Mark Alan Lovewell
A transformation in the night sky has taken place since summer, and the Milky Way has moved to a position where it is almost overhead.
For many boaters the writing was already on the wall, but now it’s official. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, office of nautical charts, announced last week it is moving out of the chart printing business. Next April the Maryland government facility that prints them will close.
The NOAA Office of Coastal Survey Marine Chart Division will continue to keep all its waterway information up to date using high-tech measures involving survey work, and charts will be electronically accessible for free in a number of ways.
There is a slight possibility Vineyarders can see a partial eclipse of the sun on Sunday morning at sunrise.
Late tonight there is a pairing up of the gibbous moon and Jupiter, the solar system’s largest planet.
The state of Maryland has released the annual young of the year index for striped bass, and while the number is better than last year, it is still well below the 60-year average.
The index measures how well striped bass spawn each year in the Chesapeake Bay. Numbers were released on Friday by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
