EDUCATION

The Panhandle Astronomy Club has been selected by NASA to be a member of the Night Sky Network, a nationwide coalition of amateur astronomy societies committed to sharing their time, their telescopes, and their enthusiasm for astronomy with their local communities.  The Panhandle Astronomy Club will receive several Outreach Toolkits from NASA which are designed to help amateur astronomers promote astronomy through public astronomy nights, during classroom visits, at youth group events and at other public events catering to students of all ages.

Membership in the Night Sky Network includes training for club members, special opportunities for working with NASA scientists and educators, access to a dedicated website for communicating with other Night Sky Network participants and public recognition by NASA for their outreach activities.

"NASA is very excited to be working closely with the amateur astronomy community," said Michael Green, head of public engagement for NASA's Navigator Program based at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena California.  "Amateur astronomers want more people to look at the sky and understand astronomy, and so do we.  We have a strong commitment to inspiring the next generation of explorers.  Lending support to the energy that the amateur astronomy community brings to students and the public will allow NASA to reach many more people."

For more information go to http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov