The International Year of Astronomy is coming to a close, but we are continuing onward! Join us this evening for excellent stargazing from 8pm to 10pm at Inwood Hill Park. We'll be at the baseball diamonds at Seaman and Isham Street, out in the middle. Dress very warmly, because it'll be cold, but the cold nights are always the best for stargazing! The air is clear and still, without the humidity that robs us of the starlight. Tonight, Mars will be up in the sky when we are outside, as well Orion the Hunter. We'll see beautiful star clusters, as well as the distant Andromeda Galaxy. Go to the main website for a map of our location.

Our plans for the year are great. We plan to repeat the Inwood Star Fest where the lights were turned off in Dyckman Fields. We also plan to hold an AstroSchool in the Summer evenings under the stars, learning introductory astronomy in a topics-based class. The Uptown Planetarium will also continue featuring the latest on the 15 current NASA Missions. Finally, we are working on a program called The Galilean Knights; an astronomical social-tweetup under the stars.

About Jason Kendall

I am the NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador for New York City. I hold a Master of Science in Astronomy from New Mexico State University and am currently adjunct faculty at William Paterson University. I have led numerous "starwatching parties" and astronomy events in New York City, New Mexico, Minnesota and Texas. It all started way back in the fourth grade by the encouragement of two noted astronomers, Charles Schweighauser and Bart Bok. I saw Saturn through Charlie's telescope at then Sangamon State University on a clear Illinois night, and Bart encouraged me under those stars to study hard to come visit him at Kitt Peak National Observatory. I finally did make it down there about a decade after Bart passed away, and I found the favorite spots in Tucson, Arizona, where Bart and his wife Priscilla would spend when they were not gazing at the stars. Bart and his wife were pioneers in the study of the Milky Way, and their studies of the starforming regions called Bok Globules. It's even in my family. My great-grandfather was a Midwestern minister who used to preach his sermons out under the dark, cloudless nights. He always believed that getting out and experiencing the wonders of the natural world was a central part of being human. My family has always been inspired by his words: "We look up to look within." I hope that you'll join me under the stars or at one of my talks.

Come see what's up in the sky!

Jason Kendall
NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador to New York City

The Inwood Astronomy Project is thankful for the support of the NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors Program, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the New York Public Library, the International Year of Astronomy and the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York


We look up to look within