Category Archives: Sidereal Times

From The Program Chair

by Victor Davis, Program Chair Fundamentals of EAA and AstrophotographyThe September, 2026 monthly meeting of the Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton will take place in room 101 of Sherrerd Hall on the campus of Princeton University on Tuesday, September 8th … Continue reading →

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Observatory News: Perseids Bring Visitors to Washington Crossing

by Dave Skitt, Observatory Chairperson August brought some excellent nights for stargazing at the AAAP Observatory, with the Perseid meteor shower making its annual appearance. This year, the Perseids coincided with the New Moon, giving observers wonderfully dark skies. The … Continue reading →

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Privatization of Space

by Prasad Ganti Initially, space was the exclusive domain of the governments. Even now, it is for most of the countries in the world except three. SpaceX started the efforts in the US. And now it plays a major role in … Continue reading →

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The Observatory at the End of the Road

by Dan Opdyke The observatory had been built in 1967, when men were still learning how to leave the Earth. It stood on a wooded ridge at the end of a road that no longer appeared on most maps. Once … Continue reading →

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Partial Solar Eclipse at the AAAP Observatory

AAAP member Daniel Mints was at the Observatory on August 12, 2026, ready to catch the partial solar eclipse—and thankfully, his camera was ready too! New Jersey experienced a partial eclipse that afternoon, with maximum eclipse occurring around 1:54 p.m. … Continue reading →

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Solar Eclipse by the Ocean

by Rachel Reither

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Sun as the Teacher: The Sūrya Siddhānta

Short Stories Series from Eklavya Doegar Over 1,500 years ago, much before telescopes and space agencies, Indian scholars were carefully studying the movements of the Sun, Moon and planets. Unknown scholars wrote a book that shaped astronomy for centuries. It … Continue reading →

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Ira went Camping

Ira went camping, quite off the grid,For the camp’s hundredth year, as a youngster he did.With M13, Moon and Venus in view,And a lovely shot of Chrissy too,Though the Perseids hid—clouds spoiled what he had bid!

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A Night of Imaging at Cherry Springs

by Hrishikesh Karvir  I recently had the chance to image Helix Nebula and M101 on August 16 from the Cherry Springs overnight observation field. Conditions were pretty good overall, but tracking wasn’t great due to heavy dew throughout the night. Despite … Continue reading →

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Our Milky Way Galaxy

by Robert Vanderbei, Assistant Director assist.director@princetonastronomy.org My Seestar S30 Pro smart telescope has two different imaging options. There is the default which is used to take photographs of small things like nebulas, galaxies, and our planets. The other option uses … Continue reading →

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Snippets

compiled by Arlene & David Kaplan Astronaut Microbes Might Survive at Moon’s Pole, NASA Warns One of the primary objectives of space exploration that often gets overlooked is the intense effort that goes into ensuring Earth microbes don’t contaminate planetary … Continue reading →

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From the Director

by Rex Parker, PhD director@princetonastronomy.org Summertime in Jersey.  I hope you are beating the heat and that your personal telescope isn’t sitting idle too long despite the smoke from the Canada wildfires this summer.  Regarding plans for the club’s anticipated … Continue reading →

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AAAP Meeting Minutes for June 9, 2026

By Gene Allen, Secretary Your secretary was out of the country during the June meeting and the Board was unable to find anyone willing to record minutes of the meeting. The only record we have is a synopsis by one … Continue reading →

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