Comet P12 Pons-Brooks Visits Eagle Harbor!

Comet P12 Pons-Brooks Visits Eagle Harbor by Shelby Diamondstar Photography

Let’s head WAY north for another exciting celestial phenomenon, Comet P12 Pons-Brooks aka the Devil’s Comet. Space.com explains that the comet is named after French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons (1761-1831) who went on to become the greatest visual comet discoverer of all time:

In today’s world, comets are routinely found when they are far out in space, beyond the ability of being picked up by human eyes, but are caught using robotic cameras attached to large telescopes either here on Earth or from satellites out in space.

In contrast, Pons made most of his discoveries using telescopes and lenses of his own design; his “Grand Chercheur” (“Great Seeker”) was an instrument with a large aperture and short focal length, similar to telescopes that our modern-day amateurs would refer to as a “comet seeker.” Pons is noted today for visually discovering 37 comets (still a record) from 1801 to 1827.

…On Sept. 2, 1883, British-born American comet observer William R. Brooks (1844-1921) accidently found it. Like Pons, Brooks was a prolific discoverer of comets. In fact, his total of 27 visual discoveries is second only to Pons. Not until the first orbital calculations of Brooks’ discovery was made, was it realized that this comet and the comet found by Pons of 1812 were one of the same. So, this comet now bears the surnames of both observers.

With an orbital period of roughly 71 years, comet Pons-Brooks is considered to be a “Halley-type” comet, that is, a comet with an orbital period between 20 and 200 years, often appearing only once or twice within one’s lifetime. Other comets with a similar orbital period include 13P/Olbers, 23P/Brosen-Metcalf and the most famous of all, 1P/Halley. Because it was the twelfth comet to have a definitive orbital period calculated, it is cataloged today as 12P/Pons-Brooks.

You can look for the comet just after sunset, but you will probably need binoculars given the afterglow of the sunset.

MaryBeth took this way up on the Keweenaw Peninsula at Eagle Harbor Lighthouse. Click the photo above to share a comment with her on Facebook and for sure view & purchase her work at shelbydiamondstar.com!

PS: In my best Arnold voice, “I’ll be back” (because she has an amazeballs photo for us!)

Round Island Ripples

Round Island Light 2022 by S.Hughes Photos

“We are here but for a second, but our impact ripples through time.”
― Neetal Parekh

The Wilderness Connect entry for Round Island says in part:

The United States Congress designated the Round Island Wilderness in 1987 and it now has a total of 375 acres.

All of Round Island has been designated wilderness except one acre on the northern tip, a sand and cobblestone spit where the lighthouse stands. There has been no logging on the island since the turn-of-the-century. There are no docks, roads, or developed hiking trails on the island. Access is by boat in the summer and over ice in the winter. Several historic and prehistoric sites exist on the island.

…The “Michigan rattler”, massausauga has been rumored to reside on the island. You may see whitetail deer, raccoon, red squirrel, fox, rabbit, and an occasional black bear on the island; as well as a variety of songbirds and waterfowl. Trout, pike, salmon, and other freshwater fish are found in the lake waters around the island. While the island is removed from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it is close enough that you can see busy Mackinac Island and the mainland lights.

More information about the Round Island Wilderness Area from the US Forest Service.

While I’ve shared a number of photos of the Round Island Lighthouse taken from the Mackinac Island Ferry over the years, I’ve never seen a shot from taken from on Round Island! Follow S. Hughes Photos on Facebook for lots more.

Sand Point Lighthouse

Tip of Sand Point by Mike Sherman

WHOOPS! This is Sand Point Lighthouse on Lake Superior! 

Head over to Mike’s Flickr and his Facebook page for his latest.

Valentine Skies

Valentines Skies #2 by Gary Brink Photography

Gary took this stunning shot at Holland’s “Big Red” lighthouse on Valentine’s Day back in 2017. Head over to his Flickr for the latest & I hope that you all have a lovely week!

