In attendance: Director – Rex Parker Assistant Director – Bob Vanderbei Treasurer – Michael Mitrano Program Chair – Victor Davis Observatory Chair – Dave Skitt Outreach Chair – Bill Murray Secretary – Gene Allen Member – Ira Polans Member – John Church
Rex, Dave, and Michael briefly reviewed the two quotes for replacing the failed underground power line between the pole and the observatory panel. The quotes were sent to everyone in advance and have been made part of this document. Discussion followed which fairly quickly revealed a preference for the Holcombe Electric estimate. It seems perfectly adequate and complete, supports a smaller, more local business, and comes in at $4,000 less. They had done good work for Michael in the past, and we may be able to get on their schedule more promptly. The motion to have Holcombe do the job was seconded and approved unanimously.
John did a lot of hand waving and did not show as being muted but despite his best efforts, no one could hear him.
Rex also presented his idea of proposing a project to master the donated UniStellar eVscope 2 to high school age members. His email inquiry yielded 11 enthusiastic responses, and he wants to move on it. He hopes to offer the scope at his May 2 observatory night and have part of the project be organizing their participation, as teams or whatever. There was agreement that keeping the scope at the observatory would not be good. It needs to be out in homes. As an educator, Bob was asked to take on the role of advisor, and he consented.
Enthusiasm outweighed hope as the AAAP volunteers arrived for the May 3rd, “Night of Stars, 2025” outreach event in honor of Princeton University’s “Star” undergraduates facing finals week and the semester end. Thickening haze and storm clouds crept in from the northwest as the cheery organizers greeted us, profusely apologizing for the poor forecast. They promised to pick a better night next year. I kindly suggested to “have the Princeton climate-change researchers begin working on that right away”.
Tom Swords (SeeStar50), Tim Donney (C-8/Evolution), Hongkun Zhao (C-6/Vixen Porta II), Jason Mak (Meade refractor) and I (Orion Mak-Sutov on Celestron StarSense mount) all lamented paring down our rigs to ease breakdown in the event of a downpour. I handed out Hefty bags, should we get caught off guard.
I scrounged up a table to proudly display our club banner and brochures. Once set, we waited for something to appear where could point our scopes. The crescent Moon popped out. But not long enough for us to slew over and achieve final focus. And, certainly far too briefly to align the go-to scopes. Tom’s SeeStar exclaimed “Moon not Found”. “Whaddaya mean ‘Moon not Found’, it was there just a second ago”, Tom replied.
Our position on the Frist student center lawn placed us in the midst of the popcorn/cotton candy vendor and the marshmallow/S’more barbecue pit lines. This gave ample opportunity to chat with the “Star” (high-achieving) students. Many were intrigued with our organization and our assorted telescopes. We talked about our smart (and dumb) technology and showed them what we would have seen, were it not for the clouds, on our tablets and phones. And of course, we invited them out to our club meetings and observatory. We also took the opportunity for a group pose by an event photographer.
The flicker and booming audio from a blow-up movie screen projecting the 2008 movie, “WALL-E”, competed with our visual non-show and the distant effects of an approaching storm cell. A phone call from my wife, Jennifer, alerted me to the danger and we began to cover or dismantle our gear. Tom and I barely mange to scavenge some popcorn and marshmallows before the raindrops arrived just after 9 pm.
Upon securing our gear, we reconvened in the nearby Frist center. There, we chatted some more and showed curious students the storm’s progression on various weather apps. I had big hopes that clear skies might follow. But that was not to be and the organizers decided to call it a night. For our efforts, we each received a hearty “thank you for coming out” and a complimentary “Night of Stars, 2025” emblem blanket adorned with black and orange university colors. And so it was, the only stars visible throughout the night were the AAAP “Star” volunteers and the Princeton University “Star” students.
Spring is finally here and so is our warm-weather merchandise at the AAAP store!
This year, we have added men’s and women’s baseball-style shirts and some tank tops to complement our existing array of t-shirts, polos, and hats. Due to the limitations of the hosting website, we can only list a certain number of items on the store, but there are many more colors available for every apparel item you see. So if you want a different color (or you still want a winter item that you forgot to buy), just email me at merchandise@princetonastronomy.org, and I will do my best to get you what you want.
We also offer a wide range of non-apparel items at our Next Gen Store—from bags and magnets, to towels and cups, and lots of stuff in between. The password for both is: SiderealTimes.
