Amateur Astronomers' Association of Princeton
The Amateur Astronomers' Association of Princeton (AAAP) is
a nonprofit organization of people in the central New Jersey and Bucks
County, Pennsylvania, area who share an interest in astronomy.
Formed in 1962, the club promotes astronomy-related activities for
members and nonmembers. More than 100 persons of all ages and from all
walks of life, with levels of expertise from amateur to Nobel Prize winner,
belong to our association. Annual membership dues are $24.
Programs
Monthly Meetings are the second Tuesday of the month from
September through June and are open to the public. Meetings are at 8 p.m.
in Peyton Hall on Ivy Lane in Princeton. A short business meeting for
members follows the program.
1996 Winter/Spring Program Schedule
- January 9. Dr. H. Paul Shuch, Executive Director of the SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) League,
Searching for Life Among the Stars.
- February 13. Dr. Tad Pryor, Rutgers University,
Hubble Space Telescope Observations of Globular Star Clusters.
- March 12. Dr. Gordon Bjoraker, NASA,
Kuiper Airborne Observatory Observations of Comet Crash and Jupiter.
- April 9. Karl Hricko, amateur astronomer,
What is the ARP Connection? . . . Amateur Hubble Observations of a Galaxy and Quasar.
- May 14. Dr. Edward Fitzpatrick, Princeton University, topic to be announced.
- June 11. Held at the New Jersey State Museum Planetarium in
Trenton, and includes a special planetarium show given exclusively for the
AAAP.
Services
John W. H. Simpson Observatory, located in the Washington
Crossing (NJ) State Park near the Nature Center, is owned by the club for
use by the membership. The observatory houses a 6" refractor and a 12.5"
Newtonian reflector. Both telescopes are on motor-driven equatorial mounts,
and the 12.5" is equipped for astrophotography. For convenience, the
observatory has a toilet (summer use only), a heated "warming room" in winter
and a telephone.
The observatory is open for use at anytime for any member who is a keyholder.
Keyholders must take a short course in observatory operation and agree to
accept scheduled duty on a Friday night about once every six weeks.
The observatory is open to other members and for visits by the general
public every clear Friday night.
Starwatches are usually scheduled as a monthly activity for
members. These may include astrophotography training or "starhopping"
to find catalogued nonstellar objects. Messier marathons are often
scheduled in the spring as an all-night activity. These are excellent
opportunities to learn your way around the sky.
UACNJ Observatory, a northwestern New Jersey dark-sky
observatory site in Jenny Jump State Park,
is accessible to members through our association with the United Astronomy
Clubs of New Jersey.
Sidereal Times is the official publication of
the AAAP and is published 11 times annually (September through June and
midsummer). Club news and events are listed along with articles of
astronomical interest. All members are encouraged to contribute.
Classified ads are placed free of charge for members selling
astronomy-related items.
Discount Magazine Subscriptions to Sky & Telescope
and Astronomy are available through the AAAP. Members can
subscribe through the club to one magazine for $24 or both for $48.
Expertise of AAAP members can be found in such areas as
astrophotography, telescope making and CCD astronomy, offering the perfect
opportunity to meet people who share your interests and who can help you
acquire new skills.
Special Events
Jersey Starquest is our annual weekend convention held in
June at a dark-sky observing site in North Jersey. The
Seventh Annual Jersey Starquest will be held June 14-16, 1996.
New Jersey State Museum Events give the AAAP the
opportunity to work with the Planetarium in support of Super Science Weekend and
Space Day. Displays at these events help promote astronomy and the
club.
Public Starwatches are held several times throughout the year in conjunction
with programs at the New Jersey State Museum Planetarium. Members are encouraged to
bring their telescopes to the observatory and share their enthusiasm and
knowledge with visitors.
Field Trips to places of interest to members may include
such sites as observatories, planetaria and aerospace firms. Field trips
may also be organized to observe such special celestial events as eclipses.
Return to
| Princeton Almanacs
|
For more information, contact:
Amateur Astronomers' Association of Princeton
P. O. Box 2017
Princeton NJ 08543
Phone (609) 737-2575
E-Mail AAAP Director Vic Belanger at rjs dad715@aol.com
This page last updated November 1995.