by Victor Davis, Program Chair

Late Autumn at Peyton Hall
The November, 2023 meeting of the AAAP will take place in Peyton Hall (on the campus of Princeton University) on Tuesday, November 14^th at 7:30 PM. As usual, the meeting is open to AAAP members and the public. Participants can join the meeting in-person at Peyton Hall or log in to the Zoom session as early as 7:00 pm to chat informally before the meeting begins. This evening’s guest speaker is Gary A. Rendsburg of Rutgers University. Prof. Rendsburg will present “The Jewish Calendar: An Ingenious Integration of the Lunar and Solar Cycles.”

Options for Attending the November Meeting
You may choose to attend the meeting in person or participate via Zoom or YouTube as we’ve been doing for the past few years. (See How to Participate below for details). Due to security concerns, if you log in before the host has set up internet connectivity in Peyton Hall, you may need to wait in the Waiting Room for a few minutes until the host is prepared to admit you into the meeting. You’ll need to unmute yourself to make comments or ask questions. It’s polite, though not required, for you to enable your camera so other participants can see you.

Here’s the anticipated agenda for November’s monthly meeting of the AAAP:

“Meet the Speaker” Dinner Goes Vegan
Members are invited to attend the “Meet the Speaker” dinner. Reservation is for 5:45 pm prior to the meeting. Please take note of the new location:
Planted Plate
15 Spring Street
Princeton, NJ  08540
(609) 356-0845
plantedplatevegan.com

Please Contact the Program Chair if you plan to attend. program@princetonastronomy.org victor.davis@verizon.net

Getting to Peyton Hall
The parking lots across the street (Ivy Lane) from Peyton Hall are now construction sites, unavailable for parking. We’ve been advised by the administration of the astrophysics department that we should park in the new enclosed parking garage off Fitzrandolph street and walk around the stadium and athletic fields. Here’s a map of the campus and walking routes from the parking garage to Peyton Hall. The map shows the recently completed East Garage. Not shown is an access road Sweet Gum that connects from Faculty Road to an entrance at the lower left corner of the garage. Stadium Road connects from Fitzrandolph Road to another entrance at the opposite corner (and higher level) of the garage. It’s about a 10-15 minute walk from the parking garage to Peyton Hall.

Featured Speaker:
Gary A. Rendsburg
grends@rutgers.edu

“The Jewish Calendar:
An Ingenious Integration of the Lunar and Solar Cycles”

The Jewish Calendar…
The ancient Jews understood well that the sun and the moon were for calendrical reckoning.  The notion is so central to Jewish life that it is highlighted in the very first chapter of Genesis:  “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years’” (1:14).  To be sure, the calendar used by the Jews – both then and now – was the standard ancient Near Eastern one developed by the Babylonians, though naturally the Jews adapted the calendar to their own specific needs, with special attention to the Sabbath and the festivals.  Prof. Rendsburg will help us explore the fascinating subject of the Jewish calendar, all based on astronomical phenomena, with special attention to the use of lunar months integrated into a solar year.

Gary A. Rendsburg
Prof. Rendsburg serves as the Blanche and Irving Laurie Chair in Jewish History and is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Jewish Studies at Rutgers University. His teaching and research focus on ‘all things ancient Israel’ – primarily language and literature, though also history and archaeology.  His secondary interests include ancient Egypt, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Hebrew manuscript tradition.

Prof. Rendsburg is the author of seven books and more than 200 articles.  His most recent book is How the Bible Is Written (Hendrickson, 2019), with particular attention to the use of language to create literature. 

In addition, he has produced two series for the Great Courses program, one on ‘The Book of Genesis’ and one on ‘The Dead Sea Scrolls’; plus he lectures regularly for Smithsonian Associates, One Day University, the Biblical Archaeology Society, and other adult education venues.

Prof. Rendsburg has visited all the major archaeological sites of Israel, Egypt, and Jordan, plus he has excavated at Tel Dor and Caesarea.  He also has done extensive research on medieval Hebrew manuscripts at leading libraries, including the Bodleian Library in Oxford, the Cambridge University Library, the Vatican Library, Fisher Library in Sydney, and the Library of Congress in Washington.

During his career, Prof. Rendsburg has served as visiting professor or visiting research scholar at the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, the University of Sydney, the Hebrew University, Bar-Ilan University, the University of Pennsylvania, UCLA, the Getty Villa, and the Pontifical Biblical Institute (Rome).

Unjournal Club
AAAP member and former Program Chair Ira Polans will present “Basic Principles of Celestial Navigation,” and show how to conduct a noon sight; using a sextant to measure the angle between the sun and the horizon at local noon.

How to Participate
Zoom Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Prof. Gary A. Rendsburg
Topic:
“The Jewish Calendar:
An Ingenious Integration of the Lunar and Solar Cycles”
Time: Nov. 14, 2023 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86111412467?pwd=BcYgjixdFqRXvhqA82cXoM9QiR3u83.1

AAAP webcast:  This month’s AAAP meeting, beginning with Rex’s opening remarks and ending at the beginning of the business meeting, will be webcast live on YouTube and recorded for subsequent public access on AAAP’s YouTube channel. Be aware that your interactions during this segment, including questions to our guest speaker, may be recorded for posterity.

Join YouTube Live to listen to the speaker using the link below –

AAAP November Meeting, 

A look ahead at future guest speakers:

Date	Featured Speaker	Topic
December 12, 2023	Dr. Mario Motta	Dr. Motta is a cardiologist and past president of AAVSO who uses his home-built 32” telescope to image various objects and to study variable stars. He will talk about building his telescope and the observations he makes with it. He would join the meeting via Zoom. Suggested by Michael DiMario.
January 9 2024	Erika Hoffman Graduate student, University of Maryland ebhoff@umd.edu	Erika will describe her research using high-resolution x-ray spectroscopy to investigate ionized outflows from active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Suggested by Bill Thomas.
February 13 2024	Prof. David John Helfand Columbia University djh@astro.columbia.edu	The Universal Timekeepers: Reconstructing History Atom by Atom By utilizing the basic building blocks of matter as imperturbable little clocks, we are now able to reconstruct in quantitative detail a remarkable range of human and natural events. From detecting art forgeries to dating archeological sites, and from laying out a detailed history of human diet and the Earth’s climate to revealing the events surrounding the origin of life, of the Solar System and of the Universe itself, atoms provide us with a precise chronology from the beginning of time to the moment humans emerge to contemplate such questions. Copies of Prof. Helfand’s book will be for sale and he’ll be available to sign them.
March 12 2024	TBA
April 9 2024	Eclipse Observations	Since this meeting will take place the day after the Total Solar Eclipse of 08 April 2024, and many members will be out of town or returning from their trips, I’m suggesting that we host an online roundup of eclipse observations, with members (and perhaps others) Zooming in to share their experiences.
May 14 2024	Dr. Tea Temim Research Astronomer, Princeton University Department of Astrophysics	Dr. Temim will describe her research using JWST imagery to study supernova remnants. Suggested by Gene Allen. temim@astro.princeton.edu
June 11 2024	NJ State Museum planetarium’s Bill Murray, and Jacob Hamer, Assistant Curator	AAAP’s traditional annual pilgrimage to the NJ State Museum planetarium in Trenton, where members will experience a presentation and a preview of the planetarium’s latest sky show.

As always, members’ comments and suggestions are gratefully accepted and much appreciated.
victor.davis@verizon.net
program@princetonastronomy.org
(908) 581-1780 cell