The Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton is pleased to announce that their monthly lectures will continue on Tuesday, November 8 at 7:30 p.m. in Peyton Hall on the Princeton University Campus. The lecture this month is “From Accreting Black Holes to Merging Galaxies: Using Computers to Study Astrophysics” by Dr. James Stone, the new Chair of the Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University.

The ever increasing performance of computer hardware and improvements to the accuracy of numerical algorithms are revolutionizing scientific research in many disciplines, but perhaps none more so than astronomy and astrophysics. This talk will begin with a description of why computation is crucial for the solution of a variety of problems at the forefront of research in astronomy. Most of the talk will describe how computers can be used to solve important problems, from understanding stellar dynamics, to how black holes grow over cosmic time.

James Stone is the Lyman Spitzer, Jr. Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics and chair of the department of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University, with a joint appointment in the program in applied and computational mathematics (PACM). He received a PhD in astronomy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1990 and was a postdoctoral research associate at UIUC for two years before joining the faculty at the University of Maryland in 1992. In 2002 he was elected to the Professorship of Mathematical Physics (1978) at Cambridge University, and moved to Princeton in 2003.

The Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton is an organization of over 80 members with interests in all aspects of astronomy and space science. Founded in 1962, the AAAP promotes a wide range of astronomy-related activities. The group owns and operates two observatories in New Jersey at Washington Crossing State Park and Jenny Jump State Park. Members include avid observers, armchair investigators, and novices. All share a common love of the sky.

Complete meeting details and directions are found at www.princetonastronomy.org.