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The Official Publication of the Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton
Director John Miller (609) 252-1223 jmiller@princetonastronomy.org Assistant Director John Church (609) 799-0723 j.church@mindspring.com Treasurer Program Chairman Michael Mitrano Ludy D'Angelo 609-737-6518 (609) 882-9336 michael.mitrano@worldnet.att.net ldangelo106@comcast.net Secretary Editors Larry Kane Bryan Hubbard and Ira Polans (609) 273-1456 (732) 469-7698 and (609) 448-8644 kane@princetonastronomy.org editors@princetonastronomy.org

Volume 38 From the Director
I begin this April Hour (March 28). lights in my home my desktop (I'm nutes)--but these cused. Of course,

April 2009

Number 4

greeting at the beginning of the celebrated Earth My computer screen is powered off. So are all the office. The processor and fan are still chugging in cheating--I guess I'm celebrating Earth 55 Midraw so little current, certainly I might be exI can't see what I'm writing, and I don't touch type. There's going to be a ton of editing to do when Earth Hour has concluded. As proof of my Earth Hour support, please find the photo included of my office desk and me, looking very Hemingwayesque as I prolifically put misspelled words to screen (again, all unseen). Were many of you fellow amateur astronomers eagerly awaiting anticipated dark skies here in Central New Jersey? The moment has arrived! As thousands of businesses, homes, billboards and similar photongushers shut off, M31, M45, M44, maybe M81 & 82 jump into the naked eye realm. As if rheostat-controlled, the Milky Way appears brighter and brighter cascading through Monoceros, Gemini, Auriga and Cassiopeia. Glorious! Oh. No, scratch that. Just look out the window. It's cloudy, but, the clouds are uncharacteristically--dark.

AAAP is looking for new volunteers to help with our outreach programs. You don't need a telescope. Just bring your enthusiasm!!! The upcoming programs are listed in the Community Outreach section. For more info contact Jeff Bernardis at jbernardis@comcast.net or 609-466-4238.
Remember to mark each Friday starting April 4th as our Simpson Observatory Open House event. All AAAP members, their friends and family are always invited to these great get-togethers (of course AAAP members can ask to use the observatory at anytime). Observatory keyholders open the facility about 7:30 PM and both the 14" SCT and 6.25" refractor are pointed throughout the evening at popular Messier, NGC and solar system objects. Bring a list of your favorite seasonal targets. Members and guests also bring their own scopes to set up next to the observatory. Sometimes our astrophotographers set up their equipment to image--a great way to glean some tips to get into imaging. Directions and other information regarding a visit to the observatory can be found at the AAAP website www.princetonastronomy.org Have you been following the events and progress of the IAU's International Year of Astronomy? There are a myriad of core websites describing this year-long celebration. From the U.S. site: In the year 2009, the world will celebrate the International Year of Astronomy as it commemorates the 400th anniversary of Galileo's use of a telescope to study the skies, and Kepler's publication of

The deadline for the May issue is: Friday May 1, 2009 Send your submissions to: editors@princetonastronomy.org


April 2009 Astronomia Nova. 2009 is also the anniversary of many other historic events in science, including Huygen's 1659 publication of Systema Saturnium. This will be modern astronomy's quadricentennial, and the 2009 Year of Astronomy will be an international celebration of numerous astronomical and scientific milestones. Check out the central website: http://www.astronomy2009.org and the United States site: http://astronomy2009.us . And April is the month to go a-neafing ! What has evolved to the nation's largest amateur astronomer's convention, the Northeast Astronomy Forum & Telescope Show occurs April 18 and 19 at Rockland County Community College, Suffern, NY (about an hour north of Princeton). Besides being the equipment wonk's Nirvana (about 100 astro vendors), this convention brings together over a thousand astroenthusiasts and world-renowned speakers. Complete details are here: www.rocklandastronomy.com/neaf.htm Cheers--John Miller, Director

Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton gested that, even members who do not have telescopes be invited to participate. The group agreed that a much wider group of members should be invited. It was suggested that photos of these events be taken and posted in the ST. John Miller pointed out that the website has such a photo on the home page. Bill Murray advised that the International Year of Astronomy is being launched with "100 Hours of Astronomy" from April 2 to April 5, and our first open house a the Simpson observatory is April 3. We should take advantage of this with publicity and register it on the website of the International Year of Astronomy. Bill Murray will make that contact to have our event registered. John Miller pointed out that this shows the need for a publicity position in the club. Bill Murray also mentioned that a local kickoff event for the 100 Hours of Astronomy is the Franklin Institute's exhibit called "Galileo, the Medici and the Age of Astronomy". The exhibit has one of two remaining telescopes used by Galileo in 1609. (This is the first time the telescope has been out of Italy since Galileo's use­Editors).The exhibit will be held from April 4 to September 7, so it would be a good trip to be arranged for the club. John Miller noted that the Franklin Institute has sent out a request for volunteers. Ira Polans noted that he has volunteered and the Institute is recruiting a second batch of volunteers. Rex Parker suggested that we have a Messier Marathon on the last weekend in March. He also reported that the "Party House" that was to be built in Washington Crossing Park is now on hold since the local residents were all opposed to it. Michael raised the question of whether our club was working with the Night Sky Project. John Miller said that several of our members started with them, but did not have the time. 6. Observatory co-chair Gene Ramsey asked if we could have a replica of Galileo's telescope at the observatory. A discussion was held about the bids that we have received for the repair work. Larry Smith reported that Ron Russo of the UNCNJ. Wants to hold a symposium on Star Quest weekend and he would like to work with the AAAP. Larry Kane, Secretary

Membership Meeting Minutes March 10, 2009
The meeting was called to order by Director John Miller 1. 2. He announced that new member John Giles has agreed to serve as Chair of the Nominations Committee. Program Chair Ludy D'Angelo was not able to attend the meeting but, John Miller announced that the speakers for April and May have switched. Neta Bachall will be the April speaker and Carles Badenas will be the May speaker. A discussion was held and a consensus reached that the June meeting will be held as a member picnic. Treasurer Michael Mitrano was not in attendance. His report appears in another section of this month's Sidereal Times. John Miller announced that as of this meeting, we have 102 paid members. John Church raised a question of having an audit, since the club's by-laws state that it should be done every year. Treasurer Mitrano will be asked to perform one. Gene Ramsey raised the question of when the audit should be done, and suggested that it be done for the business meeting in May. John Church suggested that an audit is supposed to be presented in accordance with our fiscal year. John Miller pointed out that any board member or general member may ask for a summary statement of the club's financial status. John Church raised the issue that a "501 C 3" organization with gross receipts of less than $25,000 is supposed to file an "E Postcard" with the IRS every year, in order to maintain their status. Secretary Kane reported that he is still having trouble sending out the Sidereal Times with his email system. He and editor Ira Pollens are in discussion to remedy the problem. John Miller stated that when he sends out the newsletter it goes to a broader group than the AAAP membership. He thought that this was a benefit to the club, but was an additional responsibility on the Director/Webmaster. Public Outreach Chair Jeff Bernardis recommended that the list of events be read at the beginning of the meeting. John Miller asked if Jeff could send out the call for event participants to the entire membership. Ira Polans suggested that he could make the list of events more prominent in the ST. Gene Ramsey sug-

3.

Community Outreach
Well Mother Nature continues to interfere with our outreach efforts. The Star Party for Stuart Country Day School had to recently be cancelled for the fourth time. Additionally, rain prevented us from participating in the Earth Hour celebration for Plainsboro Township. The only bright spot for the month was that Ron Mittelstaedt, flying solo, was able to give Allentown Elementary school some nice views of Saturn. This was only the third successful event of our entire year so far. Our year is currently winding down ­ only two upcoming events: · Saturday April 25 is Super Science Day at the Trenton State Museum. This is a daytime solar observing event, and · Sometime in May, dates to be announced, we will try for the fifth time to get to Stuart Country Day School If you want to sign up for any of these events, please contact me at jbernardis@comcast.net or 609-466-4238. Jeff Bernardis, Outreach Coordinator

4.

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Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton Newsletter

April 2009 galaxy. They are located some 35 million light years away. The image was taken through a Meade F6.3 SCT OTA from my home using my Canon DSLR and a 0.8x focal reducer/ field flattener for an effective focal length of 1000mm. Total time was 25 x 5 minutes sub exposures which were processed using ImagesPlus3 and Photoshop CS2.

