From the Director

Posted on May 3, 2026 by ST Editors

by Rex Parker, PhD  director@princetonastronomy.org

May 12 Meeting on Campus at Sherrerd Hall.  This meeting is an important event for members to attend in person if possible, and by Zoom if you cannot be there on campus.  Here I will describe why I say this meeting is imperative, that the club needs your participation.  Firstly, we have invited highly acclaimed science journalist John Horgan of the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken NJ as guest speaker May 12.  The highest priority of AAAP is hosting dynamic presenters at our monthly meetings — this can be sustained only if members come to the meetings. 

As a long-time contributing writer for Scientific American, dozens of John Horgan’s articles have circulated through the decades. The number of prominent scientists he has interviewed in this role is astounding, including Stephen Hawking, Edward Witten, Nobel laureates Steven Weinberg, Murray Gell-Mann, and Hans Bethe, and also Freeman Dyson, Roger Penrose, Douglas Hofstadter, and John Wheeler.  His interviews weren’t restricted to physicists and included famed biologists Richard Dawkins, Stephen Jay Gould, Lynn Margulis, E.O. Wilson, and Francis Crick, and philosophers Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn.  Mr Horgan’s current on-line blog thoughtfully takes on modern science controversies, and I urge you to check it out at https://johnhorgan.org/  His recent book (published on-line at no cost on his website) is My Quantum Experiment, explaining with wit and candor how he undertook learning quantum mechanics as an older person without an advanced degree in physics or math.   

For our May 12 meeting John Horgan will talk about his most renowned and controversial book, The End of Science, written back in 1995 but perhaps more relevant now than ever and steadily selling today.  While he is viewed by some as a provocative science critic, my own take is that his ideas are refreshingly honest and clear-minded, and his work triggers meaningful debate within the science community for very good reasons. You are welcome to bring a copy of the book for signing at the meeting.  It’s available from many vendors including Labyrinth Books in Princeton as well as Amazon as both paper and Kindle versions.

The May 12 meeting will be held in Sherrerd Hall (first floor auditorium) on the Princeton campus.  Thanks go to Asst. Director Bob Vanderbei for setting up this venue.  This became necessary because we were bumped by exams in Peyton Hall in May, and construction work is planned this summer through the end of the year.  Automobile parking for Sherrerd Hall is close by and it is an easy walk (see Map below).  Campus Lot 10 or Lot 13 (the Princeton University Press parking lot) are both easily accessed from Willams Street (turn from Washington Rd).  Visitors are permitted to park free after 4pm at these lots. If those lots don’t have space, there is street parking on Williams and nearby streets.  Paid parking ($1/hour) on the street ends at 8pm, then it is free (to pay, merely enter license plate number and use credit card). Sherrard Hall is a newer glassy building located along Shapiro Walk a short way from those parking lots.     

The second big reason we need your attendance May 12 is the election of officers.  As specified in the by-laws, the vote is held at the May meeting and a quorum is required.  The candidates standing for election are the current officers, listed below;  each has agreed to serve another year.

Candidates for the Board May 2026
Director, Rex Parker PhD
Assistant Director, Bob Vanderbei PhD
Secretary, Gene Allen
Treasurer, Ira Polans
Observatory Chair, Dave Skitt
Program Chair, Victor Davis
Outreach Chair, Bill Murray

The third main reason to attend is the expenditure proposal for a new telescope for the observatory.  The following serves notice, as required in the by-laws, of the recommendation by the Board to upgrade the observatory’s main instrument, the Celestron-14 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. We propose purchasing a new Celestron-14 Edge HD optical tube assembly, focal reducer, and related accessories at cost up to $12,000.  The proposed expenditure must be approved by a majority of the votes cast and not less than 30% of the paid membership. Members not attending the meeting can vote by e-mailed ballot sent to the Secretary within 40 days of the meeting (by June 22). Before the vote we will discuss the rational for the proposal and confirm that the treasury balance supports the expenditure. The acquisition will be contingent on renewal of our lease agreement with the state for the Washington Crossing observatory site (current lease expires Feb 2027).

