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The Spectacular Spring SkyBy

Joyce Watson

Enjoy watching fireworks in the summer?Each spring the heavens offer spectacular fireworks–meteor showers. The Lyrid meteor showers take place from April 16 to April 25. This meteor shower appears to originate in the constel-lation Lyra. In ancient mythology Lyra the lyre, was the musical instrument of Orpheus. Orpheus was a gifted minstrel who saved Jason and the Argonaunts in their quest for the Golden Fleece by drowning out the sounds of the Sirens with his playing. The best time to view the Lyrid showers is on April 22 when the hourly rate could be as high as 18 meteors per hour. If you are viewing the shower early in the evening, look near the horizon in the northeast. Look higher in the sky as the evening progresses.

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The constellation Lyra with Vega, its brightest star appearing in the upper right corner . Vega is one of the most beautiful objects in the

spring/summer evening sky.

Spirit of the JerseysAnnual History Fair

Back by popular demand – more of New Jerseyʼs his-torical figures will be wandering through the fair grounds. Keep an eye out for Molly Pitcher, Walt Whitman and Elizabeth White, who developed the first cultivated blueberry. Remember to get their autographs for a chance to win one of the many scavenger hunt prizes. Resources from all of NJ Parks and Forestryʼs historic sites will be highlighted throughout the fair at Washington Crossing State Park. Activities include open-hearth cooking, period dancing and music, storytelling, 18th and 19th-century childrenʼs games, weaving, quilting and much more. Try your hand at paper marbling or make your own 19th-century toy. There will also be displays, lectures and videos to enjoy. Watch the reenactments of Mottʼs Artillery and walk through the camps of the Frontier Guard. Children can participate in performing the drills. The event is scheduled for Saturday May 7, 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., rain or shine. Admission is free. Events will be scheduled throughout the park. The Nature/ Interpretive Center will feature flintknapping, primitive technologies and Native American lore. Access to the Nature Interpretive Center will be via the soccer field / group campsite entrance on Bear Tavern Rd. or via hay wagon shuttle from the main section of the park near the Visitor Center. For further information call (609) 737-9303.

NATURE’SGrapevine

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection e Division of Parks and Forestry

WASHINGTON CROSSING STATE PARK, NJ Spring 2005

Volunteer Notes

Greg Baber, Yardley, and the Burgos Family, Morrisville, (Cheryl, Rich, Sara) helped out with our Maple Sugaring presenta-tions.

Nettie Rekowski, Ewing, Came in to staff the Nature/Interpretive Center in January.

The Swan Historical Foundation (SHF) recently purchased the PASTPERFECT museum software pakage for the use of park staff in the WCSP Visitor Center. The SHF leases the Swan collection to the Visitor Center/Museum. The Swan collection contains over 600 wonderful artifacts from the Revolutionary War era. The new software will aid in the management of the collection.

Josh Kandebo, a history major at Rutgers University, interned at the Johnson Ferry House. In addition to assisting as an histoiric interpreter, Josh researched 18th Century boats and river crossing locations. He gathered enough information to produce a draft bro-chure on the types of vessels used for Washingtonʼs famed 1776 Delaware River crossing.

Anyone interested in an internship in WCSP should contact us.

Around the Park

✿ The park has recently been using a four foot high portable sign to get the message out about different events that you can take part in. This sign will be moved around to different areas of the park to keep you informed of upcoming events or, to just let you know about general park information.

✿ The cold crisp nights and relatively cool days of late winter gave rise to a banner maple sugaring season in WCSP. The parkʼs sugar maples provided the heaviest sap fl ow weʼve seen in years. Hundreds of visitors came out to enjoy the spectacle of trees giv-ing up sap during our group and public sugaring events.

