Fwd: Help Take Astronomy On The Road

[Rick Hanton]

A brief message I was asked if I could forward about a sidewalk-astronomy project.  Read or support if interested.

- Rick Hanton

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jay Horowitz
Date: Mon, Apr 4, 2011 at 11:06 AM
Subject: Help Take Astronomy On The Road - A New Project To Share Science Across The Country
To:

Hi there!

 

My name is Jay Horowitz and I’m excited to tell you about a project I have started, and to ask for your help in spreading the word:

 

I want to share telescope views of the skies with people all over the country.

 

In New York City I founded a successful sidewalk astronomy group. I also volunteered as a telescope operator and educator at an observatory, and taught astronomy in the Dominican Republic.

 

I want to take science on the road in 2011 and 2012. To that end, Astronomy On The Road is collaborating with Kickstarter, an up-and-coming internet startup,

to raise money for a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, a solar telescope, and fuel for transporting the telescopes between locations. We will provide free views of the skies in schools, libraries, and on city streets all over the United States.

 

Kickstarter projects offer prizes for donors, which for this project include lunches with:

 

·       Author and science writer Jonah Lehrer

·       Skeptoid podcast host and producer Brian Dunning

·       Dr. Geoffrey Marcy, discoverer of more exoplanets than any other person

·       Director of The Large Binocular Telescope Observatory Dr. Richard Green

·       MacArthur Fellow, Shaw Prize winner and Chair of Princeton University’s Department of Astrophysical Sciences Dr. David Spergel

·       Dr. Massimo Pigliucci, editor in chief of Philosophy and Theory in Biology, prolific author, and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Lehman College

 

Your help will give thousands of people the opportunity to see firsthand the universe in which we live, turning young minds on to the power of science and sparking curiosity and awe in adults.

 

The telescopes will always be used for public education and will never be for private use, even down the road. I hope that you can help out by contributing and spreading word of this project to your club members and friends.

 

With thanks,

 

Jay Horowitz

project founder, Astronomy On The Road

@AstroOnTheRoad

 

 

--
Rick Hanton
SEDS-USA Chairman
Senior in Computer Engineering, Iowa State University
Twitter: rack88
about.me/rickhanton
Skype: hantonr
Phone: 651-747-5864