What is so special about The International Year of Astronomy?

A great deal! The year is passing by so don’t miss out on the beautiful images being sent to earth. Portal To the Universe http://www.portaltotheuniverse.org/ gives you live up to date coverage from spectacular international telescopes. The photo at the right shows an image from NASA’s Space Telescope. You see a coiled galaxy with an eye at the center that is located 50 million light years away. The eye at the center is really a large black hole surrounded by stars. It is fascinating to study because new stars are forming at a very fast rate. You may not be able to see this clear formation through your own home telescope but there are many fascinating objects that will be in your view.

Galileo invented the telescope 400 years ago. There have been many celebrations last summer and we continue to honor this great man by expanding on his vision and developing more complex telescopes. So, why not use them..…go observe! NASA presents us with brilliant images that are guides to finding them on your own.

In September, look for Jupiter. Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. 1610 was the year Galileo discovered four of Jupiter’s moons. Can you see them? Modern telescopes have found that there are 63 moons of which four are large.

Andromeda is visible in October and all you need is your eyes or binoculars. This enormous galaxy of stars, gas, and dust is predicted to collide with our own Milky Way galaxy in billions of years.
Watch in November for the Crab Nebula. First seen by Native Americans and Chinese astronomers who recorded a bright star that could be seen during the day in 1054 A.D. What they were seeing was the death of a star which eventually formed the Crab Nebula we see today.

The Orion Nebula which can be seen in December is thought to be disks of material that could be building blocks of future solar systems. You can see it on a dark night with your eyes, but will see so much more with a telescope.

FETTU – From Earth to the Universe – is an exhibit of astronomical images that is at the center of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA). It was at the Smithsonian last summer and traveling versions are being seen in 60 countries throughout the world. To find out if it is coming to your city you can visit

Amateur astronomers are helping to celebrate IYA. Consider Mark Sieble of Michigan, builder of Mark’s Tin Shed Observatory (I’d like to see that!) who captured an image on June 12, 2009 that will be used as part of the U.S.’s contribution to a project capturing photographic sections of the moon taken from 40 countries. Moon for All Mankind, a collection of these images is being assembled to honor the first space landing on the moon forty years ago. http://365daysofastronomy.org/ another informative site you might want to bookmark is a daily pod cast produced in honor of IYA.

Are you or someone in your family ready to be an amateur sky watcher? Children can start sky watching with a sky chart in hand, their own eyes, and binoculars. As they get a bit older they will enjoy exploring with an inexpensive telescope, learning how to use and take care of a piece of scientific equipment. Books abound with Greek Mythology that makes finding Orion’s belt or Hercules interesting. Inspirational books show magnificent, color enhanced images, explain how to purchase a telescope, and where to find assistance when you need it. The more serious amateur astronomer will use detailed charts to help in their exploration. Astronomy clubs are fun to join because you meet others like yourself. As a spectator you can take advantage of their free star parties. A visit to the planetarium also helps the novice who wants to understand the local night sky.

Those who get bitten by the astronomy bug will want a more sophisticated telescope with precision optics and perhaps even electronics to help track the object of choice. Imagine yourself on a clear dark night watching the night sky light up in all its beauty. And….imagine that you know what you are looking at and can find and name the images. You can do it…astronomy is a great hobby and can give you hours of fun.

Items that wil stimulate your family's interest in astronomy include: Start Theater, a planetarium for the home; Nightwatch, the reference of choice for backyard astronomers; Starship Earth, a globe of outer space explores the universe; Telescopes at many price points; Crystal Orb paperweights of the solar system. a piece of a real meteorite that that fell in 1947; Clestial Globe shows constellations by night, a Solar System light that orbits in your room; and many more.