Spring Sky (continued) The ideal time to watch meteor showers is from 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. when most house lights are out and the earth is turning into the meteor stream. Choose a dark spot. If you can see each star of the Little Dipper, your eyes have “dark adapted” and your chosen site is dark enough for you to see plenty of meteors provided the sky is clear. “Treat meteor watching like you would the 4th of July fi reworks. Pack comfortable chairs, bug spray, food and drink, blankets, plus a red-fi ltered fl ashlight for reading maps and charts without ruin-ing your night vision” is the advice given on www.stardate.org. The Lyrids are the oldest meteor showers for which observa-tions are recorded. They were observed in ancient China over 2,000 years ago. The Lyrids parent body is Comet Thatcher, discovered in New York in 1861 by A. E. Thatcher. The comet returns to our area of the solar system every 415 years. Thatcherʼs last closest approach to the Sun occurred in the year of its discov-ery. As comets approach the sun, debris is cooked off of their icy mass by solar energy. These particles lag behind the comet forming a trail or stream, which can persist for centuries after the comet passes. The Earth travels through these cometary debris trails each year at the same time of year as the planet orbits the sun. Particles from the cometʼs stream strike the earthʼs atmosphere at very high speeds and burn up giving rise to frequent quick bursts of light hence, a meteor shower.

This 4 hour time exposure through a fi sheye lens during the 1998 Leonids shows the meteors appearing to originate from a single point

in space.(photo by Juraj Toth of Modra Observatory)

Natureʼs Grapevine Spring 2005


history. Spica is 220 light years from earth and has more than 2,000 times the luminosity of the Sun. Working your way westward looking above you, back toward the Big Dipper, you will find the constellation Leo. Leo is one of the few zodiacal constellations that are easily visual-ized as the object for which it is named, a lion. When the stars are connected, the Lion appears to be reclining like the Egyptian Sphinx. An exciting meteor shower occurs in Leo each autumn from November 13 to 20. Maximum viewing is on November 17. Observers recorded a peak rate of 40 meteors per second during the 1966 Leonids. From Leo, arc toward the horizon in the west and you will locate Gemini with its two brightest stars Pollux and Castor. These twins were among the heroes who sailed with Jason in the quest for the Golden Fleece. They helped save the Argo from sinking during a storm, so this constellation is much valued by sailors. Gemini also contains a bright open star cluster, which is beautiful when observed with binoculars. With binoculars you can also study two planets in the spring sky this year – Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter will be in the constellation Virgo during April and May. On April 22, around 8:00 p.m., you can locate Jupiter near the Moon in Virgo. Jupiter is over 300 times the mass of the Earth and about 2.5 times the mass of all the other planets in our solar system put together. It is the dominant planet in the Solar System and the first studied by Galileo through his telescope. Saturn will be in Gemini in the spring. With binoculars the rings are not distinguishable but the elongated shape makes it unmistakable. Saturn is a memorable sight. The yearʼs first lunar eclipse is a penumbral event as viewed from most of the Western Hemisphere. On April 24 the Moon will pass through the Earthʼs penumbral shadow. A penumbra is a partial or imperfect shadow. This will cause only a slight darkening on the top of the Moon just before it sets. Use your binoculars to magnify your view of the subtle color change. Another lunar event – a partial eclipse – occurs on October 17 of this year. Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are completely safe to watch and have been studied for centuries. It was during an eclipse in the fourth century B.C. that Aristotle observed that the shadow of the earth on the lunar surface was curved and conclud-ed that the Earth must be spherical. According to Fred Espenak (www.mreclipse.com) from 2000 B.C. through 3000 A.D. there are 7,718 eclipses of the moon (partial and total) with 0 to 3 oc-curring in a year. The last time three total eclipses occurred in one calendar year was in 1982. So, grab binoculars (7 X 50 is recommended), a good star chart, a red-filtered flashlight (red cellophane over the front works well) and go out to enjoy the spectacular spring sky.The Washington Crossing State Park Nature/Interpretive Center will offer several astronomical programs this year. Solar Ob-servation will be available on Sunday May 1, and Sunday May 15. Telescopes will be set up on site 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. for the purpose of safely viewing solar storms and other events on the sun. Two summer night hikes will feature naked-eye sky observations. The first will be on Friday July 8, at 8:30 p.m.