Treasurer's Report
We are now three-quarters of the way through our fiscal year, and the AAAP remains in stronger financial shape than some major corporations. Dues are about equal to their level last year roughly 100 members. Because there have so far during the fiscal year, our year-to$3,504. This will decrease when needed observatory roof area. at this time, representing been no major expenses date surplus is strong at repairs are made to the

The AAAP's cumulative surplus is $18,447. Michael Mitrano, Treasurer

From the Program Chair
On April 14th, our guest speaker will be Neta Bachall. Her talk is titled "The Content of the Universe" or ("What is the Universe Made Of?"). Professor Bahcall received her B.S. in physics and mathematics at Hebrew University, an M.S. in physics from the Weizmann Institute of Science, and her Ph.D. in astrophysics from Tel Aviv University. Professor Bahcall is best known for her work in cosmic cartography, divining the structure and properties of the universe on large scales from massive sets of data accumulated through deep surveys of the sky and with the Hubble Space Telescope. She has been a pioneer in developing innovative techniques to interpret astronomical data, including a statistical approach to understanding how giant clusters of galaxies are distributed in the universe. Professor Bahcall has authored or co-authored nearly 300 scholarly papers during her career, and is the recipient of numerous honors and awards. Distinguished Research Chair, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Ontario, Canada (2009­Current), Elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1997, she was a Nobel Lecturer at the Nobel Symposium in Stockholm in 1998, Capital Science Lecturer at the Carnegie Institution of Washington in 2000­01, Century Lecturer of the American Astronomical Society from 1999 to 2004, and a Distinguished Research Chair, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Ontario, Canada (2009­Current). Dr. Bachall is currently the Eugene Higgins Professor of Astrophysics in the Astrophysics department at Princeton University. Please join us in Peyton Hall on April 14th. Ludovicio D'Angelo, Program Chair Brian Van Liew

Interested in keyholder training?
Contact: kane@princetonastronomy.org or by cell phone (609-273-1456)

Other News...
Stokes Star Party "New Jersey" and "dark skies" are not usually companions within the same sentence, but the Stokes Star Party has begun a tradition of taking advantage of the remaining dark skies in the Garden State. Nestled up in the far Northwest corner of the state is Stokes State Forest, inside of which is found the 240-acre abode of the New Jersey School of Conservation. Owned and operated by Montclair State University, this tract of land is preserved as an environmental extension station for the College of Science and Mathematics at MSU. As such, this site has become an ideal setting for star-gazing under night skies that are the least obstructed by light pollution in the state. With the coordination of John Miller (Pearl Observatory, Gillette, NJ) for the Spring event and Ron Mittelstaedt (Princeton Astronomy Club) for the Fall event, and a handful of other dedicated observers, the Stokes Star Party has become a semi-annual event and a "right of passage" as both the first Northeast Star Party of the calendar year and one of the last. The spring event will be held April 24-26. Additional details at http://www.teeterstelescopes.com/stokes. Galileo, the Medicis and the Age of Astronomy The Franklin Institute will be hosting an exhibit from April 4 thru September 7, 2009. The exhibit marks the first time that one of two remaining telescopes built by Galileo has left Italy, In addition to the telescope the exhibit contains astrolabes, compasses, surveying tools, and sun dials. There are galleries relating to optics and optics theory. There's even an opportunity to reproduce Galileo's observations and understand the limits of the telescope he designed.

Picture This--Leo Trio
Here is a grouping of galaxies that can be seen from a dark sight as I have viewed them in an 8" Dob in NJ. Consisting of M65, M66 and NGC3628 these galaxies are located as the title says in the constellation Leo. All are normal spiral galaxies, but NGC 3628 is seen edgeon, with a prominent dust lane obscuring the central portion of the

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April 2009

Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton

20 Years Ago In Sidereal Times...


Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton Newsletter

April 2009


April 2009

Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton

The best way to get to the observatory is to take Interstate 95 South towards Pennsylvania. Then take Scotch road at Exit 3 and proceed north (this amounts to right). Then, at the third traffic light take a left onto the Washington CrossingPennington road (County Route 546). Take this road to the first traffic light and take a right onto Trenton-Harbourton road (County Route 579). Take this road to the first driveway on the left, this is the Phillips Farm/Soccer Field entrance to the park. There is a series of three gates with club combination locks. If the gates are not open, you will need the lock combination to open the gate or be accompanied by a Keyholder member. The Simpson (AAAP) Observatory's phone number is (609) 737-2575.