The Joys of Astronomy Outreach
A Panel Discussion
Most amateur astronomers are passionate about our hobby, and this passion leads many to share their joy of observing the night sky with others. At first, we might share the night sky with friends and family. Many of us will also volunteer to participate in organized outreach events. The positive feedback we get from the public, and the excitement we see in the faces of the school children we introduce to the night sky motivates some to find ways to organize new astronomy outreach events in new locations.
HAS has a long history of doing astronomy outreach events for various schools, clubs, and civic organizations around the Houston area. For newer members, participating in these events is a great way to learn from other more experienced members, while forming relationships within the Houston astronomy community.
At our December 1st regular meeting (via Zoom) we will hold a panel discussion about astronomy outreach. You will meet several of our members who are fully involved in doing astronomy outreach in different ways and at different locations. Each of them will describe what they do to engage the public and introduce them to the night sky and why they do it. All of the panelists will give short presentations and will answer questions from those attending the meeting.
Our panelists are:
Dan Roy
Dan is the Chairperson of the HAS Education and Outreach Committee. In this capacity, Dan has responsibility for organizing and supporting HAS outreach efforts.
Several years ago, Dan and his wife Rebeca established the “Astronomy in the Park” outreach program at Rustic Oaks Park in League City. This program is run without fail regardless of the weather. Both Dan and Rebeca were awarded the Texas Star Party Omega Centauri Award which recognizes them for their contributions to public astronomy outreach.
Amelia Goldberg
Amelia and her husband Steve Goldberg, both long-time members of HAS have been active in astronomy outreach, literally for decades in the Houston area both at the George Observatory and at many public events throughout the year. Amelia is very recognizable with her pink telescope, which she crafted to attract the attention of young girls who may be attending the events.
Both Amelia and Steve are recipients of the TSP Omega Centauri award.
Jeff Lepp
Jeff took an astronomy class as an elective in college back in the 80s and as a result, he developed an interest in amateur astronomy. Jeff acquired his first telescope during the drought of 2011 when it was clear almost every night and then quickly became interested in astrophotography. He joined FBAC in 2013 and has been active in supporting club outreach both at schools and at the George Observatory. Jeff is also a long-time member of both HAS and FBAC.
When COVID-19 threatened to shut down outreach at the George Observatory, Jeff adapted the outreach program there to use current astronomy technology to show the night sky to the public using a camera and a computer monitor. This innovation has been extremely successful and kept outreach going at the George when other programs were shut down.
Don Adams
Don is a relatively new member of HAS. He first became interested in astronomy when he was a kid out in West Texas in the town of Wink, and his dad bought a telescope for the family. The skies there in the 1950’s were quite dark and he became fascinated by the night sky. He still remembers lying in the grass just looking up at the stars.
More recently, Don’s interest was rekindled about three years ago when he discovered the HAS and became an active member. His enthusiasm for astronomy has led him to organize a new regularly held outreach event at John Paul Landing Park in Cypress TX (north of Katy). This event is held monthly in cooperation with the park and has become quite popular in a short period of time.
This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom. To attend, you must register for the meeting. You can do so using the link below. You will receive an email with the details of the meeting and a link that will allow you to join in.
General meeting Zoom registration link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/
You only need to register once!
Join us Friday, December 1st, 2023, at 7:00 pm CDST. See you then!