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From The Program Chair

Posted on May 3, 2026 by ST Editors

by Victor Davis, Program Chair

Pay Attention!
The May, 2026 monthly meeting of the Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton will take place in Sherrerd Hall on the campus of Princeton University on Tuesday, May 12th at 7:30 PM. As usual, the meeting is open to AAAP members and the public. Please note that Sherrerd Hall is a new venue, arranged for us by AAAP Assistant Director and Emeritus Princeton Professor Bob Vanderbei, who has an office in the building. Administrators in the Department of Astrophysics have co-opted our usual digs in Peyton Hall for exams, for reasons passing understanding. It remains to be seen whether this is a one-off proposition or we’ll be moving our corporeal-meeting act permanently elsewhere. The evening’s guest speaker will be John Horgan, a freelance science journalist and former staff writer for Scientific American. He has posted his self-published books Mind-Body Problems (2018) and My Quantum Experiment (2023) online, and comments on science in his free online journal, Cross-Check. Horgan teaches science writing at Stevens Institute of Technology.

Options for Attending the Meeting
You may choose to attend the meeting in person or participate via Zoom or YouTube. If you choose to participate virtually, you may log in as early as 7:00 pm to chat informally with your astrobuddies before the meeting begins promptly at 7:30.  It’s polite, though not required, for you to enable your camera so other participants can see you. Please keep your microphone muted unless you are participating in a two-way discussion. The meeting will be recorded and edited for posting to our club’s YouTube channel.

“Meet the Speaker” Dinner
The club will host a “meet the speaker” dinner at Winberie’s Bar and Restaurant, 1 Palmer Square, across the street from the Princeton University campus before the meeting. Our reservation is for 5:45 pm. Director Rex Parker will host the dinner. Please RSVP to Rex if you plan to attend.

Here’s the anticipated agenda for May 12th 2026’s monthly meeting of the AAAP:

(Times are approximate)

Featured Speaker:
John Horgan
Science Journalist

horganism3@gmail.com

Was “The End of Science” Too Optimistic?

Was “The End of Science” Too Optimistic?
In his controversial 1996 book “The End of Science,” John Horgan, then a senior writer at Scientific American, proposed that “pure science,” the great quest to comprehend the cosmos, might be bumping up against fundamental limits. Thirty years later, Horgan’s thesis continues to provoke debate. In this talk, Horgan will acknowledge that he has had second thoughts about his thesis. His book, he has recently decided, was too optimistic.

John Horgan
John Horgan is a science journalist and Director of the Center for Science Writings at Stevens Institute of Technology. A long-time contributor to Scientific American , he has also written for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, London Times and other publications. The author of seven books, he frequently posts commentary on science-related topics at johnhorgan.org. The late Nobelist Philip Anderson coined the term “Horganism” to refer to Horgan’s curmudgeonly view of the destiny of science. Horgan accepts this chiding as a badge of honor.

How to Participate (Links)
Zoom & YouTube Live
Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
Topic: May AAAP Meeting, John Horgan, End of Science
Time: May 12, 2026 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 846 0203 3355
Passcode: 246796
Join instructions

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84602033355?pwd=cL1sRehk4jbc0bB37iN8G4sG6Clbqi.1 ....https://youtube.com/live/T8mNeHeMyJE?feature=share
Click the above icons for Zoom and YouTube

AAAP’s library of monthly meetings is available on the club’s YouTube channel. April’s edited meeting featuring a presentation by Dr. Brian Lacki; “A Billion Whispers: Breakthrough Listen, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and Cosmic Ecology” is now available on the club’s YouTube channel.

