Do you love astronomy and astronomy outreach? Well you’ve come to the right place! The NASA Night Sky Network (NSN) program started in 2004 to assist clubs with their outreach efforts. Our goal is to help clubs in their efforts to bring the wonders of space and NASA science to communities - like yours!
 

Benefits of Membership

Once in our system, all NSN clubs are provided with a free set of web-based tools to help them manage their volunteers and events, including the following:

• Contact Page with basic club information
• Event calendar (which you can customize and even embed into your own website) featured on the NASA website alsong with a nationwide list of astronomy clubs.
• Club roster management including messaging, RSVP, and volunteer hours tracking
• Database containing your club's history of events, membership, and preferred locations and contacts

In addition, Active Clubs are elligible to:

• Receive Outreach Toolkits automatically! 
• Request free outreach materials from NASA and other partners
• Request NASA speakers twice a year (check your email in January and July),
• Honor members with annual outreach pins.
• Receive Member Discounts on popular astronomy magazines (login required for many of these) Read on for more info! 

Active Club Coordinators can honor their volunteers with annual award pins and certificates of merit - the theme of which changes every year.

The Astronomy Outreach Toolkits are perhaps the most visible feature of NSN membership. These are small, portable toolkits filled with simple and effective astronomy outreach resources and activities, designed specifically for use by astronomy clubs in a variety of environments. NSN Toolkits are perfect for club meetings, public star parties, schools, scouts, libraries, and other various events held during day, night, indoor, outdoor, during good and bad weather - anywhere! You can also download and use outreach materials from our Outreach Resources section: we have presentations and handouts that work well for both virtual and physical events! 

While these resources are free to NSN member clubs, we count on you to share how you use them: Club Coordinators must report on at least 2 events per quarter or 5 events per year to stay Active. Find out how to get active here. 

 

 

Photo courtesy the Astronomers of Humboldt/Rebecca Chambers

Why are we so focused on receiving event reports from members? When members tell us about their events, that information helps inform us and NASA about the various kinds of outreach that astronomy clubs are performing help us determine what outreach materials are most successful in the field - not to mention, they show the extent of each club's participation in the NSN program.


Other Perks: Webinars, Articles, Sky Charts and More!

Outreach Toolkits may be the most famous benefit of NSN membership, but what else do we offer to members? Plenty!

We offer members-only monthly webinars with NASA scientists working on the latest missions. Members are also offered “enrichment” webinars focused on education and outreach: citizen science participation, inclusive ways to work with young girls and diverse audiences, featured toolkit activities, and shared outreach stories and techniques. While some of these may be streamed to the public via YouTube, NSN members are prioritized during question-and-answer sessions.
 

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One of our favorite traditions is the annual Outreach & Service Award Pins, which features fresh designs for every year. Club coordinators can award their hard-working club members with pins and certificates for all their hard work in outreach and other services for the club's activities. Every NSN club that reports on the minimum number of events for the year qualifies for three (3) free pins. Some folks have accrued quite an impressive collection of pins over the years due to their hard work! 

 

If your club has a newsletter, we offer articles that are free for use with credit. We have an archive of perennial articles, along with fresh monthly content called Night Sky Notes, focused primarily on basic stargazing concepts, celestial events, sky maps, along with NASA history and upcoming mission news. 

When available, active clubs also receive printouts from NASA and other science partners, discounts on astronomy magazines, and the ability to request “refresher” materials from toolkits - all offered to clubs with event reports and club contact information is up to date.

Photo courtesy Astronomical League

There is a whole lot to the Night Sky Network - both the program itself and the website! To help coordinators new and old, we regularly update our Club Coordinator Tips section to help navigate it all. 
 

Photo courtesy the Northwoods Explorers of Space and Astronomy/Jim Head

The Night Sky Network is a success only because of all the hard work, innovation, and fun that Member Clubs – like you! – have contributed to over the years. If this sounds interesting to you, and your club is not yet a member, or even may have been a member in the past, please contact us!  Check out our FAQ section for more details starting the application If you have any questions, please send them to nightskyinfo@astrosociety.org, and we will respond as soon as possible.
 

Wishing you all the clearest of skies,
Viv + Kat
Night Sky Network Administrators

 

Photo courtesy the Brazos Region Astronomy Service Society/Morgan

 

Last Updated: February 29, 2024

Follow us on Facebook, X (formally Twitter) and Instagram for the latest NSN news and outreach photos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for recordings of monthly astronomy webinars and archives of our outreach toolkit demonstration videos. You may use the hashtags #NightSkyNetwork and #AstronomyOutreach to find us!

 

Night Sky Network (NSN) member clubs are dedicated to bringing the wonders of space and NASA science to folks across the USA.NSN program participation provides clubs with tools and resources to assist in their public outreach. 

 

 

The NASA Night Sky Network is managed by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The ASP is a 501c3 non-profit organization advancing science literacy through astronomy.