by Gene Allen, Secretary

Assistant Director Larry Kane convened the meeting at 1933 in the Peyton Hall auditorium and on Zoom and YouTube. We continue to work out the technical details to make our meetings hybrid by transmitting the in-person gathering. Mega thanks to Observatory Co-Chair Dave Skitt for shouldering this challenge, with the assistance of his wife, Observatory Co-Chair Jen, and Member Tom Swords.

At 1935 Program Chair Victor Davis introduced speaker Dr. Joshua Winn, Professor of Astrophysical Sciences and Director of Graduate Studies, Princeton University. His topic was Exoplanets: Science and Science Fiction.

NOTE: The recording of this and other AAAP talks can be found on the AAAP YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiJvXfK9DGCmGwiKK_Q6ieg

Dr. Winn fielded questions from 2032 to 2055.

His Introduction to Astrophysics is a 24 lesson course that gets great reviews. It is available for purchase as one of The Great Courses but was also found for free on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlYNC4O28vU&list=PLez3PPtnpncRhW89Told-72l3d_pYO1sT.

About 30 attended the talk in person and about 40 watched on Zoom.

The meeting was reconvened at 2101.

Everyone is reminded that the January meeting will be virtual only. The Peyton Hall auditorium will be closed for a major audio/video upgrade “to bring it up to campus standard.” Future speakers who have been scheduled are listed in the Sidereal Times.

A number of our members Zoomed the Mars -Moon conjunction from the observatory and from their scopes at home on December 7. Quite a few of the rest of us were happy to watch from our own homes.

The meeting was adjourned at 2129.

Our membership currently numbers 191. 53 have joined this calendar year, 27 since the June meeting. We have had 107 renew while 55 have allowed their membership to expire, giving us a 66% retention rate.