A look ahead at future guest speakers:

Date Featured SpeakerTopic
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, 2026Michael DiMario
Chair of AAAP’s Astro-imaging SIG
K2mjd@outlook.com
Dr. DiMario will present a primer on astro-imaging.
Oct. 13, 2026Becka 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

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Minutes of the April 14, 2026 Meeting

Posted on May 3, 2026 by ST Editors

by Gene Allen, Secretary

Director Rex Parker opened the meeting in PeytonHall at 1930 with 28 in the auditorium and 24-some online. He informed us that Peyton will be unavailable in May due to exams. We will relocate to the auditorium of Sherrerd Hall about two blocks to the west. A map and directions will be distributed before the meeting and the change will be posted on the website. Parking in Lot 10 is closer to Sherrerd than the Stadium Garage is to Peyton. He continued sharing thoughts about and images from the Artemis II mission around the Moon. He was inspired to take an image of the Moon and caught an airliner going by. He showed how numerous galaxies are in the spring sky with an image from The Sky X and shared excellent images of comet C/2025 R3 captured by Member Tom Swords on his Seestar S50 and by Assistant Director Bob Vanderbei on his Seestar S30.

Outreach Chair Bill Murray reported on two upcoming outreach events:

April 22 – stargazing at the Newgrange School in Pennington.
May 16 – stargazing at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm has been rescheduled.

Program Chair Victor Davis introduced our speaker for tonight, Brian Lacki, PhD, Astrophysicist and Theorist at Breaktrhough Listen. His talk was titled A Billion Whispers: Breakthrpough Listen, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and Cosmic Energy.

At 2110 Rex continued the meeting without a break. Twenty remained in the auditorium as he called our attention to the following hot topics:

Our annual; election of officers will take place in May. Nominations Chair Michael Mitrano has determined that all current officers are willing to serve another year. He reported that there was no response to his email to the membership for nominations. No one even asked any questions about the leadership roles.

Rex shared a proposal approved by the Board to replace the large, donated, semi-vintage C14 scope in the observatory with a new Edge HD model. We would need additional hardware to support the new scope, so the total cost is likely to reach $13,000 and requires membership approval. Tom Swords has offered to detail the shopping list.

The Artemis II mission has renewed interest in the lunar south pole region and the prospect of finding water ice in permanently shadowed craters. Rex shared his images of the region and showed the difficulty in capturing anything close.

Additional support for the student subgroup will be to provide a specific place for them to gather on groups.io, where the astroimagers share techniques and images. Bill Murray can provide them the observing challenges he created for the sky parties we formerly held in north Jersey.

Member Tom Angle made an enthusiastic presentation about his first visit to the NEAIC/NEAF weekend.

Student Members Sunny Cui and Abhinav Sukla requested assistance in creating an astronomy manual for the members of their astronomy club in Princeton High School.

The meeting was adjourned at 2150.

As of April 13, we have 202 active members. So far in CY2026, renewals number 34 and expirations number 22, giving us a 61% retention rate. We have added 15 new members.

Submitted by Secretary Gene Allen
April 18, 2026

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Minutes of the March 31, 2026 AAAP Board Meeting

Posted on May 3, 2026 by ST Editors

by Gene Allen, Secretary

Minutes taken from the Zoom recording of the meeting.
The meeting convened at 1900 on March 31, 2026

In attendance:

Director Rex ParkerAssistant Director Bob Vanderbei
Secretary Gene AllenObservatory Co-Chairs Jenn & Dave Skitt
Outreach Chair Bill MurrayAstroimaging Chair Michael DiMario
Webmaster Jeff PinyanMember Tom Swords

Rex opened the meeting with a discussion of the status of the new website, specifically referring to the online membership roster database. Gene commented that it already has far more functionality than he expected so early after launch so has no complaints. For now, he is continuing his procedures as if the online roster does not exist. Jeff reported that the online roster is already downloadable with multiple filters but only for the Board. He is working toward making the online roster fully editable. Some new members did not get captured the first week or so after launch but they have been entered. Gene will not be fully validating the online roster until he has editing capability. Gene proposed creating a student membership, noting at least 19 student members currently. Rex responded that he felt there was Board support for both student membership and returning to a single membership renewal period for everyone, but that we need to table that discussion for now. Jeff signed off.