Winter Gale at Grand Haven Pier

Winter Gale by Bill VanderMolen

Bill took this shot of a frosty Grand Haven Pier about a week ago. Check out more in his Explored gallery on Flickr & have a great week everyone!

Amongst the Stars at the Ludington Light

Ludington Lighthouse by S Hughes Photos

“You cannot look up at the night sky on the Planet Earth and not wonder what it’s like to be up there amongst the stars.”
– Tom Hanks

I feel this Tom Hanks quotation so deeply. Not many experiences on this earth in my book that compare with gazing into the deep night sky.

The photo was taken at the Ludington Light last year. With apologies in advance to the small but vocal minority of anti-Facebook fans, you can see a lot more on S. Hughes’ Facebook page.

Holland gets high marks for quality of life

The Big Red by Ayman Haykal

The Great Lakes Echo shares that Holland ranks first in quality of life for Michigan small cities:

This small city nestled off Lake Michigan ranks number one in the state for quality of life in “Best Small Cities in America,” a study published by WalletHub, a personal finance website that tracks financial and other trends. It is one of five measures the study used to rank the desirability of small cities. (The other measures are affordability, economic health, education and health, and safety.)

Quality of life was assessed by measures like average commute time, city walkability and number of bars, restaurants and cultural centers per capita.

Holland, Kalamazoo, Flint, Muskegon and Saginaw ranked in the top five of 39 small Michigan cities for the quality-of-life measure. The state’s lowest were Holt, Eastpointe, St. Clair Shores, Lincoln Park and Garden City.

You can read more in the Echo & see all the cities in the study at WalletHub. Also, Traverse City, Marquette, Petoskey – you weren’t in the study so continue thinking whatever you think about yourselves.

In all seriousness, “studies” like this are basically nonsense, but I’ll take any excuse for a banger photo of Big Red like this one! Ayman took this pic back in 2019. See more in their Lighthouses gallery on Flickr.

Lots more about Holland Michigan on Michigan in Pictures!

Winter’s smile

Grand Haven Lighthouse & Pier by Chris Ahern Photography

Chris’s photo of the Grand Haven Lighthouse from last weekend really shows the power of winds off the Great Lakes. You can click the pic to follow him on Facebook, and also see his pics on Instagram and view & purchase prints & calendars on his website.

The Night Before Christmas at the Ludington Light

Watch the Skies on Christmas Eve by Fire Fighter’s Wife

Beth shares a great sentiment for the holidays or any season: May you never be too grown up to search the skies on Christmas Eve.

About this photo (which I’m still pretty sure is totally authentic) she writes: I wanted to do something I’ve never done and I couldn’t help myself. This year I was so inspired and thought it’d be great to bring out my Christmas album with a bang! This lead me to thinking, with a suggestion from a friend, to add a flying Santa sleigh to the moon. I debated back and forth but decided, it’s Christmas. Step out of the box and do something magical!

Indeed!! See more in her 25 Days of Christmas Gallery on Flickr & never grow up!!

Into the Gale

Muskegon South Pier leaning into the gale by Jerry Herrendeen

This past Sunday (Dec 11, 2021) was a very dark day in American meteorological history as tornados ravaged the middle south, killing at least 80 in Kentucky and visiting devastation on Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee in what has become since 2020 a new seasonal threat.

While the Great Lakes State was spared the worst, mLive shares that Michigan was buffeted by winds topping 60 mph with gusts as high as 72 recorded at the Saugatuck Pier. While there’s no wind reading from the South Breakwater Light, the Muskegon North Breakwater Light clocked a reading of 68 MPH. Waveheads in the audience who want to know just how big the wave in this photo can do a little visual math with the knowledge that the North Breakwater Light is 52′ tall!

Jerry’s The Moods of Lake Michigan gallery makes it clear he has no problem getting out there to get the shot & has a couple more photos from Sunday including this shot of a wave nearly topping the 48′ south pier light.