Exploring the Western NY Wilds: What backyard astronomers can expect in 2024

 

If you live in Allegany County you’re probably a backyard astronomer of sorts. You might find yourself outdoors on a clear night marveling at the countless stars in the heavens. There’s something innate, something primeval, about the love affair with the nighttime skies. The universe is fascinating, awe-inspiring, and relaxing – after a day of hustle and bustle and going in a hundred different directions, it’s comforting to look skyward, see that vastness and realize that we and our human experiences are but tiny, inconsequential blips in the whole scheme of things.

 

Far from the inescapable light pollution of big cities and their suburbs that haunt WNY locales like the Buffalo and Rochester metro areas, we’re blessed in Allegany County with incredible dark skies that lend themselves to great viewing of the cosmos.

 

As a matter of fact, some people even travel here to take in the nighttime sights.

 

They plan for it, based on the calendar of events for celestial activities.

 

You should plan accordingly, too. Mark your calendars now, so you’re ready to get the most out of looking skyward.

To help you plan for skywatching in 2024, here’s a look at some of the nighttime sights – and daytime sights -- on tap for the year.

 

Lunar eclipses

 

On the night of March 24^th/25^th there will be a penumbral lunar eclipse. Such eclipses aren’t very dramatic. They occur when the outer shadow of Earth falls upon the moon’s face. It doesn’t create blacked out parts of the moon. Instead, it creates a more subtle shading, so subtle that most people don’t notice the event at all. 

 

Early in the morning of September 18^th there will be a partial lunar eclipse…as in very partial. Most of the event will present itself as a penumbral lunar eclipse. Only a very small part of the moon, 4% of it near the cap, will be made fully dark. 

 

Northern Lights

 

The aurora borealis or northern lights are more abundant when the sun’s face is covered with sunspots and it is emitting all sorts of flares and other solar energy. From the mid-2010s and through the pandemic years, the sun wasn’t too eventful as it was at the bottom of the 11-year sunspot cycle -- and that past cycle was a dud to begin with. Solar Cycle 25 is well underway and it has been surprising astronomers with its liveliness in 2022 and 2023.  

The northern lights will become more common for our latitude in 2024 and again in 2025 when the cycle peaks. We aren’t as lucky as northern Canada when it comes to these amazing celestial sights – they see them in abundance and in extraordinary detail -- but that doesn’t mean the sun won’t surprise us on occasion. If I had to guess, Allegany County residents will get to see them well on six occasions in 2024.   

 

If you want to know when you have a chance, a great tool is the aurora oval (updated every few minutes) on the left side toolbar of the website SpaceWeather.com. If the green or red hue takes over or comes close to the US-Canada border on that map, it’s time to get outside and look. You don’t ever want to miss the northern lights. They are incredible.

 

The best meteor showers

 

The Persieds meteor shower never ceases to amaze, throwing some really bright meteors out there. 2016 was an outburst year, and I saw nearly 100 shooting stars over an hour and a half period on the peak night. While 2024’s shower won’t reach such numbers, the Perseids is always a good show. Even during lean years, you can see 30 to 60 per hour, some of them being impressive fireballs, the sight of which will be seared in your memory forever.

 

In 2024, Perseids will peak on the night of August 11^th heading into the morning hours of the 12^th (and there is very fine viewing 2 days on either side of the peak). Your best bet is after midnight. Look towards the constellation Perseus to see them in their full beauty. Viewing will be excellent in 2024 as there will be hardly any moonlight to obscure the fireworks as the first quarter moon sets around midnight.  

December’s Geminids shower, which is a consistent and totally underrated meteor shower (probably because your average person doesn’t like sitting outside in cold weather), won’t be the best to watch in 2024 because of the full moon that night. This event will peak overnight December 13^th into December 14^th. Despite the moon, don’t overlook this event as skywatchers love this show for its sometimes colorful meteors.  

 

New moons

 

If you are serious about stargazing, you will as I do mark on your calendar every date on which there is a new moon. Basically “no moon,” the new moon ensures there is no moonlight robbing your skywatching experience, meaning you have full visibility of the stars, the Milky Way, meteors and more. You typically have perfect dark sky viewing for four days on either side of the new moon.

 

New moons will occur on: January 11, February 9, March 10, April 8, May 8, June 6, July 5, August 4, September 2, October 2, November 1, and December 1.

 

Solar eclipse

 

This is THE sky event of the year and maybe THE sky event of your entire life.

 

On Monday, April 8^th Western New York will be in the direct path of a total solar eclipse. It’s believed that millions of people from all over the world will come to WNY to experience it, which speaks to how awesome this will be. A total blackout! It will put to shame the partial solar eclipse that we saw here in 2017. I can’t wait to see it and experience the stillness as the natural world as birds and mammals adjust to the unexpected loss of sunlight.

 

The northern half of Allegany County will be in the path of totality while the southern half will be so close many won’t notice the difference. Even so, I would strongly suggest that if you live in the town of Independence or even Wellsville that you spend the afternoon in Cuba or at Hanging Bog to experience the absolute darkest of the daytime sky. The event will begin just after 2:00 PM and slowly progress with the full eclipse happening around 3:20 PM. The event will slowly come to a close, reaching full sun around 4:40 PM.

