Professor Michael A’Hearn of the University of Maryland will be the keynote speaker at tonight’s meeting of the Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton.
The meeting begins promptly at 8 p.m. in the main lecture theater of Peyton Hall on the Princeton University campus. The public is invited.
Professor A’Hearn’s talk on cosmic collisions is titled "Deep Impact: Excavating Comet Tempel 1."
As the scientific principal investigator for NASA’s Deep Impact Mission, Dr. A’Hearn is responsible for the mission’s overall success in meeting its science objectives.
Dr. A’Hearn will discuss the current state and rapidly evolving understanding of the structure, evolution and composition of Comet Temple 1 while trying to solve the mystery of what conditions were like in the early solar system.
Asteroid 3192 A’Hearn is named in honor of his contributions to cometary science. He is a traditional astronomer by training and enjoys observing the stars and sailing the high seas.
The Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton is an organization of over 100 members with an interest in all aspects of astronomy and space science. The group owns and operates two observatories in New Jersey. Members’ experience range from Nobel laureates in astronomy and astrophysics, to the occasional armchair investigator and complete novice.
Complete meeting details and directions may be found at www.princetonastronomy.org.

