by Rex Parker, PhD
director@princetonastronomy.org

March 10, 2026 Meeting at Peyton Hall.  The approach of the vernal equinox is a great time of year in the northern hemisphere!  It reminds us that the cycle of life is deeply intertwined with the celestial calendar, as the re-emergence of the botanical world depends on the orbital geometry of our planet.  What is the vernal equinox in purely astronomical terms?  It can be reduced to a single moment in time, which at locations near Princeton arrives at 9:46am on Mar 20.  At this time Earth’s axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the Sun, so that the sun appears directly over earth’s equator.  The lengths of day and night at places across the globe are nearly equal, and both hemispheres receive about the same amount of solar energy.

Let’s celebrate the return of spring with a strong turnout in person at Peyton Hall for the Mar 10 meeting.  Keep in mind that we our access to this splendid venue is subject to changes on campus.  The University has plans for a renovation construction project on Peyton Hall.  Our ability to hold meetings there may be affected — we are in contact with the chair of the department about this.  So let’s not take Peyton for granted. I am preparing to travel back to NJ after an extreme winter in the Midwest US, and look forward to being on site in person March 10.  Of course, the meeting will also be run as a hybrid via Zoom, so join us virtually if you cannot physically attend.  Our speaker will be Bob Vanderbei, Emeritus Prof. at Princeton Univ and assistant director of AAAP.  For more on his talk see Victor’s section below.   

Hot Topics for Mar 10.  Our monthly meetings give us the opportunity after the main presentation to review timely and interesting astronomy events and announcements.  By going a bit deeper than the media typically do we hope to dispel some of the misinformation that tends to confuse or overhype some celestial events, and to better prepare us all to explain hot astro topics to friends and family.  Please offer your thoughts about astro topics for Mar 10 and upcoming meetings and get ready to weigh in on the discussions.  Send your ideas by e-mail to: director@princeonastronomy.org.