by Gene Allen, Secretary

The meeting was convened in Peyton Hall by Director Rex Parker at 1930. Following a brief introduction Program Chair Victor Davis introduced speaker Professor Gary Rendsberg of Rutgers University who gave us a presentation entitled The Jewish Calendar: An Ingenious Integration of the Lunar and Solar Cycles. His talk was followed by fifteen minutes of questions and a seven minute break. Attending were 28 in person and 26 online.

Some 22 continued with us in the auditorium after the break when we reconvened at 2100 with an Unjournal Presentation by Member Peter Wraight on The Design of DIY Astronomical Binoculars Using 3D Printing. His homepage at petertinkerer.com is a hard copy of much of his talk and other pages describe nine.com of his creations. He recommends tinkercad.com and Sky Guide for a smartphone planetarium app.

Member Ira Polans followed with his Unjournal Presentation of Simplified Celestial Navigation.

The business meeting opened at 2130 with a recap of Autumn events by Outreach Chair Bill Murray. Of seven past events, 6 were cancelled due to weather. He expressed thanks for Members Victor Davis, Kathy Goff, Rich Karvir, Jeff Pinyan, Dave Reis, and Dave Skitt who represented the AAAP by bringing scopes to the Halloween Night Hike and Stargazing Program at Mercer Meadows Pole Farm on October 28. Upcoming events are a sky talk and stargazing for the Friends of Princeton Open Space on November 18 and a How to Buy a Telescope presentation at the NJ State Museum Planetarium on November 25.

Observatory Co-Chair Dave Skitt reported that the observatory was only partially winterized because some further Keyholder training was still planned. A GSO focuser was acquired very inexpensively at the NJAA flea market that will provide an upgrade to the stock focuser on the Orion XT12i Dobsonian. The passing of longtime Member John Miller was regretfully shared. He was involved with the AAAP from an early age and was a current Keyholder, often sharing his enthusiasm and extensive astronomical knowledge with those at observatory Public Nights. He held the office of Assistant Director from 2004-2006, Director from 2007-2009, and Secretary from 2014-2019. He had developed a close relationship with many of the Princeton faculty and had special privileges in auditing courses to satisfy his endless thirst for more knowledge. In 2020 Member Rich Sherman filmed a video of John giving An Introduction to the AAAP which included a tour of the Princeton campus in the context of astrophysics. It offers a memory of John that we will cherish: https://vimeo.com/883636037/d12559f16c

Rex concluded with comments about our continuing evaluation of double and triple bandpass astrophotography filters under consideration for purchase for use in the observatory and the meeting was adjourned.

Membership currently numbers 203, with 54 having joined in 2023. There have been 115 renewals while 44 have allowed their membership to expire, giving us a 72% retention rate. Submitted by Secretary Gene Allen, 11/24/2023