautiful night skies that we often take for granted.”

The Crystal Coast Stargazers, the area astronomy club, has been a partner with the park service since the beginning of the application process.

“If you live on the East Coast, there is no place like Cape Lookout National Seashore to experience viewing our amazing nighttime skies – the stars and planets are so vivid,” said Cape Lookout Superintendent Jeff West. “These partnerships exist so everyone has the opportunity to know about, and see this amazing resource.”

That first pass more than 200 miles above her home state seared into her memory.

It’s a mental snapshot astronaut Christina Koch fondly recalls, relishing in intricate detail North Carolina’s distinctive geographical features seen from the “Window of the World.”

Looking down from space, tracing the state’s coastline hallmarks like New River Inlet and Cape Lookout, the Interstate 40 line slicing through the state from Wilmington to the mountains – that is among Koch’s most memorable moments during her 11 months aboard the International Space Station.

“I was lucky because I did get to see the North Carolina coastline. It is such a distinctive picture,” Koch said during a recent telephone interview from her home in Galveston, Texas.

She was able to get in a quick, weekend trip to Durham to meet up with family from all over shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic seized the country.

That’s the closest she’s been to her hometown of Jacksonville since returning Feb. 6 to Earth, where she now holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman: 328 days.

When she and two other astronauts landed in a remote town in Kazakhstan, Koch had already made history when in October of last year when she took part in the first three all-female spacewalks for a combined 42 hours and 15 minutes.

Koch’s life aboard the space station was spent conducting research and experiments in biology, physical sciences, technology development and Earth science, along with daily physical workouts.

Some of the science experiments on which she focused in the orbiting lab included studying the effects of microgravity on Mizuna mustard greens, combustion, bioprinting and kidney diseases.

The space station travels at a speed of 17,500 mph, making one full orbit around Earth every 1½ hours, according to NASA.

For Koch, that translated to 5,248 orbits of the Earth and 139 million miles.

She visited the seven-windowed Cupola, where astronauts make observations, including unexpected weather events, that do not get picked up by robotic sensing platforms.

“We do see a lot of human influence on Earth,” such as haze and runoff into rivers, Koch said.

Whether astronauts aboard the space station may be seeing a change in human influence on the environment since pandemic-related shutdowns have occurred, Koch said she does not know.

The space station is equipped with numerous instruments that study the Earth, and Koch said she has no doubt those studies are looking at the effects stay-at-home orders are having on the planet.

There was just enough time between her return to Earth and when shutdowns ensued for researchers to complete a host of medical tests on Koch to evaluate the effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman.

Koch’s body had to readjust to gravity. She walked a bit wobbly. Her head slightly bobbled like that of a baby.

“There’s a period where you feel pretty tipsy,” she said. “Our bodies adjust to what their normal is. When you float around you don’t move in a fast way.”

The 41-year-old said she’s been fortunate because she’s had no adverse medical effects.

In fact, she said, she is even more fit in some ways now than before she launched March 14, 2019.

“We actually work out on the space station for two hours every day,” she said.

She’s actually gained muscle, a testament to what the human body can endure is space.

Those tests will help NASA as it plans for the Artemis program to send the first woman and the next man to the moon by 2024 and, eventually, to Mars.

Koch attended White Oak High School in Jacksonville before being accepted to the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering and physics and a Master of Science in electrical engineering at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

Before she was selected as an astronaut in 2013, Koch was a research associate in the U.S. Antarctic Program, a field engineer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Monitoring Division Baseline Observatory in Barrow, Alaska, and station chief of the American Samoa Observatory on Tutuila Island in the South Pacific.

Koch’s current mission – outreach – is one she can do from the comforts of her home.

She’s “focusing on the positives,” taking each day at a time in this age of a pandemic where there, like space exploration, is still much to be learned.

HARKERS ISLAND — Rolling into the New Year, officials at Cape Lookout National Seashore, in conjunction with the Crystal Coast Stargazers Club, will pursue the park’s designation as an International Dark Sky Park.

This designation from the International Dark Sky Association, or IDSA, is a process that involves planning and documenting the exceptional starry nights and the nocturnal environment that is preserved and protected for public enjoyment.

“The economic and recreational opportunities for the local community and visitors to our region will benefit in a number of ways,” said Chief of Interpretation and Education B.G. Horvat. “Plus, when you have the milky way visible above, that’s a cool resource not only to behold, but an awesome responsibility worthy of preservation for future generations to enjoy.”

The Crystal Coast Stargazers Club is a Carteret County-based organization of over 50 amateur stargazers and astrophotographers.

“Our group is excited about working for Cape Lookout National Seashore’s certification. We already offer outreach programs for the public at Cape Lookout, and we look forward to expanding those offerings and increasing public events under the beautiful dark skies!” said Davis Heflin, the Crystal Coast Stargazers Club Coordinator.

Currently, there are more than 80 dark sky parks across the United States, with only one designated park in North Carolina, the Mayland Earth to Sky Park & Bare Dark Sky Observatory in Spruce Pines.

International Dark Sky Park certification promotes public education and astronomy-based recreation in parks, while improving energy efficiency and reduced operational costs through outdoor lighting upgrades that create economic opportunities for neighboring communities through astronomy-based tourism.