 

Words of advice for the solar eclipse:

 

·         Get some special glasses for watching the eclipse unfold – and do it now! Remember the shortage during 2017’s event?

·         If your kids are scheduled to have school that day, keep them home or get them at the half day. Don’t let them miss it – it won’t be fun to watch it from a school bus (many schools in New York have already booked a day off for it, so glance at your district’s calendar)

·         Book one of your vacation/personal days now with your employer. Some employers (like mine) have scheduled a special paid holiday for that day

·         Hit the breakers for your outdoor lights at home or at your workplace that day – any one of them with photo eyes will activate during the event. Don’t ruin that moment! 

·         To see what the event might look like and why location matters, check out https://eclipse2024.org/eclipse_cities/statemap.html and zoom in. Once you find the location of your home or potential viewing site, left click which brings up a bubble that has a link within it that says “open Eclipse2024.org’s eclipse simulator for this location”. At that link you will be able to watch the simulator to see how the eclipse plays out every minute at that location

·         Many municipalities, government agencies, chambers of commerce, and businesses will be holding special events and parties that day. Keep an eye on their social media and websites. Allegany County’s webpage for the eclipse is: https://wnywilds.com/2024-eclipse/  

 

Enjoy skywatching in 2024! I hope your nights (and your day on April 8^th) are filled with meteors, northern lights, and total awe.


From the 08 December 2023 Wellsville Sun

Exploring the Western NY Wilds: What to get a nature lover for Christmas

 

Last year around this time, this column had an installment looking at what you could get the nature lover in your family for Christmas. It discussed some of my favorite field guides.

I plan on making a Christmas article an annual occurrence, throwing some alternative ideas out there for you because sometimes it seems so incredibly tough to figure out what to give your loved ones, which adds some unneeded stress to the holiday season which is really supposed to be anything but stressful.

For this year, I offer you these suggestions…

 
Conservationist magazine

 

Published six times a year, Conservationist is a New York State-focused glossy magazine that is packed with informative articles and great photography. The magazine is put out by the Department of  Environmental Conservation .

 

The Conservationist covers a broad range of environmental and nature topics. A typical issue highlights a destination (for nature watching, hiking, hunting or fishing) and a handful of species of animals and plants while supporting an always-interesting mailbag. Most issues also contain a few pages written for children that can be easily pulled out and shared with them.

 

As an example of the breadth of material, the October/November issue featured articles about revitalizing New York's industrial past, creating new conservationists through turkey hunting, how to pick the perfect hunting dog and biological monitoring in the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers.

You can order a gift subscription at the NYSDEC’s website (http://www.dec.ny.gov/news/conservationist-magazine) for a holiday special of just $6 for one year. That’s a steal for a magazine that is consistently excellent from cover to cover!

Planisphere

 

Everybody loves looking at the stars, especially when there is an astronomical event underway like a meteor shower or a comet that is visible to the naked eye. But, for those unfamiliar with the details of the nighttime sky (like the locations of constellations and major stars), it can sometime be difficult to know where exactly to look. Consider the Persieds meteor shower in August when local newscasts tell you to watch the area near the constellation Perseus. Where is that exactly? With a planisphere you can find it quite easily.

 
A planisphere is a circular tool comprised of two discs that act as a map of the nighttime sky. You place the planisphere over your head and adjust one of the discs for the date and time (because the layout of the sky changes by the hour and by the day). With it, you can then navigate your way through the heavens like an expert.

A quick search of Amazon or Google will find a variety of planispheres, most with a price tag between $8 and $20. When shopping you have to be specific to the latitude or the tool will be useless (not everyone on this Earth sees the same sky). The latitude of Wellsville is 42 degrees north. Planispheres are effective for plus or minus 5 degrees. So, if you get one that’s rated for anywhere from 38 to 45 degrees you’ll be fine. You might see some that aren’t specific to the degree and say “40 to 50 degrees,” which is fine for this area because that’s a 45-degree planisphere.

 

Some might wonder why someone would want a planisphere when apps are available for smartphones that do the same. I say go old school for the fact that every time you turn on your phone the brightness then requires your eyes to readjust to the darkness which can sometimes take 15 to 20 minutes. That’s time lost best appreciating the awesomeness of Allegany County’s dark skies.

 

To help read the planisphere, also consider buying a small flashlight that has a red bulb. Red doesn’t impact your night vision. 

Rain gauge

 

A rain gauge?

 

Who would want a rain gauge?

 

You’d be surprised.

When we get socked by big storms, a lot of nature watchers get curious about how much rain we got, especially when totals can vary so much across Western New York. Plus, many of those folks are also gardeners and they might be curious as to how their garden or landscaping has fared. There’s also a sense of pride to be taken on social media when someone says he got a half inch of rain and you counter with “oh, yeah? My rain gauge says we got an inch and a quarter!”

Rain gauges are cheap ($6 to $15) and can be found at any local hardware store and their small size lends them to being excellent stocking stuffers.

 

From the 04 December 2023 Wellsville Sun