Michael Mitrano has accepted appointment as Nominations Chair. All Board members present reported their willingness to stand for another year, with Rex, Bob and Gene commenting that they would be happy to step aside if someone else sought the position.

Rex reported that Peyton Hall will not be available for our May election meeting due to its use for exams, and its longer future is uncertain. Rex has emailed Janine Purcaro, Chief Operating Officer and Associate Director for Finance and Administration at IAS, about hosting us in one of their auditoriums. He copied Bob and Lee Sandberg but has not yet heard back. Lee, AAAP member and Communications and Public Relations Manager at IAS, replied that we should approach Joshua Horowitz, (campus-life@ias.edu) AMIAS & Member Relations Officer. Bob agreed that he would be the best one to present our request to IAS, then went on to say one part of the new engineering buildings that replaced Ivy Lane is Commons Hall. It might be another possible venue and has closer parking. There was general agreement that the long hike from the Stadium Garage is a major impediment to attending in person, which we also agreed is our desire. Consistent access to Peyton cannot be assured, and the distant parking issue remains, so another location needs to be sought.

Rex noted that AAAP meetings are currently listed on the IAS calendar and suggested that they might be more willing to host us if we were to do more in support of the IAS member and families. There was unanimous willingness to make that effort.

Bob reported that the astrophysics department would eventually be moving to the computer science building which is near his building, Sherrerd Hall. Parking lots 10 and 13 nearby are available evenings. Not much farther is the North Garage. Bob then realized that he knows who to contact to use the lecture hall in his building for our May meeting. It holds 100-120 and has better A/V equipment than Peyton. Bob will try to schedule our May meeting in first choice Sherrerd, second choice computer science.

Our lease for the site of our observatory in Washington Crossing State Park is expiring February 28, 2027. Michael Mitrano had been the point person on efforts to get some sort of response from the state about renewal but wants to be replaced since he stepped down as treasurer. Rex said he thinks Gene would be “outstanding” to take this on. Gene replied that he would not be eager to assume the role, but he agreed to take point and Dave said he would help. Rex could also approach a legislator to support our appeal.

Students continue to be active and we need to give them projects and ask for their support. Bill had developed observing lists that could be reissued. There was general consensus that we should not make student membership free. Jenn said she could use help with the literature table on Public Nights and Rex agreed that would be good. Michael DiMario asked about creating a student group under the Groups.io used by the astroimagers. Rex will propose both opportunities to them.

Len Caccitori contacted Dave to be replace as lead for Discord, but Groups.io replaced it. There was agreement that Discord should be completely shut down. There is no accounting or controlling who remains connected and it has no archive of past discussions.

If the weather turns good this week Tom will turn on the water. Dave said the teams are ready for the start of the Public Night season. A collimation done on the C14 has inserted a pointing displacement that is consistent throughout the sky dome. It needs a finer collimation and a new T-point model. Bill asked why bother with a T-point since The Sky X can do plate solving. Rex responded that TSX plate solving uses the Camera add-on software component which we do not use. We use ZWO camera control. Rex offered to work with Dave and Tom to do the collimation and new T-point this spring.

The C14 is dated and does not well support current camera technology. Rex proposed that we replace it with a Celestron Edge HD 14 that has a flat field for a full frame sensor. Mike suggested considering a Planewave but there was consensus that we need to retain capability to do visual. Bill looked up and reported the C14 Edge costs $7700 and Tom said the reducer is $85 and out of stock everywhere. We would need to get the expenditure approved by the membership but we think it would be a relatively easy sell. Dave made a motion that we generate an equipment list for a new telescope, reducer, camera to present to the membership before summer break. There was a second and unanimous approval. Tom accepted appointment to put it together.

Dave got a request from the park for a large camping group June 24-25 who want a an interpretive session either that Wednesday or Thursday, then Saturday July 4 the Nature Center requests solar viewing 10-3. A pollinator festival at Knocks Grove September 12 can host a table and solar viewing. Dave will affirm our support for these events.

Dave mentioned a request for a swap and sell page among members on the new website. It should be doable of the Board approves it.