A meteor shower from a better known comet, Halleyʼs, occurs April 21 to May 12 near the constellation Aquila, the Eagle, which takes its name from the bird that belonged to the Greek god Zeus. Two major novae have occurred in Aquila in re-corded history. (a nova is a white dwarf star that brigthens when gas pulled from a companion star explodes). The first in A.D. 389 was as bright as Venus and the second, in 1918, was brighter than Altair, Aquilaʼs brightest star. The best day for viewing the Eta Aquarids shower is May 5 with a maximum of 35 meteors per hour possible. Early in the evening look southeast near the horizon. Look higher in the sky as the evening progresses. A great way to study the sky is via locating bright stars and then by star hopping through the constellations which are patterns made by connecting the bright stars. Records show that, from antiquity, civilizations have given names to conspicuous patterns of bright stars. Today 88 patterns-- constellations-- are recognized. Many originated in Mesopotamia and were further developed by the Greeks. Ptolomy listed 48 in the second century AD and the rest have been added since 1600. In 1930 there was an international agreement among astronomers to define the boundaries of the 88 recognized constellations, dividing the sky into 88 areas.

Look north and find the Little Dipper whose handle points left in the early evenings of spring. The cup of the Little Dipper spins counter-clockwise as the night progresses and the constellations rise in the east and set in the west. At the end of the handle, is Polaris, the North Star. Polaris seems to be stationary as the heavens spin around it. In early evening put your eyes on Polaris and then visually track higher in the sky to the Big Dipper which contains the double star Mizar and Alcor in the middle of its handle. When viewed with binoculars, Mizar and Alcor are clearly visible as two separate objects; however, it is possible to see them as a pair of stars with the naked eye, as well. Go to the end of the Big Dipperʼs handle and extend the handleʼs arc with your eyes to the east to locate Arcturus, the brightest star in Bootes, the herdsman, awarded a place in heaven for inventing the plow. Then, continue the arc higher in the sky to locate Spica, the bright star in the constellation Virgo, the only female figure among the constellations of the zodiac and thought to represent an array of deities since the beginning of recorded

Open AirTheatre

Washington Crossing State Park, New Jersey

42ND ANNUAL SUMMER FESTIVAL OF MUSIC AND DRAMA • 2005

Much Ado About Nothing ..................June 9-11, June 16 - 18By Shakespeare ʻ70

1776..................June 23 - 25, June 29 - 30, July 1 - 2By Actors Net

Once Upon a Mattress......July 7 - 9, July 13 - 16By Playful Theatre

Annie Get Your Gun........................July 21 - 23, July 27 - 30By Yardley Players

Into the Woods.....................Aug 4- 6, Aug 10 - 13By The Pennington Players

The Wizard of Oz...........Aug 18 - 20, Aug 24 - 27By Stars in the Park

Curtain Time is 8:00 p.m.* Note - House will open at 7:30 for general admis-sion *

Box Office opens 6:00 p.m. on performance dates only

(609) 737-1826

Washington Crossing Association of New Jersey

The second will be on Saturday August 6, at 8:30 p.m. Each of these programs will be contingent of course, on good weather and clear skies. Our annual seminar “Introduction to Amateur Astronomy” will take place on five Friday evenings in Sep-tember and October. Specific dates will be announced in the summer edition of Nature s̓ Grapevine. The Amateur Astronomy Association of Princeton operates an observatory in the park and it will be opening this spring on select Friday evenings for public viewing. Call (609) 737-2575 for more information on the AAAP observatory. The author would like to thank Karl Krasley, the presi-dent of the Chesmont Astronomical Society and Louis Zelle, a member, for their time and patience. Their contributions greatly enhanced this article. Visit the Chesmont Astronomical Society on the web at www.chesmonastro.org. ______________________________________