You can also reach our stores by clicking here: AAAP Shopping
Title: Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space
Authors: Adam Higginbotham
Publisher: Avid Reader Press, New York, NY
Publication Date: 2024
Total Pages: 576
The space shuttle Challenger, on January 28, 1986, broke apart seventy-three seconds after liftoff killing all seven astronauts on board including the New Hampshire school teacher Christa McAuliffe. The author, Adam Higginbotham, narrates the complete story behind this tragedy through thorough archival research and interviews. There are many books on the Challenger tragedy but this author takes this tragic story to a whole new level of detailed depth and examination. The read is very dynamic and fast paced revealing new facts and details not examined holistically before of Challenger leading up to its fateful flight, the investigation, and recovery operations. Details of the Challenger’s two minutes and forty-five second free fall into the Atlantic Ocean are discussed as well as the assumed attempt by astronaut pilot Michael Smith to continue to fly the shuttle.
The author discusses the NASA and contractor cultures of the early space program through Apollo and the space shuttle and its contribution to saving astronaut lives and assets as well as the contribution to its tragedies. There are NASA and contractor heroes. An example of a NASA hero is systems engineer Jenny Howard, one of the very few female flight controllers, is credited with saving the Challenger from total destruction during a launch sequence in 1985.
The author begins by narrating the tragedy of the Apollo 1 fire killing Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee on January 27, 1967 due to a spark in an oxygen rich capsule. The author discusses how the early Apollo astronauts lobbied NASA to redesign Apollo’s environmental control system and its gas mixtures and the reasoning to maintain the early Apollo environment design as well as its hatch that prevented first responders from saving the doomed astronauts. The book ends discussing the tragedy of the space shuttle Columbia February 1, 2003 killing all seven astronauts on board. Were lessons learned from previous NASA tragedies and loss of life?
Our Sun holds our solar system together, including all the planets, the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and the Kuiper belt objects beyond all the known planets. The Sun’s influence is felt in terms of the radiation emitted, the solar wind, and its gravitational force. How far does its influence extend ?
As we go further away from the Sun, the planets are spaced further and further. The furthest planet Neptune is about 30 AU (Astronomical Units) from the Sun. 1 AU is the distance between the Sun and the Earth, about 93 million miles. AUs make us deal with small numbers to represent such astronomical distances. Beyond the known planets is the Kuiper belt, where Pluto and other objects live, is about 30-50 AU from the Sun.
The visible radiation emitted by the Sun becomes very pale in the Kuiper belt. Most of the Sun’s radiation is in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The Sun just looks like a bright star from such distances. It may not even be visible to the naked eye from elsewhere in our Milky way galaxy.
The Sun also emits charged particles called the solar wind. This wind is what disrupts the communication satellites and power grids on the Earth. Fortunately, the Earth’s magnetic field shields us from such wind. The solar wind travels further beyond the Kuiper belt. However it diminishes and slows down.
The place where the solar wind slows down considerably and begins to interact with the interstellar medium, or the space between the stars, is called the heliosheath. The first part of the heliosheath is called the termination shock, which is about 75-90 AU from the Sun. On the other side of Heliosheath is the Heliopause where the solar winds end and the interstellar winds take over. Heliopause is about 123 AU from the Sun. This is considered as the furthest point in our solar system.
Given below is the picture, courtesy Physics.org. The shape of the heliopause fluctuates and is influenced by a wind of interstellar gas which is caused by the Sun’s motion through space, as it orbits the center of our galaxy the Milky way. Hence the bow shape of Heliopause.
The NASA spacecraft Voyager 1 launched in 1977, crossed the termination shock in 2004. Its twin Voyager 2 did the same in 2007. Voyager 1 crossed the heliopause and entered interstellar space in 2012. Voyager did it in 2018. Another NASA spacecraft, New Horizons, which was launched earlier this century to explore the Kuiper belt object Pluto, is expected to cross the termination shock around 2030.
Beyond the Heliopause is the Oort cloud about 5000-100,000 AU from the Sun. It consists of icy objects. The Sun does exert some gravitation influence over these objects. But so do other nearby stars like Proxima Centauri. Our galaxy Milky way has some gravitational influence as well. Thus the Oort cloud can be considered to be outside of the Sun’s influence. Not within the City limits of the Sun, but a suburb!
The Jelly Fish Nebula, located in the Gemini Constellation 5000 light years from Earth, is a result of possibly several supernova remnants of spinning neutron stars. The nebula is 70 light years in diameter and is composed of two shells that may the result of multiple events. The inner shell remnant is between 5000 to 35000 years old while the outer shell maybe 100,000 years old interacting with molecular clouds.
The structure of IC 443 is influenced by its surroundings. In the southeast part of the nebula, the supernova’s blast wave is interacting with a dense molecular cloud. The cloud has slowed down the wave so it is moving between 67,000 to 89,000 mph. Toward the northeast part of the nebula the blast wave is hitting a cloud of hydrogen that is less dense and thus moving at between 180,000 and 220,000 mph.