The meeting adjourned at 2026.
Submitted by Secretary Gene Allen
April 29, 2026

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From the AAAP Store

Posted on May 3, 2026 by ST Editors

by Rich Sherman, Merchandise Chair

Summer-weight apparel and new colors are now available at the AAAP store.
Visit https://aaap1962.logosoftwear.com/ and get some new gear for spring and summer. As always, the password is:  SiderealTimes

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From Doorstep to Deep Space: Finding the Heart

Posted on May 3, 2026 by ST Editors

by Robert Vanderbei

Here’s a picture I took of the Heart Nebula (aka IC 1805) on April 27.

The Heart Nebula is an emission nebula.  It resides in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is estimated to be about 7,500 light-years away from us here on Earth.

As you can see in the picture, there is a cluster of bright stars roughly at the center of the nebula.  It is called the Melotte 15 cluster. In absolute terms, these stars are very bright–some of them are about 100,000 times brighter than our Sun. But, these stars don’t appear very bright to us as we see them because they (and the nebula) are far away from us. In fact, at the visual level the brightest star in the Melotte 15 cluster is only about magnitude 8.5. The bright stars in the Melotte 15 cluster provide the energy which excites the atoms in the nearby interstellar medium. Most of those atoms are hydrogen at those energized hydrogen atoms produce the nebula’s red glow.

To take this picture, I used my Seestar S30 smart telescope sitting on the walkway just outside the front door of my house. The picture is a stack of 528 10-second exposures that were automatically aligned and stacked by the code built into the Seestar. That’s a total exposure time of 88 minutes.

The images were captured starting a little before 9pm and stopping a little before midnight. The Heart Nebula is circumpolar when viewed from here in NJ. When I took these pictures, it was low in the WNW part of the sky—only about 20 degrees above the horizon.

The Heart Nebula is a large nebula — about 2 degrees in diameter.  The Seestar S30’s camera provides a fairly large field of view but not large enough to capture the entire Heart.

Here’s the nice thing… the Seestar software has a “mosaic” option where it can build a wider field of view image. I used the mosaic feature to take this picture.   The field of view was upscaled by a factor of 1.5 from the non-mosaic size.

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Artemis II: A Lunar Flyby with Modern Comforts

Posted on May 3, 2026 by ST Editors

by S. Prasad Ganti

More than five decades after the last Apollo flight and three years after the unmanned Artemis I flight to the moon, Artemis II went to the moon along with four astronauts and came back successfully with a splash in the ocean. The spacecraft was not meant to land on the moon. Literally a “round trip” by slinging around the moon and heading towards the earth.   

The Artemis series is not a repeat of the Apollo missions. Although both are three stage rockets, Artemis differs vastly from its twin sister Apollo. It is comparatively newer technology. The rocket itself has 4 RS25 engines, compared to five F1 engines on Saturn 5 powered Apollo. The RS25 engines are from the space shuttle era. Two solid rocket boosters are added to the initial thrust. The electronics and computers are far more advanced.   

The life support systems are a key component differentiating a manned flight from an unmanned one. The living room in the Orion module for the astronauts is more spacious even with four astronauts instead of three for the Apollo. It even has a toilet ! One of the Astronauts, Christina Koch,  became the first plumber in space to fix the toilet which malfunctioned initially.   

The propulsion and life-support systems in the Orion spacecraft were built by European aerospace company Airbus on behalf of ESA. The picture shown below courtesy ESA shows the components. On the left in the picture is the service module containing the propulsion and life support systems. It has four solar panels.  On the right is the Orion spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin. 

While Artemis I was a proof of concept unmanned flight before Artemis II could be launched with astronauts. Artemis I had an issue with reentry into the earth’s atmosphere while coming back. NASA tried a skipped reentry which involved a shallow reentry followed by a bounce and then another reentry. Something like an aircraft making a bounced landing on the runway. Landing and then briefly rising into the air and then landing back a second time. This was done to minimize the heat generated. Although the strategy worked, the heat shield could not work well in tandem and some hot gases disrupted the shield from the other side. 

