In the Stars
One of the joys of living away from urban areas, as many Franklin and Hampshire County residents do, is the extra darkness that means you can see the ghostly spine of the Milky Way arch overhead on clear nights. We have a lot of cloudy nights, alas, and the best skies happen with the calm of the frigid air that makes the outdoors far less inviting.
Still – Western Massachusetts is well above average for stargazing. There are plenty of phone apps that offer a dynamic map of the night sky, and a few that give an astronomy-specific weather forecast. The latter is particularly important, because there are less-intuitive aspects of clear viewing that come into play. One is the waviness that happens with warm and cool air interacting (called “seeing”). The other is the perceived transparency of the atmosphere, the product of things like smoke or humidity (which yeah, we see a lot of). Both can turn a clear night into a bummer for stargazing.
So if you’ve got yourself a pair of binoculars or a telescope, where can you go to catch a glimpse of Jupiter’s moons?
As of June 2023, the spectacular Wilder Observatory at Amherst College is undergoing renovations with a 2024 expected completion. When it’s open, it’s well worth a visit, not only for the great experience of looking through its telescope, but also for the setting, a beautiful old building that has a distinct mad-scientist lab feel with its old-school gears and equipment. The telescope is an impressive 18-inch refractor (lens-based, vs. mirror-based), still one of the largest of its kind. In 1907, it was shipped to Chile to observe Mars.
You’ll want to check ahead with Wilder once it re-opens, because unfortunately, the Amherst Area Amateur Astronomers’ Association, which long offered programs there, is no longer in operation. That group also hosted gatherings atop Mount Pollux in Amherst. Though that’s a tempting location for those who want a high peak with a short walk (handy for hoisting telescopes), it’s currently closed after dark.
Probably the best possible spot for stargazing in Western Mass is Arunah Hill Science Center in Cummington (on Trouble Street!). It’s basically a mountaintop dedicated to stargazing, and maintained by the locals who frequent it. You can keep tabs on what’s happening most easily via Facebook, and some events there draw participants from all over the Northeast (the biggest is in August). It’s a club, and though public visitors are welcome, if you become a frequent flier, it’s certainly a worthwhile group to join for a low annual fee. Arunah is large, with acres of hiking, a warming shed, and even its own 1905 telescope. Those amenities are mostly available only via the club, but with good timing, you might enjoy them as well.
The bad news is that the most reliable way to find dark skies is to go hunting for just-right rural spots away from headlights and city lights. The good news is that the hunt, much like the swimming hole version, is a lot of fun.