The application process takes about a year, and involves inventory and planning for lightscape management with the park, garnering support from the local community and other government agencies to conserve dark skies throughout the area, while providing the IDSA with brightness measurements and night images from various areas of the national seashore.

KILL DEVIL HILLS – Fifty years ago, about 1,000 people were onsite at the Wright Brothers National Memorial to behold the most remarkable juxtaposition. On TV screens in front of them were the first two men on the moon, and on the grounds behind them, there was the boulder marking the distance of the first flight by two men in 1903.

The two earth-shattering American achievements were separated by a mere 66 years.

“As a pilot, this is a big deal to see where it all started,” said Eric A. Boe, an active NASA astronaut who was visiting the park for the first time this past weekend. “I see space flight as a continuation of aviation.”

And the fundamentals of aviation that the Wrights brought to the world were used in the Apollo missions.

About 400 showed up at the memorial Saturday to relive a shared moment of celebration in humanity that the Apollo 11 mission inspired, at the place where the mystery of human flight was conquered.

As the day’s steaming heat softened under sultry summer breezes, the sun sunk behind the horizon, backlighting the Wright Brothers Visitor Center in shades of red. Instead of the array of black-and-white televisions that lined the exterior wall in 1969, there was a single large screen.

Dana Dickens waited in the audience for the rebroadcast of the live moon landing, just as he did in 1969, when he came with his coworkers who had helped organize the showing.

“We were thinking about how significant it was for us to have the opportunity to be where flight began to see man take the first step on the moon,” recalled Dickens, who lives in Suffolk, Virginia.

Dickens, now 73, was that summer a college student who was waiting tables at Port O’ Call Restaurant in Kill Devil Hills. One day, he and about five other waiters, also students, were sitting around talking when the upcoming moon landing came up.

“Somebody said, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to watch the first step on the moon from where flight began?’,” he recounted.

They jumped at the idea and set out to get approval from the National Park Service. A store in Manteo agreed to loan the television sets, and the park agreed to advertise the event.

“And it happened,” Dickens said. “I do remember everybody was quiet and laser-focused on what was happening … just the magnitude of the accomplishment.

“It makes you proud to see that, and proud to be an American.”

Dickens said one of his friends called CBS News and spoke to newsman Roger Mudd, who commented at the end of his broadcast that it was satisfying to see young college students recognize the significance of the moon landing.

During the replaying of the broadcast Saturday, the audience leaned forward in their seats, seemingly awestruck as they watched CBS’s coverage of the countdown to lunar landing, keeping track of velocity, range and altitude as the spacecraft approached the surface.

“Ten minutes to the touchdown,” a clearly awed Walter Cronkite said. “Oh, boy – 10 minutes ‘til landing on the moon.”

“Four and a half minutes left in this era.”

“5,200 feet – less than a mile from the moon’s surface.”

Tension amped up as Armstrong hovered over the moon with just 60 seconds of fuel remaining, looking for a better landing spot. The astronaut took over the controls from the computer guidance system and quickly found a smoother area.

“Forward, forward,” a voice crackled. It was Apollo Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin. “Down two and a half … picking up some dust.”

“We’re home!” exclaimed Mercury Seven astronaut Wally Schirra who was on the air with Cronkite.

“Man on the moon! Aw gee,” said Cronkite.

“Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed,” Commander Neil Armstrong radioed from the surface of the moon.

The audience erupted in applause, showing how little the drama had diminished after a half-century. With the broadcast recording fast-forwarded to six hours and 39 minutes later, those gathered applauded again as they watched Neil Armstrong take his first step on the moon.

The project had cost $25 billion and employed 400,000 people. About 600 million people reportedly watched the live event on television, with news footage later showing people from all over the world gathered around TV sets, mouths agape in wonder.

“I don’t think the world has ever been more together than it is now,” a young woman interviewed in Central Park after watching the event told a television reporter.

More than three decades later in 2003, Armstrong was one of the biggest aviation celebrities to participate in the Centennial of Flight event at the Wright Memorial. Coincidentally, Dickens, who was then mayor of Suffolk, was one of the invitees of the event and found himself in a room with Armstrong. After introducing himself, Dickens said he told Armstrong about watching him on the moon while he was at the site where flight began.

“He thought that was the neatest thing that he had ever heard,” Dickens said.

During numerous events leading up to the centennial, the stunning achievement of space flight mere decades after the Wright brothers’ flight was often mentioned. But most Apollo coverage only mentioned that Armstrong had carried a portion of the Wright Flyer strut and fabric from the wing into space with him.

Orville and Wilbur Wright shared a similar vision, passion, dedication and steeliness as the participants in the U.S. space program leading up to the Apollo 11 mission.

“I believe that simple flight at least is possible to man and that the experiments and investigations of a large number of independent workers will result in the accumulation of information and knowledge and skill which will finally lead to accomplish flight,” Wilbur Wright wrote on May 30, 1899, in a letter to the Smithsonian Institution.

It took fewer than four years for the Wrights to achieve their goal, and less than 10 years for NASA to fulfill President Kennedy’s promise made during a famous speech. But both achievements showed that the nature of inventing is building on what others have done before.

Besides the goals of going back to the moon and reaching Mars, Boe said Saturday that the next big, dramatic human achievement of that scale would be hard to predict, but he said there is a lot going on that the public may not see that’s advancing science.

