This year’s October skies are a treasure trove for stargazers, and the crown jewel may be a bright comet, possibly even bright enough to be seen with the naked eye!

Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas, discovered in January of last year, is passing close by our part of the solar system this month. Since it’s also close to the sun, there’s still a chance that this melting, dirty snowball of ice, rock and gas could break up, but that’s now unlikely. I don’t think that’ll live up to the hype you may have seen about being “the comet of the century.” Still, its forecasts have improved for how bright it could be, although there are no guarantees, especially with newly discovered comets like Tsuchinshan-Atlas. No matter how bright or faint it ends up being, the best show will be in the darker skies of the countryside.

In the first few days of October, look for the comet in the very low southeastern sky, just above the horizon, during the latter stages of early morning twilight. Chances are, though, it’ll be washed out in the brightening sky.

From about Oct. 14 through the rest of the month, Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will be available in the early evening sky. Around the 14th, start looking for it about an hour after sunset in the very low western sky. Spotting it’ll be challenging because of the lingering twilight. It’ll resemble a “fuzzy star.” If it’s bright enough, you’ll see its tail pointing upward and a little to the left. As October continues, Tsuchinshan-ATLAS begins the evening progressively higher and higher in the southwestern sky, but unfortunately, it will also get fainter and fainter. Look for it as soon as you can after evening twilight ends because it’ll be setting in the west within an hour or so. Again, let’s hope Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas lives up to expectations. I’ll have more on our celestial visitor in upcoming Skywatch columns.

(Mike Lynch)

Great summer constellations are still available in the Western heavens. The first star that pops out in the early evening is Arcturus. You can’t miss it in the lower western sky with its distinct orange-red color. Arcturus is the brightest star in the constellation Bootes the Herdsman, which looks much more like a giant kite with Arcturus marking the tail.

Higher up in the western sky, among others, are Lyra the Harp with the bright star Vega, Cygnus the Swan, and Aquila the Eagle. Another summer constellation holdout is Sagittarius the Archer, in the low southwest sky, easily resembling a teapot pouring its heavenly brew on the southwest horizon. If you’re stargazing away from light-polluted skies, you’ll see a ghostly ribbon of light arching across the sky from the teapot up and over the northeast horizon, more or less cutting the sky in half. That’s the Milky Way band, the thickest part of our home galaxy. The center of our Milky Way galaxy is in that direction, just above the teapot.

Over in the eastern skies, autumn constellations are really on the rise, including the grand constellation Pegasus, the winged horse, Andromeda the Princess, home of the famous Andromeda Galaxy, more than 2 million light-years away, with just one light-year spanning nearly 6 trillion miles.

If you stay up late enough, check out the Pleiades star cluster in the eastern sky, resembling a tiny Big Dipper. It’s also called the “Seven Little Sisters,” the daughters of the god Atlas in Greek mythology. Most people can see at least six stars, but seeing seven is possible. Through binoculars or a telescope, you can see many more.

Planets are on their way back to the evening sky. Venus shines brightly. On Oct. 5, Venus will have a visitor. It’s the new crescent moon, just below and to the left of a planet named after the Roman goddess of love. You’ll need a clear view of the southwestern horizon to see this celestial hugging.

Saturn is the ringed wonder of our solar system in the early evening southeastern sky, well above the horizon after twilight. It’s easy to spot since it’s the brightest star-like object in that area of the sky. Saturn is excellent even through a small telescope, but there’s a problem right now. The beautiful ring system is tough to see because, from our view on Earth, we see nearly on edge, and since it’s only about 50 miles in thickness on average, that doesn’t leave much to see.

Late-night stargazers will be rewarded with the rise of Jupiter and Mars. In early October, Jupiter jumps above the eastern horizon around 10 p.m., but by Halloween, it’ll be up and running by 9 p.m. You’ll have absolutely no problem spotting Jupiter. It’s by far the brightest star-like object in that part of the sky. Even with a small telescope, you can easily observe up to four of Jupiter’s brightest moons., which appear as faint stars on either side of the great planet, as they orbit Jupiter in periods of two to seventeen days.

Mars lags behind Jupiter, climbing above the eastern horizon around midnight. It’s nowhere near as bright as Jupiter but has a distinctive orange-red glow, even with the unaided eye. Mars will get brighter and brighter this month as our Earth and Mars draw closer and closer to each other. Next January, Mars will be the closest it’s been to Earth in over two years, and will be super bright in our heavens.

