United Astronomy Clubs of New Jersey, Inc.
 International Astronomy Day
Saturday, May 10, 2003

Held at: Warren County Branch Library, Route 46, Hackettstown
from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., and at the
UACNJ Observatory, Jenny Jump State Forest, Hope
from 7:30 to 11:00 p.m.

Astronomy Presentations
(At the Warren County Branch Library, Route 46, Hackettstown)
  • 1:30 - "The Weather on Other Planets"
     This will be a unique presentation of the weather conditions existing on the other planets of our Solar System. Comparisons will be made between the Terrestrial and the Jovian planets, relative to their atmospheric makeup and dynamic effects. It will be interesting to see which planets we would like to visit.
    Ann Anderson - Sperry Observatory, Union County College

  • 2:30 - "The Search for Life on Mars"
     The prospect of life on the planet Mars has,always been a possibility in the minds of astronomers and philosophers. This presentation not only raises the issue of possible past microbial life, but introduces new findings about the age old mystery of life on this red planet. This mystery is worth solving.
     Alan Witzgall, New Jersey Astronomical Assoc., Voorhees State Park

  • 3:30 - "Motion and Distance in Space"
     You will be taken on a virtual trip through the depths of space. Motions of celestial bodies, and distances between them will be demonstrated using familiar Earth experiences. These large unimaginable parameters will be scaled down to a more manageable context of motion and distance in our space and time. Take the tour.
     Mark Shoengold, Amateur Astronomers, Inc.

(At the UACNJ Observatory at Jenny Jump State Forest)
  • 8:00 - "The Drake Equation and Search for ET"
     This talk addresses the issue of "Where should our search for Extraterrestrial intelligence be directed?" This is done by focusing on the physical and environmental conditions necessary for life to exist on some planet around some star, and then the probability of that life developing into a civilization capable of communicating. Let's find out where this might be.
     Jeremy Carlo, Columbia University

Solar Observing - Observing the Sun (filtered) in the afternoon.

Astronomy CCD Display - Images of the deep sky - Galaxies, Emission
                     and Absorption Nebulae, Open and Globular Star Clusters, etc.

UACNJ Member Club Displays - Astrophotography, Antique Astronomy
                     items, CCD Imaging, and other Projects, and the .7-meter mirror.

Evening Star Party - View Jupiter and Saturn and deep-sky objects
                     through the observatory's 16-inch Newtonian, as well as a variety
                     of UACNJ observer telescopes (weather permitting).

Astronomy on Sale - Books, Maps, observing materials & information,
                     and other astronomy items will be available at the observatory.

This is an event by amateur astronomers for the public interested in astronomy. Admission is free. Fundraising events are: sales desk, and refreshment stand. All money raised from this event goes to the UACNJ Building and Maintenance Fund to help support the UACNJ Observatory and Education Center. The UACNJ is a non-profit tax deductible educational organization.


Download an MS Word document of the program Here

The Warren County Branch Library is located at 63 Route 46 just west of Hackettstown,
or 4.5 miles east of the Rt.46-Rt.611(Great Meadows-Hope Road) 'T' intersection.
Observatory Directions