“You’ve got to bring everything up to the new technology,” he said. “It takes a while to catch up.”

And just like the invention of the airplane and the moon shot, everyone should share the benefit.

“It’s not us against them,” Boe said. “We’ve got to work together as a planet.”

Front page featured photo: Attendees prepare to watch the rebroadcast of the CBS news coverage of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Photo: Melissa Mattingly

HARKERS ISLAND – A special edition of the monthly Astronomy Night is set to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Apollo 11’s Moon landing 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday at the Cape Lookout National Seashore Harkers Island Visitor Center.

NASA Solar System Ambassador Lisa Pelletier-Harman plans to give a 45-minute presentation, “Moon2Mars,” highlighting the significance of human achievements during the first landing, followed by a discussion of where NASA is heading next.

Park staff and astronomers from the Crystal Coast Stargazers, a NASA Night Sky Network Astronomy Club, plan to host a star party, depending on the weather, in front of the visitor center.

The stargazers will provide telescopes or attendees can bring their own telescopes to view the moon, and other sky-bound objects above the Southern Outer Banks through the lens of a telescope. There will be activities for children as well.

Organizers recommend checking the weather and dressing accordingly and bringing water, snacks, bug repellent and a flashlight with a red filter that helps maintain participants’ night vision

HARKERS ISLAND — To learn the basics of maritime navigation using the night sky without the use of modern aids to navigation, make your way to Cape Lookout National Seashore Saturday for Astronomy Night.

Held from 8 to 11 p.m. at the Harkers Island Visitor Center, the free program will feature NASA Solar System Ambassador Lisa Pelletier-Harman, who will give a 45-minute presentation, “Celestial Navigation Along the Graveyard of the Atlantic.”

Following the presentation, visitors can join park staff and astronomers from the Crystal Coast Stargazers, a NASA Night Sky Network astronomy club, for a star party in front of the visitor center, depending on the weather.

Participants can view the moon and other celestial objects through a telescope. Children’s activities are also planned.

Organizers recommend coming prepared by checking weather and dressing accordingly as well as bringing water, snacks, bug repellent and a flashlight with a red filter that helps in maintaining participants’ night vision.

Participants are welcome to bring their own telescopes, but members of the Stargazers club will assist with provided telescopes.

Another Astronomy Night is set for July 20.

Learn More

• Astronomy Night

HARKERS ISLAND – Stargazers, get your telescopes. Astronomy Nights are returning to Cape Lookout National Seashore.

The program is from 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday at the Harkers Island Visitor Center with NASA Solar System Ambassador, Lisa Pelletier-Harman. She will give a 45-minute presentation on Celestial Navigation Along the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Programs will also be June 22 and July 20.

After the presentation, park staff and Crystal Coast Stargazers members will be outside providing the opportunity  to view the night sky above the Southern Outer Banks with telescope viewing. There will also be activities for children, too.

Organizers recommend dressing for the weather and bringing water, snacks, bug repellent and a flashlight with a red filter to help maintain night vision. Folks may also bring their own telescopes.

The program, which has been on pause and is resuming Saturday, was previously held once a month at the Harkers Island Visitor Center, which is “an ideal spot for learning about constellations, spotting any planets in the sky, watching for the International Space Station on one of its passes overhead, and even using a telescope to see objects deeper in space such as nebula and other galaxies,” according to the website.

NEW HANOVER COUNTY – The seventh annual Cape Fear Museum Star Party is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing 7-10 p.m. April 12 at Carolina Beach State Park, 1010 State Park Road.

The Cape Fear Museum, Carolina Beach State Park, Cape Fear Astronomical Society and several other community partners combined efforts to host the evening themed, The Moon and Beyond.

Bring a flashlight to this free evening that will feature a guided night sky tour as well as up-close views of the moon, stars, planets and more using binoculars and a variety of telescopes.

Those new to stargazing can attend an indoor orientation to the night skies, learn stargazing tips from experts and listen to star-themed stories at the Stellar Story Corner.

There will be hands-on activity stations to learn about the moon, an opportunity to pose for pictures with a giant inflatable glowing moon and a chance to enter raffles to win prizes and passes to local attractions.

North Carolina Science Festival’s seventh annual Statewide Star Party is made possible by the North Carolina Space Grant. Participating organizations and institutions across the state will be hosting sky-watching parties to help people discover the wonders of their night skies.

While the star party will take place rain or shine, some activities are weather dependent. In the event of cloudy or overcast skies, telescope viewings and laser-guided constellation tours will be canceled. In the event of rain, outdoor activity stations will be canceled and only those inside the park’s visitor center will remain, however, space and parking will be limited.

Event parking is at the marina at the back of the park. Wilmington Trolley Co. is providing complimentary shuttle service and handicap transportation via golf cart is available upon request.

Learn More

• Seventh Annual Cape Fear Museum Star Party

NAGS HEAD – Stark, artfully angled and shockingly skinny, the Outer Banks of North Carolina gained a whole new visual perspective of its fragile geology in a photograph taken 50 years ago by the Apollo 9 spacecraft.

The shot, taken from an altitude of about 120 miles at 10 a.m. on March 12, 1969, during the spacecraft’s 136^th orbit of the Earth, was the clearest depiction of the delicate string of barrier islands and the expansive estuarine system it geographically embraces.