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and retired broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He is the author of “Stars: a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations,” published by Adventure Publications and available at bookstores and adventurepublications.net. Mike is available for private star parties. You can contact him at mikewlynch@comcast.net.

Starwatch programs

Monday, Sept. 30, 7:15 to 9:15 p.m., Hillcrest School in Bloomington. For more information call Bloomington Community Education at 952-681-6100 or visit bloomington.ce.eleyo.com.

Tuesday, Oct. 1, 7-9 p.m., Prairie Woods Environmental Center in New London-Spicer, Minn., through Willmar, New London-Spicer Community Education. Reservations required at 320 231-8490 or www.cewillmarmn.com.

Wednesday, Oct. 2, 7-9 p.m., at Casey Lake Park in North St. Paul. For more information and reservations, call 651-747-2411 or visit www.northstpaul.org/834/Parks-Recreation

Thursday, Oct. 3, 7-9:30 p.m., in Big Lake, Minn., For location, more information and reservations call 763-262-2523 or visit biglake.ce.eleyo.com.

Friday, Oct. 4, 7-9 p.m., Sauk City, Wis., through Sauk Prairie Schools. For location and reservations call 608-643-8346 or visit cc.saukprairieschools.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=478607&type=d

Saturday, Oct. 5, 7-9 p.m., at the Sportsman Club near Siren, Wis., through Siren Community Ed. For more information and reservations call 715-349-7070 or visit cueclass.com

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What would you give up?

The talking heads constantly ask Ukraine to negotiate a peace with Russia right away. Perhaps we should ask a different question.

If a stronger, bigger enemy attacked the U.S., which states would you abandon to the invader to buy peace? Which states are not worth defending? Which of our fellow citizens should we leave behind for that invader to imprison, torture, or kill?

It is only fair that we should have to answer the same questions that we expect the Ukrainians to answer.

Phyllis Ballata, White Bear Lake

 

Presidential personas vs. strategic issues

With the merciful passing of political party conventions and the presidential debate and, now, a second assassination attempt … American voters are challenged to soberingly sort “political wheat from political chaff.”

Our sovereign nation’s Judeo-Christian underpinnings define its past, its present and, hopefully, its future. The related values and policies are to be constructively and democratically challenged … in the best interests of all concerned.

Some voters are saying, “I can’t bring myself to vote for either one of the presidential candidates.”  The candidates’ contrasting personas and rhetoric distract from voters’ focus upon strategic issues.

Distinct is each voter’s portfolio of values.  Let it prevail that voters will cast their ballots based upon America’s many and distressing, strategic issues.

Gene Delaune, New Brighton

 

Why not Trump?

Two letters in last Sunday’s paper question why I and many people could not be in support of disgraced ex-president Donald Trump. One writer says we should know about “all of his accomplishments.” How about health care? Well he’s been working on it. How about infrastructure? OK, he didn’t do much. Immigration? He took children from their parents and put them in cages. But how about doggies and kitties? Yes. Trump is very pro doggies and kitties.

Another writer wants us to believe that that the Jan. 6th assault on the U.S. Capitol was not that bad. Sir, have you ever heard the quote, “Who are you going to believe? Me? Or your lyin’ eyes?” The writer also implies the Democratic Party is somehow behind the recent Secret Service capture of a suspect on a Trump golf course who it is alleged was there to shoot Mr. Trump.

As to dividing the country, we must all ask ourselves, why has every election judge, lawyer, judge of a district or federal court received death threats when the case is against Mr. Trump? Which brings us to the final point. Disgraced ex-president Trump has been convicted of fraud. He will be defeated in November by 15 million popular votes. The country will forget him faster than the name of the last soccer champion.

Tom Leary, Mendota Heights

 

Can laws require lawbreaking?

In George Will’s column on Sept. 22, he argued against companies who embrace ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) goals. He stated that, “The 1940 Investment Advisers Act required advisers to have one overriding concern: their clients’ financial interests. This fiduciary principle was reaffirmed in the 1974 Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which stipulates that those entrusted with investors’ money have a duty to deploy it ‘solely in the interest of’ and ‘for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to’ the investors.”

First, these acts appear to apply only to financial advisors, not for-profit corporations. If these laws were interpreted to mean that for-profit organizations must maximize profit (for shareholders) with no other considerations, we get an illogical result. There are situations where polluters break the law, but they can make more profit by paying the fines and continuing to pollute, rather than stopping their polluting. The 1940 and 1974 laws would require that the polluters continue to break other laws.