Joyce Watson, a freelance writer, supplies nonfiction and fiction to local newspapers and magazines. For 29 years she divided her time between teaching and writing. Now she divides her time between writing and operating a used bookstore. She and her husband own and operate Indian Path Books located on Rt. 23 about 15 miles west of Val-ley Forge National Park in Pennsylvania



Spring ProgramsAT THE NATURE/INTERPRETIVE CENTER

The following is a list of activities being offered through the Interpretive Center at Washington Crossing State Park in Titusville, NJ. Some programs are offered free without registration requirements; some will require advanced registration as indicated below. A fee will be charged to motor vehicles entering the park on weekends and holidays 5/28 - 9/5 (Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day). All programs will initially meet at the Interpretive Center unless otherwise indicated. Attendance is limited and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. All children must be accompanied by an adult. In the event of inclement weather, some programs might be canceled. It is always advisable to call ahead before coming out. Phone: (609) 737-0609.

FAMILY NATURE WALK (All Ages) Sunday April 3, 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. An informal naturalist guided trail walk Free

PINE BOARD BIRDHOUSES (6 - 11 yrs. old) Sunday April 10, 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. With the breeding season underway, several species of common cavity-nesting backyard birds will be looking for places to nest. Come out and build a simple nest box that will accommodate these feathery critters. Bring your own hammer. Advanced registration required, call (609) 737-0609. Materials charge: $ 5.00.

SPRING PARK HIKE (9 yrs. - adult) Sunday April 24, 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. Sample the splendor of early mid-spring including wild-flowers, fresh foliage, wildlife, and some infrequently explored sections of the park. on this 3.5 - 5 mile hike in WCSP. Bring drinking water, a snack and spend the afternoon enjoying the landscape. Advanced registration required. Free.

SOLAR OBSERVATION ( all ages) Sunday May 1, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. View magnetic sun storms safely through special filters on two telescopes. Observe sun spots, solar flares, prominences and other solar phenomena Learn how these storms can affect the earth as well as other interesting facts about Earthʼs closest star. Free. Clear skies required

STREAM STOMP (6 yrs. - adult) Sunday May 8, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Come out for a wet hike as we follow a park stream in search of crayfish, salamanders, caddisflies, frogs, minnows and other stream inhabitants. Advanced registration required. Free.

SOLAR OBSERVATION ( all ages) Sunday May 15, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. View magnetic sun storms safely through special filters on two telescopes. Observe sun spots, solar flares, prominences and other solar phenomena Learn how these storms can affect the earth as well as other interesting facts about Earthʼs closest star. Free. Clear skies required

WILD EDIBLE PLANTS (3 yrs. - adult) Saturday May 21, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Participants will learn to identify and prepare some of the many native and introduced plants which earlier inhabitants of the area used to supplement their diets. This program will be led by plant lore enthusiast Pat Chichon of Lambertville. Bring a pair of plant clippers and a garden trowel Advanced registration required after 4/19 Materials charge: $1.00 per participant

PRETZEL JAR TERRARIUMS (all ages) Sunday May 22, 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. The forest floor is a fascinating community with its own unique woodland wildflowers, ferns, mosses and other organisms. Join us and build one of these ecosystems in a jar to take home. Advanced registration required. Materials charge: $1.50.

FAMILY NATURE WALK (All Ages) Sunday May 29, 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. An informal naturalist guided trail walk. Park ve-hicle entrance fee applies.

COMPASS BASICS (9 yrs - adult) Sunday June 5, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Participants will learn everything they ever wanted to know about the protractor compass. They will then use their new found skills to navigate a compass course that will take them over hills, across streams, along trails and through forests to a mysterious hidden site known as “Haunted Hollow”. Advanced registration re-quired after 5/3. Bring a protractor compass if you have an instrument of your own. If not, we will provide one. Park vehicle entrance fee applies

FAMILY NATURE WALK (All Ages) Saturday June 18, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. An informal naturalist guided trail walk Park vehicle entrance fee applies.





STREAM STOMP (6 yrs. - adult) Sunday June 19, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Come out for a wet hike as we follow some streams in search of crayfish, salamanders, caddisflies, frogs, minnows and other stream inhabitants. Advanced registration required after 5/17. Park vehicle entrance applies.

