by Gene Allen, Secretary

Director Rex Parker opened the meeting in PeytonHall at 1931 with comments about the constellation Leo coming into view, the spring galaxy season, and the upcoming equinox on March 20. There were 26 in the auditorium and 24-some online.

Promotions Chair Debbie Mayes has resigned that role due to family demands. She has done an excellent job managing our social media accounts, distributing flyers she had printed up, and being present at most observatory Public Nights to welcome visitors. We thank her for doing so well at the job she created and now we seek someone to take her place.

With the annual officer election approaching, we need someone to step forward to chair the Nominating Committee.

Outreach Chair Bill Murray reported that a surprising number of stargazing requests have been received in spite of this exceptionally cold winter season.

Past Events – We thank these members for their support:

February 20 – Cub Scout Pack 91 in Hamilton was served by Member Hrishikesr Karvir, Assistant Director Bob Vanderbei, and Observatory Co-Chair Dave Skitt.

February 28 – an event at the Plainsboro Preserve was served by Member Rajat Das, Member Hongkun Zhao, Program Chair Victor Davis, Dave Skitt, and Bill Murray.

March 1 – a Montgomery Friends of Open Space gathering enjoyed a lecture and stargazing served by Bob Vanderbie.

March 5 – stargazing at the North Brunswick Twp High School was served by Member Sarvesh Raghupathy and Bob Vanderbei.

Upcoming Events – Mark your calendar and bring your telescope:

April 18 – stargazing at the Mercer Meadows Pole Barn – no one has yet volunteered.

April 22 – stargazing at the Newgrange School in Pennington – volunteers are Member Maiya Qiu, Member Dan Opdyke, Member Tom Swords, Bob Vanderbei, and Bill Murray.

Early June – the Village Elementary School in West Windsor requests a presentation on amateur astronomy with a hands on demonstration – details to follow.

October 6 – the Monmouth County Library requests a star party – details to follow.

Webmaster Jeff Pinyan has launched our new AAAP website. While development continues and additional features and content will still be added, it is operational. Members should create their own password to sign in and check it out.

Program Chair Victor Davis introduced our speaker for tonight, AAAP Assistant Director Dr Bob Vanderbei, Princeton University Emeritus Professor in the Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering. His talk was titled Capturing Dynamic Astronomical Objects.

After the question period Director Rex Parker continued the meeting without a break. Sixteen remained in the auditorium as he called our attention to the following hot topics:

We were shown how Member Luyi Wang did the best at the Imaging Challenge of capturing the occultation of Neptune by Saturn using a remote telescope located in China.

Rex showed us his capture of the occultation of the Pleiades by the Moon.

The upcoming Artemis 2 manned mission intending to orbit the Moon has been delayed again, this time until April.

The Keyholder schedule for the upcoming observatory season is available on the new website.

Bill Murray had a great time again at the Winter Star Party in the Florida Keys.

Jeff Pinyan had a fun time setting up his telescope in a Target parking lot and ended up hosting a star party for over 100 spontaneous attendees. That’s a neat idea. Way to go, Jeff!

The meeting was adjourned at 2059.

As of March 9, we have 210 active members. So far in CY2026, renewals number 21 and expirations number 6, giving us a 78% retention rate. We have added 8 new members.

Submitted by Secretary Gene Allen
March 26, 2026