Viewed from space, the long sliver of sand is a thin golden line, curving gracefully southeast from the Virginia line into the Atlantic before making an abrupt turn at Hatteras, creating the cape’s famous, bold jut into the sea. The slender strand then turns southwest and traces the coast to Cape Lookout, where it again makes a dramatic 90-degree turn.

Back in 1969, that was a stunning – and somewhat unsettling – depiction of the Outer Banks.

“It was during an era when we were trying to tell people about the Outer Banks,” recalled Alvah Ward Jr., an 89-year-old Manteo resident who was Dare County’s first tourism director. “I think that particular view might have caused some controversy about how fragile the Outer Banks was. At that time, the Outer Banks didn’t mean much to anyone – it was eastern North Carolina. Before that, it was just pictures of fish, shipwrecks and bathing beauties.”

Apollo 9 launched on March 3 and splashed down in the Atlantic on March 13. The crew, James McDivitt, David Scott and Russell “Rusty” Schweickart, performed the first manned flight of the Apollo Lunar Module, contributing to the later success of the Apollo 11 moon landing in July. Apollo 9 is also credited with the first, two-man space walk and successful tests of life-support systems, docking and extraction.

Nearly immediately after the Apollo 9 photos were released, the image of the Outer Banks was printed on postcards and posters and has maintained its place since as one of the most ubiquitous shots of the barrier islands.

“It was very defining,” said J. Aaron Trotman, a veteran photographer on the Outer Banks. “This is what it is. This is where it’s at … it’s almost humbling.”

Trotman, who moved to the area in 1992, said that it would not otherwise be possible to capture such a long coastline in one photograph without stitching several views together.

“You can’t get that in one shot unless you’re up in low-Earth orbit,” he said. “That’s 200 miles of land you’re looking at.”

What makes the photograph even more extraordinary, thanks to the fortune of that morning’s clear sky, is what the discernibly different shades of green and brown on the estuarine side reveals about coastal dynamics.

“Outflow of rivers into the Atlantic shows extent of sediment discharge,” reads the caption for Figure 13-9 in NASA’s Apollo 9 mission report, which identified the photo as showing “North Carolina, Atlantic Ocean, Cape Lookout, Cape Hatteras, Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds.”

In a lecture on coastal processes and hazards given by Ken Gall at Boston College in 2015, the professor uses the image to illustrate separation of the barrier islands from the mainland by the Pamlico Sound.

“The brown color in the water is the result of sediment suspended in the water moving within the coastal system,” Gall explains in a PowerPoint slideshow presentation published online. “Notice the fan-shaped plume of sediment just seaward of Ocracoke Inlet.” The distance from Cape Lookout to Cape Hatteras is about 62 miles.

The late coastal scientist Robert Dolan of the University of Virginia studied the Apollo photograph in 1971 and found evidence of “large crescentic landforms” spanning as much as 60 miles, indicating distribution of shoreline erosion and storm overwash.

According to the mission report, “multi-spectral terrain photography” was one of Apollo 9’s experiments, using four different film and filter combinations while in orbit.  A handheld camera was also used by astronauts to take photographs when time allowed.

“The photographic results were excellent, and quality and subject material exceeded that of any previous orbital mission,” according to the report, which adds that “The orbital inclination of 33 degrees late in the flight permitted vertical and near-vertical coverage of many areas never before photographed from space. Of particular interest are the Appalachian and Ouachita Mountains, the eastern coastal plain and the Piedmont Plateau.”

The mission allotted four days for photography and much attention was paid to weather conditions, sun angle and ground-track coverage, in interest of meteorological and geological sciences. Four modified Hasselblad cameras had been installed in the hatch window, and various filters and infrared, color and black-and-white film were deployed. A total of 584 frames were exposed, the report said, representing 127 complete photographic sets. About 93 frames were taken over mostly cloud-free land.

The shot of Cape Hatteras, the report said, is one of the crew’s “remarkably” large number of high-quality pictures taken with a handheld camera.

Photographs from the Apollo missions overall are credited with changing attitudes about people and their place on Earth and in the universe. The view of the Earth rising, taken in 1968 from Apollo 8, spurred increased interest in ecology and the environment, eventually leading to the founding of “Earth Day.”  Four years later, the famous “Blue Marble” shot was taken from Apollo 17.

Although NASA spokespersons were unavailable to confirm it, Schweickart, who was then 33, has been reported to have taken the handheld photographs. Schweickart, who along with his two Apollo crewmembers, is still alive and active, gained a more modern fame in his telling of observations of Earth during his Apollo 9 spacewalk in a speech he gave to the nonprofit Lindisfarne Association in 1974 that has since gone viral on social media.

Schweickart, who had founded a group to track asteroids, spoke about how much he was affected by seeing Earth from space and has often since repeated that impression in many public appearances over the years. In a small way, his profound experience explains why the Apollo 9 image of the Outer Banks may be so striking

“How did I get here? Humanity has reached this point where we’re moving out from the Earth. I’m a small part of that, but that’s what’s going on. How does that happen in history?” Schweickart said. “Who am I? Am I ‘me,’ or am I ‘us?’ It’s very clear that you’re there as a representative of humankind. This is humanity moving out, and you’re just the representative on that frontier.”