Second, the quotes from the above Acts do not specify whether they refer to short-term or long-term profits. The management of tobacco and oil companies have been able to lie to the public about the safety of their products, thus increasing short-term profits before those managers retire, but leaving behind severe consequences for later managers and the public.

Third, the above wording does not define the “benefits” or limit them to only financial benefits. In the same Sept. 22 issue, economist Edward Lotterman refers to “external costs”, or “costs not incurred by the persons causing them. In this case, the costs are collateral damage to the environment from extracting oil and gas, such as a changing climate that will make people’s lives worse.”

In January 2023, Dr. Withold Henisz of The Wharton School, (which former president Trump claims to have attended), published a short article online titled “ESG: It’s Not Ideology, It’s Economics”. It argues “that investors’ fiduciary responsibilities should include the use of ESG factors in their financial analyses, because ESG data could protect investments by avoiding the financial risks associated with climate change, worker disputes, human rights issues in supply chains, and poor corporate governance and resulting litigation.” The article is well worth reading.

Dale R. Lutz, Maplewood

 

Agree and disagree

A letter writer last Sunday decried the political climate in our nation and placed the blame on “Soros” and corrupt politicians. I agree wholeheartedly there are way too many politicians who have sold out. Where I disagree is who exactly has sold out. The letter writer refers to Jan. 6 as an unarmed protest/demonstration? People died!

There is one thing (only) in which I can agree with JD Vance — God wants us to be better.

Carole Mulcahy, South St. Paul

 

Sainted

The Washington County District Court for its thoughtfully devised jury duty system. From the clear mailed communications and online form submission, to the phone-in protocol preventing unnecessary in-person appearances, to the cheerful jurist wranglers, the Washington County District Court demonstrated great respect for jurists’ time and service.

Bonus: Serving on a jury was unexpectedly rewarding. Each member of this particular jury approached the job seriously and made important contributions to the deliberation process, with the jury’s diversity emerging as a major asset in evaluating evidence, interpreting legal terms, and reaching consensus. When the trial was over, the jurists were ushered into a separate court room, where the judge made time to answer all our questions — and we had plenty about the case itself and the often perplexing legal procedures and archaic terminology. About a week later, a handwritten thank-you note arrived from the judge. Handwritten. Classy.

Moral of the story: Dread not the jury summons — at least not in Washington County.

Cindy Spicuzza, Woodbury 

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Today is Sunday, Sept. 29, the 273rd day of 2024. There are 93 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Sept. 29, 1982, Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules laced with deadly cyanide claimed the first of seven victims in the Chicago area; the case, which led to legislation and packaging improvements to deter product tampering, remains unsolved.

Also on this date:

In 1789, Congress officially established a regular army under the U.S. Constitution.

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Today in History: September 28, Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin

Today in History: September 27, Christine Blasey Ford accuses Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault

Today in History: September 26, Kennedy-Nixon face off in TV debate

Today in History: September 25, Bill Cosby sentenced in sexual assault case

Today in History: September 24, Protesting NFL players take a knee

In 1938, British, French, German and Italian leaders concluded the Munich Agreement, which was aimed at appeasing Adolf Hitler by allowing Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland.

In 1954, Willie Mays of the New York Giants made a running, over-the-shoulder catch of a ball hit by Vic Wirtz of the Cleveland Indians in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series; “The Catch” would become one of the most famous plays in baseball history.

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed an act creating the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts.

In 1990, the construction of Washington National Cathedral concluded, 83 years to the day after its foundation stone was laid in a ceremony attended by President Theodore Roosevelt.

In 2005, John G. Roberts Jr. was sworn in as the nation’s 17th chief justice after winning Senate confirmation.

In 2017, Tom Price resigned as President Donald Trump’s secretary of Health and Human Services amid investigations into his use of costly charter flights for official travel at taxpayer expense.

In 2018, Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, agreed to pay a total of $40 million to settle a government lawsuit alleging that Musk had duped investors with misleading statements about a proposed buyout of the company.

In 2021, a judge in Los Angeles suspended Britney Spears’ father from the conservatorship that had controlled her life and money for 13 years, saying the arrangement reflected a “toxic environment.”

In 2022, rescue crews piloted boats and waded through flooded streets to save thousands of Floridians trapped after Hurricane Ian destroyed homes and businesses and left millions in the dark.