Artemis II kept the same heat shield but ditched the skipped reentry. Instead a direct steeper reentry was used, which worked well in the past with the Apollo and the Space shuttle missions. The reentry and the consequent splashdown were uneventful as a result.      

Going into the future, Artemis III will demonstrate the docking between Orion spacecraft and the new lunar landers in low earth orbit. The two private lunar landers are being built by SpaceX and Blue Origin. 

Artemis IV will land with astronauts on the moon. With the Apollo missions, the space race was with the erstwhile Soviet Union. Now it is with China who is trying to land astronauts on the moon as well. We may end up winning this second space race as well. But, the cost of the program will be an issue again as it was with Apollo. 

This time around, the plan is to replace the rocket SLS (Space Launch System) with Space X’s Starship which is still under test. Starship will have a reusable first stage. The first stage will detach itself and come back to earth after pushing hard on the rest of the two rocket stages. This reuse will reduce the cost of the launches significantly. Besides, the newer Raptor engines on the Starship are a good replacement for the Space shuttle era RS25 engines. Along with the first stage, the engines will be reusable as well.   

For the future, the lunar program is on a solid footing compared to the Apollo era. 

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The velocity calculations using frequency shift are not accurate

Posted on May 3, 2026 by ST Editors

by William H Davis

Why do the text books give different redshift equations for the observer stationary versus the observer in motion? Why do we use the equation for the observer stationary when the Earth is clearly moving through space at a high velocity?

An astronomer will observe redshift – ( fe – Δf) or blueshift + ( fe + Δf ) identically with no sign or equation change regardless whether the emitter is in motion or the observer is in motion. This indicates the position of the observer versus the emitter is determinative not which is in motion. Are we using the wrong equation to determine velocity from the frequency ratio? Could this explain the unexpected apparent acceleration of velocity at greater distances?

The correlation of frequency shift to relative velocity by a black box energy balance method:

The effect of motion on the frequency shift observed is affected the relative motion. The system is defined by the fo = fe ± Δf , which results in two equations; blueshift, f(o=)+Δf (multiple of fe) and redshift, f(o=) – Δf ( fraction of f(e) ). There is no law for the conservation of wave length but there is a law for the conservation of energy. There is no direct solution using just wave length z for redshift to determine velocity. The only available energy in the observed system is fe (independent variable) with no external energy going in or out of the system. Velocity away reduces the energy of fo observed and toward increases the energy of fo. The observer’s position versus the emitter determines whether or not red or blueshift is observed, not which is in motion and defines the proper equation.

Non relativistic energy balance solution starting with Planck’s Equation:

Energy balance solution observed emitter E by two opposite observers

The required denominator for redshift is fe and blueshift is fo with the range in the denominator.   

The energy balance is an accurate non relativitistic way to describe the total system of spectral shift. For each shift observed there is an opposite shift that can be observed from a different point of view.  The physicist has to pick the correct bound equation to match the shift to determine an accurate v/c. We are presently using the wrong equation (observer stationary) when we know we are in motion? Hr blueshift equation to calculate velocities from redshift. We are using. The result is a multiple of fe  creating an exponential type curve to ∞!

There has been a failure to integrate relativity in astrophysics.

Relativitistic Doppler equation applies to all of the degrees of freedom or points of view of Doppler and or frequency shift: This equation has been published and known for years. It is the correct description or model of velocity versus frequency shift.

Diagram shows the two linear independent red and blue equations plotted in separate quadrants’. The relativitistic Doppler equation plots in both quadrants. The curvature is due to the clock correction of the two frequencies.

The accurate determination of velocity from the frequency ratio is critical for the accurate modeling of celestial objects. Relative velocity is a critical independent variable for most aspects of the observable universe. If the methods are not accurate or sound, projecting defective models beyond the data for determining distance or anything else is problematic.  The most critical error has been choosing the wrong equation to correlate frequency ratio with velocity or v/c. “no privileged frame” is in play?

