Are You Ready to be Inspired?

All across the country you'll find amateur astronomers sharing their knowledge and passion about the night sky with others. Hear how these kids with Night Sky Network clubs became excited.

At a star party in Massachusetts, Bob Magnuson of the Astronomical Society of Southern New England , had this comment about the goings on that evening: "As the event was ending, I pointed my 15" telescope on the Crab Nebula, in the constellation of Taurus. Two girls about 10 years old asked us what we were looking at. When one of them studied the eyepiece for a considerable amount of time, she suddenly said that she saw the tiny smudge that I was describing. While I talked to her about supernovae, she went back for another look, and said 'Wow, a blown-up star. I thought that only happened in movies.' Then she ran off to her parents literally yelling 'I saw a blown-up star!! It was so cool!'"

Bernie Hosko of the Willingboro Astronomical Society , told us about a unique event entitled After the Prom, that was held at Sun Valley High School in Pennsylvania, in conjunction with the dedicated parents and faculty of the school. "The Club provided a safe post prom activity and environment for students. The theme was Outer Space. We were on hand to show views of the Moon and Saturn. Saturn is always a crowd favorite as attested to by the many wow's we heard throughout the evening."

In Pennsylvania, the Berks County Amateur Astronomical Society, held a Star Party at Northwestern Middle School. After the event, Barbara Geigle had this to say: "During the star watch, the International Space Station went over and we stopped to watch it. The kids were amazed that we knew when and where to look for it. My favorite moment was when a young girl looked at Saturn through my scope, then said 'I didn't use to like science, but this is really cool. Can we do this every year?'"

Are you ready to be inspired? Click here and contact your local astronomy club.

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