2013 Events Schedule
We are open to the public the 4th Saturdays of February, March, April, May and November. Between Memorial Day and Halloween we are open every Saturday night from 8:30 to 10:30 and every Sunday from 2:00 to 5:00.All General Meetings occur on the fourth Saturday of the month, are open to the public and begin at 8:30PM. Our Young Astronomer's programs will be held the second Saturday of the month from May through October and will feature hands-on activities. Many additional activities will be offered throughout the year, we have something to offer every Saturday of the summer. During and following public programs telescopes will be open for public viewing until 10:30 PM, weather conditions permitting. Note that the speaker events will be held rain or shine.
All NJAA events are open to the public unless otherwise stated. Schedule subject to change.
WINTER HOURS UPDATE
The NJAA is closed to the public in December and January.
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Presentation Handout |
Saturday, February 23, 8:30pm
Laura Newburgh - Princeton University
"Measuring the Cosmic Background Radiation"
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Presentation Handout |
Saturday, March 23, 8:30pm
Jason Kendall - NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador"Curiosity: Seeking Habitable Locations on Mars"
The Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity, landed successfully on Mars in Gale Crater on August 6th 2012. Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity found
overwhelming evidence for liquid water on Mars' surface in the past. Did life arise on Mars long ago?
Jason Kendall is the NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador for New York City. Jason holds a Master of Science in Astronomy from New Mexico State University and is adjunct faculty at William Paterson University. He led numerous "star-watching parties" and astronomy events in New York City, New Mexico, Minnesota and Texas. He is also a volunteer at the American Museum of Natural History. Jason's research has included Galactic distributions of A stars and photon propagation during the Early Universe.
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Presentation Handout |
Saturday, April 27, 8:30pm
Dr. Saurabh Jha - Rutgers University"Supernovae and the Accelerating Universe"
Dr. Jha's main research focus is the observational study of Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia). He is interested in understanding the properties of these exploding
white dwarf stars: their progenitor systems, how they explode, and using this knowledge to turn them into tools with which to survey the Universe.
He joined the Rutgers astrophysics group in September 2007. Previously, he was a Panofsky Fellow at the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, a Miller Fellow in the University of California, Berkeley Department of Astronomy, and a graduate student at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Saturday, May 25, 8:30pm
Laura Venner - Beuhler Challenger and Science Center Bergen Community College"Astrobiology: The Search for Life"
The question: "are we alone?" has been pondered by many individuals around the world. Space agencies are vigorously trying to answer that question and
are dedicating portions of their missions to finding life. This lecture will introduce audience members to some amazing creatures that would make good
space faring candidates and will delve into some of the planetary objects that may have the right stuff to support life. Laura is a science educator at
the Beuhler Challenger and Science Center and the Meadowlands Environmental Center in addition to her position as an adjunct professor of Astronomy at
the Bergen Community College. You may also have seen her as a lecturer at the American Museum of Natural History and Hayden Planetarium
Saturday, June 22, 8:30pm
Dr. Haym Benaroya - Rutgers University and author of Turning Dust To Gold"Expanding Our Civilization to the Moon and Beyond"
Dr. Benaroya is a leading proponent of establishing settlements and bases on the Moon and Mars. With the Moon a mere three days away it would be an
excellent training ground for farther space travel. His recent book, Turning Dust to Gold: Building a Future on the Moon and Mars, won the 2012
Best Engineering Science Book Award of the International Academy of Astronautics. "Space, whether we or our children live in it or on the Moon or Mars,
will be important to all of us because of the resources it will open for our industrial societies and for the markets it will create."
Saturday, July 27, 8:30pm
Paul Cirillo - NJAA Member"What's Next for Human Space Travel?"
With the Space Shuttle retired, NASA has partnered with several private corporations to develop technologies that will put cargo and people into Earth
orbit.
This presentation will describe the exciting and adventurous plans of several private companies as they build rockets and spaceships to make traveling into space a routine commercial business! Paul is a speaker on Astronomy and Space topics and has had a lifelong interest in astronomy and space travel.
Saturday, August 24, 8:30pm
TBA
Saturday, September 28, 8:30pm
Dr. Lucianne Walkowicz - Princeton University"Magnetic Stars, Space Weather and Life"
Dr. Walkowicz studies magnetic activity in the atmospheres of cool stars and stellar effects on planetary habitability using data from NASA's Kepler
Mission. As a Kepler Fellow for the Study of Planet-Bearing Stars her work involves validating or rejecting exoplanet candidates. "We have to understand
how life affects our planet," she says. "That's how we will infer the existence of life." In addition to being the Henry Norris Russell Fellow at Princeton
and a 2011 TEDGlobal Fellow she is an accomplished artist and graphic comic book creator.
Saturday, October 26, 8:30pm
NJAA special event TBASaturday, November 23 8:30pm
Alan Witzgall - NJAA member"Comets and the Approach of Comet ISON"
The NJAA operates on leased premises administered by The State of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Parks and Forestry