Author Archives: ST Editors

Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter

Posted on September 9, 2016 by ST Editors

By Gene Allen Two couples responded to Bill Murray’s invitation to join him on the soccer fields to try to observe the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter on August 27. When Gene and Seraphine Allen arrived with tripod-mounted binoculars, Bill’s … Continue reading →

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Juno, the wife of Jupiter

Posted on September 9, 2016 by ST Editors

By Prasad Ganti NASA’s Juno spacecraft traveled for five years before reaching Jupiter on July 4, 2016. It will orbit around for 20 months studying Jupiter’s atmosphere before crashing into it. The last spacecraft to visit and study Jupiter was … Continue reading →

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Snippets

Posted on September 9, 2016 by ST Editors

compiled by David Kaplan South African Telescope Spots 1,300 Unknown Galaxies. A patch of sky about as big as the full moon where the MeerKAT telescope discerned the radio glow of about 200 galaxies. Only a few (circled) had been … Continue reading →

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From the Director

Posted on September 3, 2016 by ST Editors

      by Rex Parker, Director New Telescope for the Observatory. After the vote at the June meeting the new telescope acquisition proposal was approved by the membership (34 “yes” votes). For the record, the previously stated need for … Continue reading →

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Minutes of the June 14, 2016 AAAP Meeting

Posted on September 3, 2016 by ST Editors

by James Poinsett, Secretary Rex called the meeting to order. Gene introduced the newest keyholder, Tim Donney. John announced that Sky and Telescope has accepted the story about viewing the Mercury Transit through the Hastings/Byrne refractor, the third century that … Continue reading →

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Because Rust Never Sleeps

Posted on September 3, 2016 by ST Editors

by Michael Wright In May, I ran a workshop in Orlando on “Successful Preservation Practices for Steel Bridge Coatings”. Representatives from NASA presented at the workshop and invited the participating experts from various Departments of Transportation to tour their Corrosion … Continue reading →

Posted in Mid-summer 2016, Sidereal Times | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Snippets

Posted on September 3, 2016 by ST Editors

compiled by David Kaplan One Star Over, a Planet That Might Be Another Earth Another Earth could be circling the star right next door to us. Astronomers announced on Wednesday that they had detected a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the … Continue reading →

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From the Director

Posted on June 13, 2016 by ST Editors

        by Rex Parker,  Director June 14 meeting – quorum needed for proposal below – please participate in the motion. We’ll be meeting at the NJ State Museum Planetarium, our tradition each June. Bill Murray, AAAP member and … Continue reading →

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AAAP June 14, 2016 Meeting – NJ State Planetarium

Posted on June 13, 2016 by ST Editors

by Ira Polans, Program Chair The June meeting of the AAAP, and our last until next September, will take place on June 14th at the Planetarium of the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton. The meeting will start at 7:30 … Continue reading →

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Minutes of the May 10, 2016 AAAP Meeting

Posted on June 13, 2016 by ST Editors

by James Poinsett, Secretary Assistant Director Larry Kane called the meeting to order and introduced the chairman of the nominating committee, Bill Murray. Bill read the slate of candidates for officers for the 2016/2017 club year and asked if there … Continue reading →

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Telescope Longevity

Posted on June 13, 2016 by ST Editors

by John Church Our historic 6¼-inch Hastings-Byrne refractor, with its objective lens dating from 1879, was ready for the morning of May 9th and the transit of Mercury. We comfortably followed and photographed the transit with a 55-mm Plossl eyepiece … Continue reading →

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Mercury Transit, May 9th, 2016

Posted on June 6, 2016 by ST Editors

Mercury crosses the face of the sun just 13 times a century. Most recently it did on May 9th. Our club members gathered at the observatory and viewed the event together. Some of our member astrophotographers took some wonderful pictures.

Posted in June 2016, Sidereal Times | Tagged | Leave a comment

Galaxies too die

Posted on June 6, 2016 by ST Editors

by Prasad Ganti About three decades ago, when I came out of college I heard that all Stars are born and eventually die, it was a shocking revelation for me. Like it is for a child who learns that a … Continue reading →

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