Using the relativitistic Doppler equation for velocity calculations should eliminate the Dark Energy (pushing on a string) theory.

I would appreciate any comments and recommendations for a path forward.

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Snippets

Posted on May 3, 2026 by ST Editors

compiled by Arlene & David Kaplan

-NASA

Telling Time on Other Worlds 
From Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars, explore the world of human spaceflight with NASA each week on the official podcast of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Listen to in-depth conversations with the astronauts, scientists and engineers who make it possible…more

-phys.com
-space.com

‘It was quite a light show!’ NASA astronaut spies dramatic fireball from the International Space Station “I think it must have been some piece of orbital debris or a satellite breaking up as it entered the atmosphere.” On the International Space Station, you look down to see shooting stars. NASA astronaut Chris Williams just reminded us of that mind-bending fact, sharing footage of a spectacular fireball he saw from the orbiting lab….more

-space.com

Artemis 2 heat shield is a sunken treasure in the ocean The Artemis 2 heat shield looks like a sunken treasure from the Titanic in an underwater shot following splashdown. The mission’s Orion capsule splashed down off the coast of San Diego on April 10, safely returning its astronaut crew home. Now, we can see the aftermath of that landing in a striking new photograph….more

-ABC.net

‘I’m not religious, but …’: The Artemis II space mission stirs something deep inside us It’s been some weeks since Artemis II splashed back down to earth, but the reels are still doing the rounds on social media — especially one from a post-mission press conference where Commander Reid Wiseman said ten days in space had stirred something in his soul…more

-SETI.org

Why SETI Might Have Been Missing Alien Signals A new study by researchers at the SETI Institute suggests stellar “space weather” could make radio signals from extraterrestrial intelligence harder to detect. Stellar activity and plasma turbulence near a transmitting planet can broaden an otherwise ultra-narrow signal, spreading its power across more frequencies and making it more difficult to detect in traditional narrowband searches…more

-NASA

Straight Shot: Hubble Investigates Galaxy with Nine Rings NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured a cosmic bullseye! The gargantuan galaxy LEDA 1313424 is rippling with nine star-filled rings after an “arrow” — a far smaller blue dwarf galaxy — shot through its heart. Astronomers using Hubble identified eight visible rings, more than previously detected by any telescope in any galaxy, and confirmed…more

-NASA

Spaceflight Started 100 Years Ago in a Massachusetts Cabbage Patch Robert Goddard arrived at his aunt’s farm in Auburn, Mass., on a cold, snowy morning 100 years ago. The wide-open spaces of the farm became on March 16, 1926, a rudimentary Cape Canaveral for an event never witnessed before on Earth: the launch of a rocket that would become a trailblazer for vehicles capable of sending satellites, probes and even humans beyond our planet’s atmosphere…more

-NASA

New Theory May Explain Mysterious “Little Red Dots” in the Early Universe Astronomers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian have proposed a new explanation for some of the universe’s most puzzling early galaxies, nicknamed “little red dots.” In the study, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Authors Fabio Pacucci and Abraham (Avi) Loeb suggest that these galaxies are the result of very slowly spinning dark matter halos, an extremely rare cosmic structure…more

-NASA

Sugars, ‘Gum,’ Stardust Found in NASA’s Asteroid Bennu Samples The asteroid Bennu continues to provide new clues to scientists’ biggest questions about the formation of the early solar system and the origins of life. As part of the ongoing study of pristine samples delivered to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer) spacecraft…more

-NASA

NASA’s DART Mission Changed Orbit of Asteroid Didymos Around Sun New research reveals that when NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) spacecraft intentionally impacted the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos in September 2022, it didn’t just change the motion of Dimorphos around its larger companion, Didymos; the crash also shifted the orbit of both asteroids around the Sun…more

-space.com

Spectacular fireball over Europe sends meteorite crashing through roof of German home A meteorite has crashed through the roof of a house in the city of Koblenz in the west of Germany after a spectacular fireball lit up the night sky above western Europe on Sunday evening, March 8. More than 2,800 sightings of the fireball have been reported to the International Meteor Organization (IMO), with dozens of video recordings having been uploaded on social media…more

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From the Director

Posted on April 5, 2026 by ST Editors

by Rex Parker, PhD  director@princetonastronomy.org

April 14 Meeting at Peyton Hall.  With the warmer temperatures I will traipse across a blooming campus to Peyton Hall once more for the AAAP meeting on April 14. While walking I look up into the night sky to see the changing constellations, and realize the newcomers signal the start of galaxy season.  The brightest and greatest concentration of the northern hemisphere’s galaxies move into good telescope observing position (at hours not causing sleep deprivation) in April.  During spring, Earth’s night-side faces away from the populated Milky Way center, allowing clear views of other galaxies in the constellations Virgo, Leo, and Ursa Major. Indeed, clusters of galaxies emerging in the spring. 

I hope you will join me in person April 14, as Peyton Hall will become unavailable to us for a while with reconstruction on the building starting this summer.  And unexpectedly we have been pre-empted for our May 12 meeting by exam scheduling that evening.  So, the May 12 meeting will be held in Sherrerd Hall, a newer building easily accessed with street level parking close by (thanks to Bob V. for arranging this).  A campus/parking map will be provided next month in Sidereal Times.  And if you haven’t yet, I insist upon you watching the new movie Project Hail Mary adapted from Andy Weir’s sci-fi book.  See yourself in those situations calling on MacGyver-like skills to respond to challenges.  These are some of the abilities we aspire to as amateur astronomers! 

Program Chair Victor’s section below describes our guest speaker for April 14. This will be a good opportunity to learn about the latest approaches being taken in the search for intelligent life outside our planet, SETI.  With the encouraging signs of spring, let’s have a great member turnout at Peyton Hall April 14.  Of course, if you cannot be there in person please join our meeting by Zoom.  The updated Zoom link will be sent by e-mail a few days before each meeting and posted on the newly redesigned website.

AAAP Board Election in May.  As directed by the by-laws, each May we hold the election  of officers (aka the Board) for a 1-year term.  Michael Mitrano has agreed to serve as the temporary Nominations Chair for the election.  The basic duties involved for each position are provided on the website, https://www.princetonastronomy.org/about/board.  If you are interested in helping AAAP as an officer (this or perhaps a future year), feel free to contact Michael at nominations@princetonastronomy.org.  He will report on a slate of candidates at the April meeting.

A Full Moon on the Day of Artemis 2 Launch (April 1).  An unexpected flyby occurred by the upper edge of the moon seen through the clouds in this image, from my 12.5” reflector telescope in central NJ.

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From The Program Chair

Posted on April 5, 2026 by ST Editors

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 14th 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 14th 2026’s monthly meeting of the AAAP:

(Times are approximate)

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.

Featured Speaker:
Brian Lacki, PhD
Astrophysicist, Theorist at
Breakthrough Listen

astrobrianlacki@gmail.com

A Billion Whispers: Breakthrough Listen, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and Cosmic Ecology

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

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85247865253?pwd=8LuiqIJIlNB2IBf0D7NwAd9CStgnp3.1....https://youtube.com/live/hxXU79eMCTk?feature=share
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 SpeakerTopic
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, 2026Michael DiMario
Chair of AAAP’s Astro-imaging SIG
K2mjd@outlook.com
Dr. DiMario will present a primer on astro-imaging.
Oct. 13, 2026Becka 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

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Minutes of the March 10, 2026 Meeting

Posted on April 5, 2026 by ST Editors

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

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Note on Merchandise

Posted on April 5, 2026 by ST Editors

by Rich Sherman

As we finished a brutal winter, our thoughts now turn to spring and warmer weather. The same is true at your AAAP merchandise shop. On April 15th, we will shift our inventory from the cold-weather gear to more seasonal apparel. As always, if you need help with an order or are looking for something you don’t immediately see at the store, please email Rich at RJSherman@hotmail.com. As a reminder for when you visit the store, the passwords is:  SiderealTimes.

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