GROUP ADVENTURE ACTION EXPERIENCE COURSE (9 yr - 13 yr olds) Sunday June 26, 1:30 - 4:00 p.m. The children will become characters in an adventure survival story and work their way through this low elements ropes course as a group, solving problems as they go, within the confines of the story. Advanced registration required after 5/24. Park vehicle entrance applies. Bring drinking water. Advanced registration required after 2/24. Free

Spring PROGRAMSAT THE VISITOR CENTER/ MUSEUM

Call (609) 737-9303

VIDEO - THE 1ST NEW JERSEY REGIMENTS SCHOOL OF THE SOLDIER. Saturday, April 2, 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The public is invited to observe a Revolutionary War Reenactment Regiment train and prepare for battle. The event is free and will be held at the Visitor Center Museum.

VIDEO - THE BATTLE OF MOORES CREEK. Saturday, April 2, 2:00 PM. This 13-minute video interprets one of the earliest and important battles in North Carolina, February 27, 1776.

VIDEO - KINGS MOUNTAIN, NMP. Saturday, April 9, 2:00 PM. This 20-minute video interprets the American victory on Octo-ber 7, 1780 against Patrick Fergusons Loyalists.

VIDEO - DAYBREAK AT THE COWPENS.” Saturday, April 16, 2:00 PM. This 20-minute video interprets the important Ameri-can Victory at Cowpens, South Carolina on January 17, 1781.

VIDEO - ANOTHER SUCH VICTORY: THE BATTLE OF GUILFORD COURTHOUSE. Saturday, April 23, 2:00 PM. This 30-minute video recreates a costly British victory in North Carolina on March 15, 1781.

VIDEO - SIEGE OF YORKTOWN. Saturday, April 30, 2:00 PM. This 15-minute video describes the siege that ended on October 19, 1781 with the surrender of General Cornwallis British army, which virtually guaranteed the inevitable successful conclusion to the American Revolution.

NEW JERSEY FRONTIER GUARD & COLONIAL LIVING HISTORY ALLIANCE ENCAMPMENTS. Saturday, May 7 & Sunday May 8, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Visitors can enjoy an 18th century encampment by New Jerseyʼs colonial militia, which defend-ed the western settlements of Sussex County prior to the American Revolution. The arts and crafts of frontier life and defense can be observed throughout the day.

CROSSING DIORAMA PRESENTATION. Saturday, May 28, 2:00 PM. Visit the Stone Barn opposite the Johnson Ferry House for a Crossing Diorama program. Park vehicle entrance fee applies.

SCHOOL OF ARTILLERY. Saturday, June 11, 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM & Sunday June 12, 1:00 PM - 3:00. This school is for Revolu-tionary War Reenactors, but the public is invited to observe gun firing demos, drills and gun movements during the times listed above.



SPRING PROGRAMSElsewhere in the Park

SPIRIT OF THE JERSEYS ANNUAL HISTORY FAIR (all ages) Saturday May 7, 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Come and discover New Jerseyʼs history. Celebrate the centennial of the state forests. Enjoy period games, crafts, living history demonstrations, tours, food, music and more. Events are located throughout the park. The Nature/Interpretive Center will be featuring prehistoric primitive technology demonstrations and Native American presentations. For more information call (609) 737-9303. or visit www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/historic

NATURE’SGrapevineNatureʼs Grapevine is produced quarterly by:

This newsletter is available free of charge. Requests to be included on the mailing list may be made by con-tacting the Nature/Interpretive Center.

Phone..........(609) 737-0609Fax...............(609) 737-0627Email............1washxing@superlink.netHours............Wed - Sat 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Sun 12:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Closed Mon and TuesWebsite........www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/ parks/washcros.html

Resource Interpretive Specialist& Newsletter Editor......Wayne Henderek

Reprographics..............Janssen Pharmaceutica Titusville, NJ

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

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