by Victor Davis, Program Chair

Productive Listening
The April, 2026 monthly meeting of the Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton will take place in Peyton Hall on the campus of Princeton University on Tuesday, April 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. The evening’s guest speaker will be Dr. Brian Lacki, a theoretical astrophysicist working for Breakthrough Listen, a SETI project seeking signs of alien technology.

Options for Attending the 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. The meeting will be recorded and edited for posting to our club’s YouTube channel.

There will be no “meet the speaker” dinner this month
Dr. Lacki is immunocompromised and always wears an N95+ mask in public places and so has politely declined our invitation to dinner at Winberie’s.

Here’s the anticipated agenda for April 14^th 2026’s monthly meeting of the AAAP:

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.

A Billion Whispers:
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has had a renaissance in the past decade, spearheaded by several groups including Breakthrough Listen. Dr. Lacki will review the basic concepts of SETI, including the Drake Equation, the Fermi Paradox, and how scientists hope to find signs of alien technology. He will then discuss his own work as a theorist at Breakthrough Listen, much of which focuses on how the possibility of interstellar travel affects prospects for SETI. The ability to spread between stars is something that almost no other phenomenon is capable of, behaving more like biology than astrophysics. Breakthrough Listen and other SETI projects are observing galaxies near and far, where we may detect signs of technology if it becomes pervasive and powerful enough.                                                                                 

Brian Lacki, PhD.
Brian Lacki is a theoretical astrophysicist working for Breakthrough Listen. After getting his Ph.D. at Ohio State University, he received a Jansky Fellowship from the NRAO and resided at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. His earlier research, on high energy processes in star-forming galaxies, informed his first ventures into SETI theory. Now, his interests include technosignatures across the spectrum. Brian is also interested in philosophical aspects of SETI. His work includes the Breakthrough Listen Exotica Catalog, which aims to include “one of everything” in the Universe, and the first workshop on SETI in X-rays, gamma-rays, neutrinos, gravity waves, and particles.

How to Participate (Links)
Zoom & YouTube Live
Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
Topic: April AAAP 2026 Meeting; Brian Lacki, Berkley SETI; Breakthrough Listen Catalog
Time: Apr 14, 2026 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Meeting ID: 852 4786 5253
Passcode: 221147
Join instructions

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Click the above icons for Zoom and YouTube

AAAP’s library of monthly meetings is available on the club’s YouTube channel. March’s edited meeting featuring a presentation by Dr. Bob Vanderbei “Dynamic Astronomical Things: From Supernovae to Moving Stars, Eclipses, Occultations, etc.” can be viewed at https://youtu.be/Zf2lRGlJvLg?si=fqqVqMwti4Zav. Runtime is 1hour 14 minutes.

A look ahead at future guest speakers:

Date	Featured Speaker	Topic
May 12, 2026	John Horgan Science Writer horganism3@gmail.com	Mr. Horgan will discuss his controversial 1996 book The End of Science, in which he argues that pure science, defined as “the primordial human quest to understand the universe and our place in it,” may be coming to an end. Horgan claims that science will not achieve insights into nature as profound as evolution by natural selection, the double helix, the Big Bang, relativity theory or quantum mechanics. In the future, he suggests, scientists will refine, extend and apply this pre-existing knowledge but will not achieve any more great “revolutions or revelations.” Shades of Auguste Comte, perhaps?   We expect to have copies of his book(s) for sale for the author to sign at the conclusion of his presentation.   Thanks to Rex Parker for engaging this speaker.
Jun 9, 2026	Jacob Hamer Assistant Curator NJ State Museum Planetarium Jacob.Hamer@sos.nj.gov	As usual, the June meeting will take place in the planetarium at the NJ State Museum in Trenton. There will be no streaming of this live-only sky show and PowerPoint presentation. Topic to be announced.
Sep. 8, 2026	Michael DiMario Chair of AAAP’s Astro-imaging SIG K2mjd@outlook.com	Dr. DiMario will present a primer on astro-imaging.
Oct. 13, 2026	Becka Phillipson Assistant Professor in Physics Villanova University	Prof. Phillipson, originally scheduled to be October 2025’s guest speaker, is an unconfirmed prospect to try again in 2026.

As always, members’ comments and suggestions are gratefully accepted and much appreciated. Thanks to Ira Polans and Dave Skitt for setting up the online links and connecting the meeting to the world outside Peyton Hall.

victor.davis@verizon.net
program@princetonastronomers.org
(908) 581-1780 cell