Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton - New Jersey's premiere astronomy club

Club Meetings: 2008 - 2009 Schedule

AAAP meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month (September through June) at 8 PM. Members and guests gather at a spacious lecture theatre in Peyton Hall on the Princeton University campus. Click here for directions to Peyton Hall.

There is usually a 6:00 PM pre-meeting dinner at Sotto a local Princeton restaurant; members and guests are welcome and encouraged to attend. Here, individuals get a chance to chat with the evening's guest speaker, and get to know their fellow AAAP members. For further information about attending the pre-meeting dinner, contact our Program Chair Ludy D'Angelo.

Regular attendees of the lectures are encouraged to become paid members to support these popular speaking events. Please email the AAAP for additional details.

Below is the current roster of outstanding speakers and topics scheduled for the 2008 - 2009 season. Click on links within the table for additional information. Be sure to check back here often, as our itinerary fills out, this schedule will be updated. For additional details regarding the guest speakers, contact the AAAP Program Chair, Ludy D'Angelo.

Here is a list of speakers from previous seasons.

2008 - 2009 Season	Speaker	Topic
September 9	Michael Lemonick - Princeton University	How an 18th-century musician invented modern astronomy
October 14	Fred Schaaf - Sky & Telescope	People and the Stars
November 11	Jonathan Mitchell - Institute for Advanced Study	.
December 9	Jerry Sellwood - Rutgers University	The Dark Side of the Universe
January 13 -- 2009	To Be Announced	.
February 10	Geno Segre - University of Pennsylvania	.
March 11	To Be Announced	.
April 14	To Be Announced	.
May 12	To Be Announced	.
June 9	To Be Announced	.

$Come view the universe through our beautifully restored Hastings-Byrne refractor. One of two scopes at the Simpson Observatory.$
Simpson Observatory Open Houses
Our public nights season resumes April 4, 2008.

The Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton opens its observatory to the public starting Friday, April 4th, this year. We are proud to announce expansion of the open house schedule to every Friday evening, April 2008 - October 2008, weather permitting. Please refer to the schedule below in the blue box. Anyone interested in the night sky is invited to visit. Non AAAP members are welcome and there is no fee. Here is a sky map to bring along!

Please note: Children must be accompanied by an adult. Due to restricted space and nature of the equipment, children must be closely supervised by parent or guardian.

Located in Washington Crossing State Park, the observatory houses a beautifully refurbished 6.25" Hastings-Byrne refractor and research-grade 14" Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector. During our open house season, guests can mingle with amateur astronomers to view a myriad of celestial objects. Members frequently bring smaller instruments and set up around the main observatory. Guests are invited to do the same! Have questions about visiting the observatory? Email us -- we'll be glad to help!

The observatory phone is 609-737-2575. You may call, if weather is variable, to see if we will open.

2008 Public Night Dates at Simpson Observatory

April 4, April 11, April 18, April 25,

May 2, May 9, May 16, May 23, May 30, June 6,

June 13, June 20, June 27, July 4, July 11, July 18,

July 25, Aug 1, Aug 8, Aug 15, Aug 22 Aug 29,

Sept 5, Sept 12, Sept 19, Sept 26, Oct 3,

Oct 10, Oct 17, Oct 24, Oct 31

---- Observatory phone: 609-737-2575 ----

DIRECTIONS TO THE OBSERVATORY

To confirm you are visiting on a public night, please call the observatory at: 609.737.2575. If the observatory is open for that evening, a AAAP staff member will answer. If the weather is questionable, and you keep getting the observatory answering machine after (the time of) sunset, it is likely the public night has been cancelled. However - clear nights permitting - we very much look forward to showing you some of the extraordinary sights in the universe.

Look who's back ! ------------------------------------->

The observatory is open for use at any time for members who are observatory keyholders (keyholders are required take a course in observatory operation and agree to be active with scheduled duty on public starwatch nights). AAAP members may contact observatory keyholders at any time to arrange an appointment to use the Simpson Observatory.