NAGS HEAD — Bundle up and head to Jennette’s Pier to stargaze and learn more about the nocturnal environment during a special star party 6-9 p.m. Feb. 5, when all ages can gaze at the night sky and explore an indoor planetarium.

The event, hosted by A Time for Science, North Carolina Land of Water, the East Carolina University Integrated Coastal Programs and the Coastal Studies Institute, will feature interactive planetarium showings led by astronomer Brian Baker beginning at 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Throughout the evening, there will be children’s activities, stargazing, telescopes and opportunities to explore the portable, indoor planetarium.

Funded by North Carolina Sea Grant and the North Carolina Space Program, the free program gives the public an opportunity to engage with the nocturnal environment in a new way with expert guidance and observational resources.

“The Star Party is during a new moon, which is the optimal time to observe the night sky,” Baker said. “You’ll see the stars as you’ve never seen them before. Folks can use our telescopes or even bring their own to receive guidance on how to use them, which can sometimes be intimidating.”

Baker studied astrophysics at Florida State University and has been teaching about the night sky for 11 years. He is now the astronomy and space science director at A Time for Science in Greenville. While the group travels for outreach events within their area, the Star Party is a rare treat for Dare County, according to the release.

The event complements the collaborative work of A Time for Science and North Carolina Land of Water, in which CSI researchers and community members have been making field observations to help map and characterize the landscape, soundscape and viewscape of the nocturnal environment across Tyrell, Washington and mainland Hyde and Dare counties.

HARKERS ISLAND – Join NASA Solar System Ambassador Lisa Pelletier-Harman 8-11 p.m. Saturday, oct. 27, for Astronomy Night at Cape Lookout National Seashore.

The free program will begin with a 45-minute presentation in the visitor center’s theater on the recent NASA mission, Transiting Exoplanet Surveying Satellite, or TESS. The presentation, “TESS: The Search for Earth 2.0,” is about the satellite’s journey around Earth.

After the presentation, park staff and astronomers from the Crystal Coast Stargazers will be set up outside to offer participants the chance to witness the wonders of the night sky above the Southern Outer Banks with telescope viewing (clear skies dependent).

Folks may also consider bringing their own telescopes to learn how to maximize the capabilities of their equipment with help from members of the Stargazers club. Make the most of the night by coming prepared.  Check the weather and dress accordingly.

Also, bring water, snacks, bug repellent and flashlight with a red filter that helps in maintaining everyone’s night vision.

.@NASA_TESS shares its “first light” image. Features in this swath of the southern sky include the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds and a globular cluster called NGC 104: Read More @NASA: https://t.co/C3wVr5WNgI pic.twitter.com/na4ciL9DeZ

— NASA_TESS (@NASA_TESS) September 17, 2018

Learn More

• Astronomy Night

HARKERS ISLAND — There will be two activities highlighting the night sky during Cape Lookout National Seashore’s next Astronomy Night set for Saturday, Aug. 4.

NASA Solar System Ambassador Lisa Pelletier-Harman will begin with a 45-minute viewing of “TESS – The Search for Earth 2.0.”

The program, which begins at 8 p.m. in the Harkers Island Visitor Center theater, focuses on the Transiting Exoplanet Surveying Satellite (TESS) and its orbital journey around Earth, a more recent NASA mission.

Following the presentation, park staff and Crystal Coast Stargazers astronomers will be set up outside starting at 9 p.m. to offer visitors a chance to view through a telescope the night sky of the Southern Outer Banks.

Organizers recommend checking the weather and dressing accordingly as well as bringing water, snacks, bug repellent and a flashlight with a red filter to help maintain everyone’s night vision.

Folks can also bring their own telescopes to and chat with Stargazers members about how to get the most out of their telescopic equipment.

Learn More

• Astronomy Night

Featured Photo

Reprinted from the Island Free Press

The evening of Tuesday, Dec. 13, will feature the last supermoon 2016.

A supermoon happens when a full moon, or a new moon, coincides with the moon making its closest approach to the Earth in its elliptical orbit. This supermoon will not be quite as spectacular as November’s full moon, but it will still be bright.  December’s full moon will have a visual magnitude of -12.5 – bright enough to throw shadows.

The brighter an object appears, the lower its magnitude value. The sun’s magnitude is -27.

Unfortunately, the supermoon will also make it super hard to get a look at the Geminids meteor shower. The Geminids peak on the morning of Dec. 14. Normally, an observer might see 120 shooting stars per hour, but the full moon will probably reduce this year’s visible meteors to about 10 to 20 per hour.

The supermoon will not interfere with the Ursid meteor shower. It will peak in the early morning hours of Dec. 22 and feature about 10 meteors per hour. The shower appears to originate from Ursa Minor.  Ursa Minor – the Little Bear – contains the Little Dipper and the first star in the handle of the Little Dipper is Polaris, the North Star, so it’s pretty easy to get a handle on where to look for this meteor shower.

Another nice feature of the Ursid shower is it ends on Dec. 23 so it won’t interfere with any children (or parents) who want to keep an open eye out for flying sleighs on Christmas Eve.