Image was taken over the course of two nights April 1-2 at Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida in competition with a seven-foot alligator that occupied my imaging location. IC 443 image was captured with 300 light frames of 60 sec or 5 hours total integration. First set of 150 light frames used an Optolong Ultimate Ha-OIII filter and second set of 150 light frames used an Askar D2 OIII-SII filter. Telescope: Takahashi Baby-Q 85mm, f5.3; Camera: ASI2600MC Pro; other aids ASIAIR, OAG ASI174 mini, filter wheel; mount ZWO AM5N. PixInsight was used for image processing.
Astronomers Detect a Possible Signature of Life on a Distant Planet The search for life beyond Earth has led scientists to explore many suggestive mysteries, from plumes of methane on Mars to clouds of phosphine gas on Venus. But as far as we can tell, Earth’s inhabitants remain alone in the cosmos. Now a team of researchers is offering what it contends is the strongest indication yet of extraterrestrial life, not in our solar system but on a massive planet, known as K2-18b…more
-scitechdaily
A Century-Old Cosmic Mystery Solved – Four Hidden Planets Found Near Earth Astronomers have discovered four rocky planets, all significantly smaller than Earth, orbiting Barnard’s Star — the closest single star to our Sun and second closest overall, after the Alpha Centauri system. Barnard’s Star is located just six light-years away and has a long history of false alarms when it comes to planet detection…more
-NYT.com
DOGE Cuts Hobble Office That Would Aid NASA and SpaceX Mars Landings An office in an obscure corner of the federal government that NASA has relied on to safely land astronauts on the moon and robotic probes on Mars is facing pressure to cut its tight-knit team of experts by at least 20 percent, according to two people familiar with the mandate…more
-NYT
There’s a Lot of History to Unpack for This Space Expert Jonathan McDowell is a go-to expert for all things spaceflight. Thousands of subscribers read his monthly Space Report, and far more people have seen him on cable news and other media platforms explaining unexpected events in orbit…more
-NYT
A Flag on Mars? Maybe Not So Soon. The distance between Earth and Mars constantly shifts as they move around the sun, ranging from about 35 million miles to 250 million miles. To conserve fuel, spacecraft don’t launch toward the current position of Mars. Instead, they wait until the planet is properly aligned and then cruise to where Mars will be — seven or more months in the future…more
-sciencealaert
It’s Springtime on Polaris-9b, and the Exoflowers Are Blooming Imagine setting out for a springtime stroll. Not here on Earth but on some distant planet — call it Novathis-458b — orbiting a distant star. Even light-years from home, you recognize some familiar pleasures: The sun (albeit a different sun) is shining. The roses are in bloom. A breeze is blowing….more
-accuweather.com
A new comet appeared in the sky, then likely disintegrated. But it can still be seen When a new comet appears in the sky, there is often excitement. But things don’t always end well for the ancient celestial objects, made of ice, frozen gases and rock, as they near the sun — and an untimely demise appears to hold true for Comet C/2025 F2 (SWAN). All signs suggest that the celestial object…more
-NYT
A Fireball Near Mexico City Lit Up the Sky and the Internet For a few brief moments on Wednesday, a bright fireball lit up the predawn skies near Mexico City. The display awed residents and online viewers alike as videos of the object quickly spread. The glowing object was a bolide, according to The Associated Press…more
-NYT
He Was a Prophet of Space Travel. His Ashes Were Found in a Basement. The basement of the prewar co-op on the Upper West Side was so cluttered and dark in one area that the staff called it “the Dungeon,” and last year, the building’s new superintendent resolved to clear it out. For weeks, he hauled the junk left behind by former tenants — old air-conditioners,..more
-labrujulaverde.com
Scientists Propose We Live in a Slowly Rotating Universe That Completes One Rotation Every 500 Billion Years A team of scientists has proposed a revolutionary idea to explain one of the greatest contradictions in our understanding of the universe: the discrepancy in measuring its rate of expansion, known as the Hubble Tension. According to a study published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the answer might lie in the fact that the universe rotates slowly, like a gigantic cosmic whirlpool…more
If you haven’t completed the survey regarding the proposed trip to the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum near DC yet, please take a few minutes to do so!
by Rex Parker, PhD director@princetonastronomy.org
Treasure on Earth Created by Kilonova. My long winter sojourn in the midwest ended a few weeks ago. Upon return I am inspired by nature with the changing of seasons and the imminence of budburst in the forests and meadows around Princeton and central Jersey. Looking out into the night sky this month I’m grateful for the changing constellations which now bring galaxies beyond count into favored position for our telescopes. With the warmer temperatures I anticipate the walk across a blooming campus to Peyton Hall for our next AAAP meeting on April 8.
