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Founded in 1927, Amateur Astronomers Association, Inc. promotes the study and public awareness of the cosmos through observing, education, outreach, astrophotography, and more. Every membership & donation helps us to provide awe-inspiring programming for all to enjoy.

"I study the universe at its very earliest and most energetic/catastrophic using a pair of instruments at the South Pole (the South Pole Telescope and the IceCube
Neutrino Observatory) "

"What don't you see when you look at the night sky? Starting from what
you see with your eyes looking up at the sky, I will talk about things you might not have thought about (why is the sky black?) and what else
is in the sky that you cannot see, from the Big Bang to stellar explosions."

Sign up here:

https://www.bklynlibrary.org/calendar/teen-time-stargazers-host-park-slope-library-20241203-0600pm

Welcome to the 2025 Mars Innovation Challenge!

Explore Mars, Inc. is thrilled to announce the 2024/2025 Mars Innovation Challenge, open to K-12 students (ages 5-18) worldwide.

This challenge, which can be undertaken individually or in teams, centers on developing innovations that help humans thrive on Mars and emphasizes the alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which are vital for life on Mars and have significant relevance to Earth’s sustainability.

The Mars Innovation Challenge invites students to engage in cutting-edge problem-solving related to future Mars exploration, with a focus on three key areas:

1) Martian Planetary Protection,

2) Human Medicine & Genetic Modifications

3) Martian Sample Return Integrity

Participants should also incorporate exploration ethics and the 7 Generations Principle. This Native American principle urges us to consider the long-term impacts of our actions on future generations—specifically, how today’s decisions will affect people living seven generations from now.

The challenge, in collaboration with @Thrive Games and their #blockchain game Thrive on Mars, encourages participants to be creative and practical, addressing real challenges for future Mars inhabitants.

In combination with a $1500 cash award, the winning innovation will be featured in the THRIVE ON MARS game, offering an exciting opportunity for young innovators to impact both space exploration and global sustainability!

Registration and Submissions ARE NOW OPEN! The challenge CLOSES February 28, 2025!

More than 2,700 names from 96 countries have been narrowed down to 10 finalists by a panel of astrophysicists, students, actors, a well-known science guy and more, and now everyone can vote for their favorite!

The winning name will become the official name for the celestial object currently known as 164207 (2004 GU9), which will be a quasi-moon of Earth for roughly the next 600 years.

Votes can be submitted (1 per person) at Radiolab’s website (https://radiolab.org/quasi-moon) through January 1, 2025.

This is a great opportunity to engage patrons with science in a fun way, and could be a great intro to an already scheduled science program, an excuse to hold a special pop-up science program (see below for some easy, moon-themed projects from science maven Leah Golubchick), or just a great passive program with a sign at the reference desk explaining and linking to the contest (see displayable flyer template attached).

Create Moon Story

• The names for the Quasi-moon are inspired by folklore from across the world. Using this resource, children can learn about different moon stories from other cultures, then create their own.

Some other activities you can offer at your branch:

• Moon Observation Journal

• Moon maps to identify what you see

• Build a Moon Base Camp Lego activity – using Legos to build a base camp, then adapt your base to solve “challenge cards”. This activity calls for some pretty specific bricks, but can be adapted to a regular Lego set.

Booklists:

• Books about the Moon Booklist for young children. 

• All branches should also have a copy of Moonbear’s Shadow, which, while focused on the sun, does talk about shadows changing with the light. 

• And don’t forget our great Eclipse booklists from April: Adult Nonfiction reads, and Total Solar Eclipse of the Heart YA list

To visualize how big planets, stars and galaxies are (and also how small cells and atoms are) you can scroll to zoom in or out and click on objects to learn more about them: https://htwins.net/scale2/

And to learn more about the Rubin Observatory you can have a look at the website: https://rubinobservatory.org