December began with Mercury, Venus and Mars visible in the evening skies. Mercury will be closest to the western horizon early this month and disappear from view shortly after dusk. Venus begins the month fairly high and bright in the southwest sky with Mars appearing higher and more to the south-southwest. Neptune and Uranus are also present in the night skies, but you need a telescope to get a good view of them.

Jupiter will be visible in the pre-dawn skies near the eastern horizon.  It rises in the east about 2:27 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

The bright star Capella will be visible slightly above the northeast horizon as soon as the skies begin to darken. Capella is the sixth brightest star in the night skies. Capella is a Latin word that means “the little she-goat.”  If you look slightly south of Capella, you should be able to spot a group of three fainter stars.  They are called the “kids.”

November Highlights

The biggest sight in November’s night sky was the supermoon of Nov. 14. This was the closest the full moon had been to the Earth since 1948. We will not see another comparable super moon until 2034.

The clear skies of November also gave me a unique astrophotography opportunity. I was able to get a decent image of the Bubble Nebula. This faint emission nebula is 1,400 light years away and has a visual magnitude of +11. It is located in the constellation Cassiopeia.

I also got a fairly good shot of the Pacman Nebula. For those of us who were around in the ’80s, the reasoning behind the name is pretty obvious. If you’re too young to remember the video game, you might want to try Googling “Pac Man.” The Pacman Nebula is 4,000 light years away and has a visual magnitude of +7.4. Like the Bubble Nebula, it is found in the constellation, Cassiopeia.

Since I have been focusing on Cassiopeia, here is another object from that area of the sky, the Owl Cluster. The Owl Cluster has a visual magnitude of +6.4. It’s 7,900 light years away.

Moon Phases

• First Quarter: Dec. 7
• Full moon: Dec. 13
• Last Quarter: Dec. 20
• New moon: Dec. 29

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. You can read other stories about Hatteras and Ocracoke here.

Featured Photo

To Learn More

• The Crystal Coast Stargazers

Reprinted from the Island Free Press

Expect the annual Orionids and Taurids meteor showers to put on shows this month.

The Orionids meteor shower will be active from Oct. 4 through the end of the month — and into November. It peaks on the night of Oct. 21. Expect 20 to 25 meteors per hour. The shooting stars can appear in any part of the skies, but they will seem to originate from the constellation Orion. Look for the Orionids between midnight and dawn.

The Southern Taurids meteor shower will peak on Oct. 9. This is a minor shower, but it has a good record of producing fireballs, or exceptionally bright meteors. The Southern Taurids are visible every night in October, with peak viewing around 2 a.m.

The Northern Taurids begin on Oct. 19 and are active until December. As with the Southern Taurids, this is a minor shower that has a reputation for producing fireballs. Peak viewing is around midnight.

Also like the Orionids, the shooting stars and fireballs from the Taurids can appear anywhere in the night skies, but they will appear to emanate from the constellation Taurus. If you’re a stickler for finding the source of the Taurids, try locating the Pleiades. It’s just about in the center of the constellation.

The Pleiades, also known as Messier 45 or M45, began to rise in the east at about 9 p.m. on Oct. 1. It’s a tight cluster of stars you can use to check your vision. There are six prominent stars that are readily visible with the unaided eye. Under very dark good conditions, you might be able to spot more. Johann Kepler reported 14 in the 17^th century. The last time I checked, I could only see five stars — getting old is tough.

Planet Viewing in October

October began with Venus visible near the west-southwest horizon. It’s visible just after sundown. Mars shows up almost directly above the southern horizon, and Saturn is visible between Mars and Venus. For those of you with a telescope, Neptune began the month near the eastern horizon.

Mercury became visible near the eastern horizon just before dawn on Oct. 1. Jupiter will start showing up near the eastern horizon early this month. On the morning of Oct. 11, the two planets will appear to be almost on top of each other. This is their conjunction.

October should be a great month for locating deep-space objects with binoculars. The Andromeda Galaxy is still a good starting point. But you might want to try to find the three objects I highlighted during September in next part of this article.

M51, a spiral galaxy about 30 million light years away, began the month in the northwest, just below Alkaid, the first star in the handle of the Big Dipper.

M27, also known as the Dumbbell Nebula, is almost directly overhead early this month. You can also turn your binoculars towards the Pleiades. There’s quite a bit of nebulosity surrounding the stars in that group and you might be able to see some of it.

September Highlights

September had two new moons. The first was on Sept. 1, and the second was on Sept. 30. A second appearance of a new moon during a calendar month is called a black moon. A new moon is the best time of month to look at deep-space objects and September didn’t disappoint me. The first new moon offered some very good nights for viewing the stars.

NGC 253, the Sculptor Galaxy, left, is also called the Silver Coin Galaxy and the Dusty Island Universe. NGC 253 is about 11 million light years away from us and roughly the same size as the Milky Way. It’s the third-brightest galaxy in the night sky. Only the Andromeda Galaxy, or M31, and Sombrero Galaxy, or M104, are brighter. You can’t see it with the unaided eye but you can see it through a good pair of binoculars or a small telescope.

M27, the Dumbbell Nebula, right, is one of my favorite nebulae. I’ve shown images of it before, but I think this is probably the best one I’ve ever taken. It’s about 1,300 light years away, and yes, like the Sculptor Galaxy, you can see it through binoculars.