The guest speaker, Eliot Quataert, is the Charles Young Professor of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton (Charles Young is a famed astronomer from Princeton’s past, in the 1870’s). Professor Quataert will delve into some of the most energetic processes in the cosmos which underly the alchemy of the heavy elements. The heaviest elements found on earth, such as gold, platinum, and uranium, are formed in the violent processes of supernovae and neutron star mergers. The extreme processes unleashed by the merging of two neutron stars is now being scientifically termed a “kilonova”. At the atomic physics level, energetic neutrons are “captured” by other nuclei, releasing almost unimaginable amounts of energy and resulting in the generation of gravitational waves by neutron star mergers. This deep dive into neutron stars will extend our education from February’s LIGO presentation from Hanford, WA, where we learned about the origin of gravitational waves from neutron star mergers. See Program Chair Victor Davis’s section below for more on the speaker. With the encouraging sign of spring, let’s have a great member turnout at Peyton Hall, face to face. Of course, if you just cannot be there in person on April 8, do join us by Zoom (updated Zoom link is sent a few days before each meeting, and also posted on the website on page 2 under “Guest Speaker”).
National Academy of Science “Space Science Week 2025”, March 31-April 4. The past year has been amazing for space exploration. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope discovered the most distant galaxy ever observed, Artemis II is preparing to send astronauts around the Moon for the first time in over 50 years, and three U.S. commercial landers have touched down on the Moon. These discoveries and much more are being reviewed with a focus on the future by the US National Academy of Sciences from March 31 to April 4, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
This is a joint meeting of the Space Studies Board of the U.S. National Academies in collaboration with the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board, and Board on Physics and Astronomy. During the sessions, the oversight committees discuss upcoming advances and challenges in space and Earth science and exploration. Several of these sessions can be joined remotely by those interested, at this link: https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/03-24-2025/space-science-week-2025
The “Un-journal Club” Wants You. After each month’s featured guest speaker, our monthly meetings provide opportunities to highlight club activities and member conversations. The Un-journal Club, a fun term evoking (provoking?) the journal clubs common in science grad school programs, is one such opportunity. For AAAP the Unjournal Club is a brief informal presentation given in the second half of the meeting by members. These don’t need scholarly journal-like topics, but merely engage members with what you care about in astronomy. You can use PowerPoint slides, JPEG’s, astro-images, travel pictures (e.g., bring on a USB memory stick), book reviews, whatever you want including simply your voice. A great example is last month’s presentation and excellent photography by member Rich Sherman of his recent trip to Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson AZ. To get onto the schedule for the April or other future meeting, please contact me or program chair Victor Davis.
AAAP Board Election Coming Up May 13. As directed by the by-laws, each May we hold the election of officers (the Board) for a one year term. I have asked member Dan Opdyke to be the Nominations Chair to identify candidates for the upcoming election. Below is a brief description of the duties involved for each position. If you are interested in helping AAAP as an officer (this or perhaps a future year), please contact Dan at nominations@princetopnastronomy.org. Dan will report on a slate of candidates at the April meeting.
Duties of the Officers
Director – The Director shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Trustees and at all general membership meetings. He or she shall appoint such committees as may be necessary to further the operations of AAAP. He or she shall be eligible to vote on all items of business that may be transacted at any meeting.
Assistant Director – The Assistant Director shall assist the Director in his or her duties, and shall act in his or her place in the absence of the Director.
Secretary – The Secretary shall maintain minutes of all meetings of the Board of Trustees and of the general membership, shall keep a record of the membership, and shall notify members of meeting dates. The Secretary may delegate such of these duties as may be appropriate, in consultation with the Director.
Treasurer – The Treasurer shall keep a record of all financial transactions of AAAP. He or she shall be responsible for the handling, safekeeping, and disbursal of all funds. In case of absence of the Treasurer, the Director shall act in the foregoing capacities.
Program Chair – The Program Chair shall select a Program Committee, over which he or she shall preside. The Program Committee shall be responsible for arranging suitable astronomy related programs at general meetings.
Observatory Chair – The Observatory Chair shall oversee and guide the operation of the AAAP’s observatory facilities and shall, with the assistance of others, make sure they are in good working order and up-to-date.
Outreach Chair – The Outreach Chair shall receive and respond to requests from educators and other community leaders for astronomy outreach and shall coordinate the assistance of AAAP members in responding to these requests.
Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton 