Star Party at the White House and Other Upcoming Events

By Nancy Atkinson - October 5, 2009 at 12:13 PM UTC | Site News
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On Wednesday, Oct. 7, there will be an historic first at the US president's home: a star party. From a White House press release:

"The President and First Lady will host an event at the White House for middle-school students to highlight the President's commitment to science, engineering and math education as the foundation of this nation's global technological and economic leadership and to express his support for astronomy in particular - for its capacity to promote a greater awareness of our place in the universe, expand human knowledge, and inspire the next generation by showing them the beauty and mysteries of the night sky."

About 20 telescopes will be set up on the White House lawn focused on Jupiter, the Moon and select stars, and supporters of the International Year of Astronomy are encouraged to follow this event, and host their own star parties to follow the example set.

There will also be interactive dome presentations, and hands-on activities including scale models of the Solar System, impact cratering, and investigating meteorites and Moon rocks. If haven't been invited, you can participate by watching on NASA TV, or streaming on the White House website, starting at about 8 p.m. EDT. Even if clouds or rain intervene to prevent telescopic viewing, attendees will still have plenty to do.

The White House Star Party is just one of many family-friendly astronomy events and activities happening this fall. Among the others:

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October 4-10

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World Space Week

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October 9

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NASA's LCROSS impact on the Moon

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October 13

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  • Hubble's Amazing Rescue premieres on PBS on NOVA

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October 9-23

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Great World Wide Star Count

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October 19-25

-- Fall Astronomy Week, including Fall Astronomy Day on Saturday, October 24, organized by the

Astronomical League.

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October 22-24

-- IYA2009

Galilean Nights global star party

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November 10-30

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NASA's Great Observatories image unveiling

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com