Maria Mitchell Association, an Update on The Good Neighbor Agreement

October 17, 2024

NANTUCKET, MA – The Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) would like to update you on our position regarding the Good Neighbor Agreement. Based on Vineyard Wind’s failure to meet its obligations under the Good Neighbor Agreement, the Maria Mitchell Association has decided to exit the Agreement. We recently sent a letter to Vineyard Wind, the Town of Nantucket, and Nantucket Preservation Trust informing them of our decision.


This decision was not made lightly. For the past several years, as more information became available regarding additional wind turbine projects, the aggregate impact of the lighting from each turbine, and the recent blade failure, it became increasingly clear to us that the impact on our night skies and our island community was not something we could support. The consideration that we received as part of the agreement was intended to mitigate the effects of the wind farm development to our organization and its members, and we were required to participate as part of the Federal Chapter 106 process that affords protections to Nantucket Island because it is on the National Register of Historic Landmarks. The impact of approximately 1300 windmills with marine navigation lights and aircraft warning lights would alter permanently the viewshed of Nantucket; with over 4000 visitors a year to the Loines Observatory and a National Science Foundation funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates program that funds astronomical research projects each year, those lights would have a detrimental effect on our work.


Our decision to exit the agreement is based on Vineyard Wind's actions and our commitment to protect the night skies, those that Maria Mitchell used to chart Venus and discover her comet and have allowed our astronomers to research the cosmos since 1902. We will continue to monitor future projects and if necessary, file comments during the environmental impact periods for stakeholder review, which is part of the Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management permitting process.

The MMA incurred significant legal fees in our efforts to resolve this issue, your support is greatly appreciated: https://112458a.blackbaudhosting.com/112458a/AnnualUnsolicited


The Maria Mitchell Association was founded in 1902 to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. After she discovered a comet in 1847, Mitchell’s international fame led to many achievements and awards, including an appointment as the first female professor of astronomy at Vassar College. Maria Mitchell believed in “learning by doing” and today that philosophy is reflected in the MMA’s mission statement, programs, research projects, and other activities. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages.

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For Immediate Release

October 17, 2024

Contact: Joanna Roche

jroche@mariamitchell.org

Recent Posts

Maria Mitchell In Her Own Words

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • May 4, 2026
May 6, 1878 Between the clouds, Miss Spalding obtained 7 photographs of Mercury on the Sun. It is comfort to me to be able to plan and do a new kind of work. The large telescope worked better than usual, Clark having just been to the Observatory. Clark, as in Alvan Clark, a man who would become the premier telescope maker in America and who built Maria Mitchell’s 5-inch Alvan Clark refractor that she purchased from him (after working with him to build it per her specifications) with money gifted to her from “The Women of America” led by Elizabeth Peabody. More than likely, it is this telescope she is referring to as she did use it in the Vassar College Observatory with her students – and it is also taking center stage in photographs, along with her (first her father’s) Dolland telescope.  Maria had decided she would photograph the Sun on every clear day, and this was one of those results. She would use these images, with her students, to study sun spots and their changes. With her students, Maria would photograph the transit of Mercury as noted above. She would also photograph the transit of Venus a few years later with her students. JNLF

Spring Has Sprung!

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • April 27, 2026
And with it, some of the heirloom daffodils I purchased for the Mitchell House last fall. A place was recommended to me by two longtime friends of the MMA and gardeners extraordinaire. It is called Old House Gardens. I ordered a small amount as we now have a plethora of voles on Vestal Street – I believe I complained about them here last year. They won’t eat daffodils so I got a few of “Butter and Eggs” (1777) and “Conspicuus” (1869) as either of these could have appeared in William Mitchell’s gardens. They were not listed in a letter from John Quincy Adams that I have mentioned before. But, Adams was not here visiting the Mitchell family when the daffodils would have been in bloom. The one pictured here is “Butter and Eggs” not completely unfurled. JNLF

Maria Mitchell In Her Own Words

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • April 13, 2026
April 1878. The conference of Woman’s Congress officers met in Washington. Because we had one member in Washington we were invited to meet in that place. I went on at a great expense of time, money and strength . . . . We were in session at least nine hours. I think that more than half of that was used by Mrs. Spencer and Mrs. Sayles. The only motion which I carried through was to pay the Secretary $200 . . . In 1878, that was a long train(s) ride to Washington, DC from Poughkeepsie, NY and Vassar College. If Maria seems perturbed, I am sure she was. As president of the Association for the Advancement of Women, and thus the Congress, she had to be at the meeting. But it appears she did not get much say in the nine hour meeting. This was also a long trip to take when she had another, even longer trip coming up in July of 1878. In that month, she would travel with students and her sister, Phebe, out west to Colorado to view the eclipse and that train and wagon ride I am sure was weighing on her mind – not just the physical trip but making her way for an important eclipse viewing event. JNLF
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