I added this image of M51, below, for three reasons. First, it’s a fairly good image, particularly since it was the very first deep-space object I photographed with my high-speed, high-sensitivity ZWO astronomy camera. Second, you can spot M51 with binoculars, as with M27 and NGC 253. And, finally, I shot all three of these images on the same night. I usually consider it a pretty good night if I get one decent shot, so getting these three in what seemed like rapid sequence was pretty special.

Moon Phases

• First Quarter: Oct. 9
• Full moon: Oct. 16
• Last Quarter: Oct. 27
• New moon: Oct. 30

Learn More

• NASA composite animation of a fireball
• Tips for enjoying meteor showers

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. You can read other stories about Hatteras and Ocracoke here.

Reprinted from the Island Free Press

Mars will be at opposition on May 22.  Opposition occurs when the sun and Mars are on opposite sides of the Earth.  That means Mars will be the brightest it’s been in 11 years, with a magnitude of -2.1.  This is the great opportunity to observe the “red planet.”

Jupiter will be well above the horizon at dusk in the beginning of May. It will set just before 4 a.m. Mars will rise around 9:46 p.m., followed by Antares at 10:06 and Saturn at 10:13 p.m. This small triangle is easy to spot, making it easy to find the two planets.

Mercury sets at 8:40 p.m. beginning on May 1. It is very close to the sun, so don’t look for it before the sun has set. Even at dusk, the sun can be bright enough to cause eye damage. Mercury will set about seven minutes earlier each night during the month. Each night it will get closer to the setting sun.

On May 9, Mercury will transit across the face of the sun. Do not try to watch this event with the unaided eye or sunglasses — you will damage your eyes.  If you want to view this event, you will need a telescope equipped with a very good solar filter. The next transit of Mercury will be in 2019.

Pluto rose about 12:40 a.m. on May 1.

Neptune and Uranus will not offer good viewing in May.

The Eta Aquarids meteor shower will peak at about 4 a.m. on May 6.  The Eta Aquarids usually offer about 60 shooting stars an hour. This meteor shower will appear to originate in the eastern sky.

Vega, the fifth brightest star in the sky, rises just after sunset in the northeast. Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra. Vega was the first star — not counting the sun — to be photographed, which happened in 1850.  You could consider that the first step in deep space astrophotography.

April Highlights

I want to express my gratitude to the Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative for improving the night skies of Hatteras Island. Replacing the old high-pressure sodium vapor streetlight fixtures with the new directional LED fixtures have made our night skies much darker. I hope our local businesses and homeowners will follow suit and reduce their use of outside lighting.

My wife and I were in Hawaii during most of April. When we were on the big island, we took the tour of Mauna Kea, a 13,800-foot, dormant volcano. Most of the time, the mountaintop is blessed with clear, dry skies because it is above the top of the clouds. Mauna Kea is home to several of the most advanced observatories in the world, including the 8.2-meter Subaru Telescope and the twin 10-meter telescopes at the Keck Observatory.

This was probably the only time in my life that I have had the pleasure to experience a Class 1 sky, as measured on the Bortle light pollution scale.  Amateur astronomer John E. Bortle created the scale for the February 2001 edition of Sky & Telescope magazine to help other amateurs evaluate and compare the darkness of observing sites. Class 1 is the darkest sky available on Earth, whereas Class 9 represents a brilliantly lit inner-city sky.

Even though we were only allowed to view the big “working” observatories from the outside, I did get a chance to discuss several items of interest with local astronomers that will hopefully improve my observations and photography in future articles.

Moon Phases

• New moon: May 6
• First quarter: May 13
• Full moon: May 21
• Last quarter: May 29

Astronomy Talk

A planet is said to be in “opposition” when it is on the opposite site of the earth from the sun.

A planet is said to “transit” the sun when it crosses between the earth and the sun.  Obviously, only Mercury and Venus can transit the sun.

Learn More

• Mars facts
• Antares: Red star at the end of its life
• Everything you need to know about Eta Aquarid

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. You can read other stories about Hatteras and Ocracoke here.

Take a break from the hectic holiday hubbub to look up at the sky. You may be rewarded with the best meteor show of the year.

The Geminid meteor shower, the final major meteor shower of every year and one of the best, peaks overnight Dec. 13 and Dec. 14, though you can see Geminid meteors any evening starting Thursday.

If you liked the Perseids meteor shower  in August, you should love this show. NASA reports that the Geminids are a relatively young meteor shower, with the first reports in the 1830s citing rates of about 20 meteors an hour. Over the decades the rates have increased, regularly spawning between 80 and 120 an hour at their peak on a clear evening with a dark sky.

A Geminid fireball explodes over the Mojavi Desert in 2009. Photo: NASA.

That can be pretty spectacular. Just take a look at this video of the Geminid shower. You can also look at some spectacular photos of the Geminids.

Intrigued? If you live in or around Pender County, you may consider looking at the meteors with some experts. The Cape Fear Sierra Club and the Cape Fear Astronomical Society are teaming up to offer a free viewing of the meteor shower on Friday, Dec. 14, at the Holly Shelter Game Lands.

They chose Holly Shelter because it’s pretty dark there. And a dark sky, free of light pollution, is the essential ingredient to a good show, noted Mitch Odess, president of the astronomical society.

