moon phases

  posted 2/6 S P E C I A L   A N N O U N C E M E N T posted 2/6  
Mars Night will be held on the scheduled rain date, February 13th.


NJAA 26 inch telescope, the largest in NJ regularly open to the public seven men with varied talents and unyielding resolve formed the New Jersey Astronomical Association - a not for profit corporation dedicated to bringing astronomy to the general public. They devised and executed a plan to build an observatory, bringing the wonders of space to the people.
    Today The Paul H. Robinson Observatory - which houses the largest telescope in New Jersey open to the public - is located in Voorhees State Park - stands as a monument to this effort. Our membership consists of people from all walks of life who share a love of astronomy.

Does astronomy in New Jersey interest you or your family?

Stop by the Paul Robinson Observatory on any public evening and see what one of our qualified observers can show you. Click here for hours of operation.


A cluster of newborn stars come into bloom within a rosebud-shaped nebulosity (NGC 7129) 3300 light-years away. Good thing this florist delivers! Instead of being raised in a nursery, this rose is itself a nursery - a stellar nursery. A recent census of the cluster reveals the presence of 130 young stars. The stars formed from a massive cloud of gas and dust that contains enough raw materials to create a thousand Sun-like stars. In a process that astronomers still poorly understand, fragments of this molecular cloud became so cold and dense that they collapsed into stars.

Object Type: Star formation region in reflection nebula
Constellation: Cepheus
Distance: 3,300 light years

2/8 - New Sunspots Could Produce Space Storms
A new group of spots is traversing the face of the sun. Sunspot group 1045 is an active region that has produced moderate (M-class) solar flares. full story
2/6 - Hubble images site of possible asteroid collision
The mystery of a comet-like object circling among the main-belt asteroids has deepened, now that astronomers have slewed the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) over for a close-up look. full story
2/5 - New Hubble Maps of Pluto Show Surface Changes
NASA today released the most detailed set of images ever taken of the distant dwarf planet Pluto. full story
2/4 - Saturn mission 'extended again'
The US space agency Nasa has extended the international Cassini-Huygens mission once again. The unmanned Cassini-Huygens probe arrived at Saturn in 2004 on a mission that was meant to come to end in 2008. full story
2/3 - Suspected Asteroid Collision Leaves Odd X-Pattern of Trailing Debris
Hubble Space Telescope has imaged a mysterious X-shaped debris pattern and trailing streamers of dust that suggest a head-on collision between two asteroids. full story
2/2 - Alien Dust Kicked Up By Baby Planet Collisions
In the search for other planetary systems like Earth that are capable of hosting extraterrestrial life, scientists have come across some very alien systems indeed. full story
2/1 - NASA Moon Program Cut From White House Budget
President Obama's new plan for the space program will point NASA in a new direction, according to the Associated Press. full story

The NJAA operates on leased premises administered by The State of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Parks and Forestry