Today’s Birthdays:

Writer-director Robert Benton is 92.
NASA administrator and former Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., is 82.
Actor Ian McShane is 82.
Jazz musician Jean-Luc Ponty is 82.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Walesa (lehk vah-WEN’-sah) is 81.
TV journalist and sportscaster Bryant Gumbel is 76.
Olympic gold medal runner Sebastian Coe is 68.
Rock musician Les Claypool is 61.
Actor Zachary Levi is 44.
Actor Chrissy Metz (TV: “This Is Us”) is 44.
Actor Kelly McCreary (TV: “Grey’s Anatomy”) is 43.
Football Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson is 39.
NBA All-Star Kevin Durant is 36.
Pop singer Halsey is 30.

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. — Gabe Mier opened the front door Thursday morning, showing off a wide smile and a new lollipop he had just gotten after a trip to the chiropractor. When asked how he was feeling, he gave a big thumbs up and giggled.

For 5-year-old Gabe, it was great to be home, after spending five days in the hospital.

Gabe suffered a skull fracture to the back of the head and a bruise on his brain, after a wagon overturned Sept. 18 at Bushel and a Peck Orchard in the town of Lafayette, Wis. He was trapped under the wagon, and needed to be airlifted to a hospital in St. Paul.

His mom, Angie Mier, said she was stunned when hospital staff told her last Sunday night that he was ready to be released.

“I was very scared to leave the hospital, because we had all the support there,” Mier said Thursday. “I couldn’t believe he had progressed enough to come home on Sunday. I was excited to come home.”

Gabe is wearing a C-collar around his neck, and Angie Mier said he’s going to have to wear it all the time for at least the next two weeks.

“They couldn’t get a good scan of his spinal cord, because of the inflammation of his tendons and ligaments,” she explained.

Mier said the worst day was last Friday, noting that Gabe couldn’t keep food down and he needed IV fluids. He also has had problems with his balance. But, he steadily improved over the next couple of days.

Gabe attends St. Mark Lutheran School, but he will be staying at home for at least two weeks. His fellow kindergarten students showed up at his home and decorated his driveway in superhero art, so he would see it when he was released from the hospital.

“The school has been phenomenal,” Mier said. “I can’t say enough good things.”

Angie and Will Mier said they plan to stay home from work to watch him as he recovers.

“We’re limited on what he can do, and he gets tired easily,” she said. “He does really well in the morning, but it doesn’t take much to get him exhausted.”

With the Miers not at work, they thanked the community and their school for stepping up to help. Angie said the school has provided them with multiple meals. A GoFundMe account, which sought $12,000, has raised more than $48,000 as of this weekend.

“Words cannot even express how people have just been amazing and supportive,” Angie Mier said. “The money donated has really taken a lot of stress off us both. Overall, we feel incredibly blessed. We thought we’d be spending more time at the hospital.”

Recalling the crash

Angie, Will and Gabe Mier, along with Angie’s father, Bob Schmick, were on the lead wagon as it went through the Bushel and a Peck Orchard on Sept. 18.

“We noticed it was speeding up, and I thought we were going too fast,” Angie Mier recalled. She said it suddenly jackknifed and overturned. Luckily, the second wagon, connected to the back of the one they were in, detached and separated from theirs so it also didn’t flip. The Miers say the accident happened between 10:50 and 10:55 a.m.

“It could have been so much worse,” Angie Mier said. “The fact no one died is absolutely a miracle.”

However, it was clear that Gabe had suffered some serious injuries.

“I went head-first into the ground,” Gabe said.

“When I looked at him, he had blood gushing from his head,” Angie Mier said.

Will Mier took off his shirt and wrapped his son.

“I knew the bleeding had to stop, and it was the closest thing to me,” Will Mier said. “And I’m thankful I could get it under control.”

Schmick has an injured knee, neck and back, and he was in concussion protocol for 24 hours.

The Miers said first responders were on the scene quickly, and once the first one showed up, a number of ambulances quickly followed. The Lake Hallie Police Department, Chippewa Fire District, Chippewa Falls Fire Department, Cadott EMS and Fire, Boyd EMS, Bloomer Ambulance, Eau Claire Fire and EMS, Mayo Clinic Health Systems, Chippewa County Public Health, and Chippewa County Department of Health and Human Services were all on hand to address medical needs.

A medical helicopter arrived and flew Gabe to Regions Hospital in St. Paul. Gabe was then transferred to the nearby pediatric intensive care unit at Gillette Children’s Hospital and Clinics, where he spent his five days recovering. While they were released last Sunday, they didn’t come home until Tuesday.

Will Mier stressed that the family holds no one at fault.

“We have no hard feelings with the orchard,” he said. “It was a complete accident.”

Angie agreed, saying, “It was very scary, but it could have been much worse for everybody.”