But even with the inkiest of skies overhead — and this month’s  new moon falls on Dec. 13 – viewers shouldn’t expect to see a hundred meteors an hour, Odess said.

“When you think meteor showers you think about it snowing meteors, but it doesn’t work like that,” he said. “If you see one or two every 15 minutes, you’re doing well. A lot has to do with the darkness of the location.”

But there are plenty of other interesting things to see in the night sky, Odess said. His club will have telescopes available to view the moons of Jupiter, the Andromeda Galaxy, the Orion Nebula and other celestial big names. “We want to show people things they may have heard of but never seen,” he said.

The viewing will start at 5 p.m. and go on until whenever. Be warned: The best showing of the Geminids will probably be from about 1 a.m. to 3 a.m.

You don’t need to bring anything special, noted Nancy Card of the Sierra Club. A chair, a flashlight with a red filter, a mug for the hot cider Card will bring and maybe a sleeping bag to stay warm.

Call Card at 910-540-3088 or email her if you’re interested to set up a time and place to meet. She doesn’t want people driving into the game lands at all hours with their car headlights messing up the viewing.

You can also view the show on your own. Just find a dark place, settle in and scan the sky, looking particularly to the constellation Gemini. A star chart or a sky map app for your smart phone will tell you where it is. The Geminid meteor shower is named after the constellation, which is located in roughly the same point of the night sky where the meteor shower appears to originate.

Most meteors in annual showers trace their origins to comets. But the parent of the Geminid meteor shower is a mysterious body named 3200 Phaethon, which may be an asteroid or the rocky skeleton of a comet that lost most of its outer covering of ice after too many close encounters with the sun.

The Geminids are fairly bright and moderate in speed, hitting our atmosphere at 21.75 miles a second. They are characterized by their multicolored display – 65 percent being white, 26 percent yellow and the remainder blue, red and green. Geminids also have a reputation for producing exploding meteors called fireballs.

So take a break from the Christmas shopping and holiday parties to spend some time outside looking at the sky.

You can have the beach to yourself in the fall.

It’s an open secret that many of us who live on the coast name fall as our favorite time of year. There are many reasons, both general and specific — today I’m going to focus on a handful of those that are 1.) outside and 2.) free, or almost so.

Getting Outside. First, there’s getting outside and the simple fact that it’s more fun now than in the dog days of August. The air: Summers here are HOT. Day, night, you name it, we swelter. And humid –some mornings opening the front door feels like getting slapped in the face with a soggy washcloth. Fall eases up both of these: The days change to warm and pleasant, sometimes with a little snap in the mornings, and the humidity decreases to acceptable (to me) levels.
And this decrease in humidity, my diligent Internet research tells me, means the sky turns that particularly rich, deep blue — less interference for the light particles, or some such.

The nights, too, are cool, to the point that making fires in the backyard fire pit or at a campsite becomes a sensible action rather than an affectation. S’mores can come out to play.

Next, the water.  In the summer, the water can be in the 80s and the sounds and creeks, well, it is often compared to warm spit (at least by me). Seriously, it is anti-refreshing to jump into Core Sound in August. After a few weeks of these temperate evenings, though, the water temp drops into the mid-70s. It’s still warmer than the ocean, but that refreshing thing? It’s back.

Empty beaches. In North Carolina, we’re lucky to have wide (in places) beaches, stretching to the horizon. During the summer, these beaches can be packed. During the autumn, the beaches empty, returning to those of us who live here. A person can go out at sunrise or sunset and have only a handful of people for company, some distant specks down the shore. It’s perfect for heart-to-heart talks, belly laughs or a few minutes of solitude before rejoining the hectic, non-beach world.

The International Space Station, above, is a stunning-looking piece of technology up close. But from Earth, it appears as a streak in the night sky. Photos: NASA.

Looking up. The clearer skies make it just that much easier to see what’s in the night skies. You can show your kids, friends and neighbors the International Space Station zooming across the sky. NASA has a handy Web site  to find it.

Summer has the Perseids meteor shower of August, but fall is no slouch. The season hosts three sets of meteor showers, and this year may be showier than the last because many of them fall on days of a waning or new moon.

The Orionids make an appearance from Oct. 2 to Nov. 7 and will peak this weekend.

The Leonids run Nov. 6-30, and they should be particularly showy this year. You can check this Web site for the peak days, times and part of the sky to watch.

The Geminids are next, from Dec. 4-17. They are billed as the most kid-friendly meteor shower because they’re viewable almost as soon as the sun sets and there’s a new moon, so they will be most visible.

Here’s a link to the 2012 meteor calendar.

Critters of the Night. On the evening of Oct. 27, Cape Lookout National Seashore hosts a fun event. Pack a chair, a picnic and some walking shoes. From 5-8:30 p.m., you’ll get to meet some animals, courtesy of the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter, then have a picnic, take a night hike, stargaze for animal constellations and end the evening sitting around a fire, talking about the nocturnal beasties. Great for the kids, great for anyone curious.

Finally, Seafood and fishing (Oysters! Spanish Mackerel! Spot! Trout!). Restaurants with 2-for-1 local specials, paddling in non-bug-infested creeks. For these, you’ll have to your own Internet research, but it’s well worth it.

Go to our Facebook page and tell us what are your favorite things to do this time of year.