by Jim Poinsett, Secretary

Minutes of the March 2019 Meeting of the Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton

• Rex opened the meeting and welcomed our new members. He then introduced Ira, the Program Chair.
• Ira introduced the evening’s speaker Dr. Scott Tremaine and his talk on Pluto, Sedna, Planet X, the Oort cloud, and Oumuamua: a report on the outer fringes of the solar system.
• After the lecture Rex called the meeting to order at 9:00 PM.
• The United Nations has designated 2019 the year of the Periodic Table of the Elements.
• Rex Parker show a clip of an asteroid he inadvertently captured while photographing another object.
• Observatory report
• Dave presented keys to the new keyholders
• An estimate for tree removal has been obtained and will be presented to the park supervisor. Some diseased elm trees have already been removed by the park. There are six trees that remain that we would like removed, three are dead or nearly dead.
• Public nights begin April 5th with Team 3, you should have received the complete roster and schedule by now.
• Communiversity will be held on the last Sunday in April on the 28th. Let Larry Kane know if you will be able to attend.
• Check the website for future events.
• NEAF is being held on April 6th and 7th.
• There is an opportunity to attend a Celestial Navigation class to be held in Princeton. There are two options, easy and modern. The class will be held on 2 consecutive days, 8 hours each day. Cost will depend on number of attendees, approximately $100 to $200 per person.
• There are two sessions planned for a Planetarium session followed by an Observatory session. They are May 3rd and 10th. Extra members may be needed at the observatory to assist and extra telescopes are always welcome.
• There will be a picnic at the NJ State Museum and Planetarium on the afternoon and evening of July 20th to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, there will also be a new exhibit opening in May at the NJ State Museum all about space and the moon landing.
• There being no new business the meeting was adjourned.