Amateur Astronomers
Amateur astronomers around the world focus their time and telescopes on public outreach within their communities. From hands-on activities at the eyepiece to research on astronomy club culture, the ASP is committed to creating resources to support their volunteer efforts.
NASA Night Sky Network
The NASA Night Sky Network is a community of more than 450 astronomy clubs across the U.S. that share their time and telescopes to engage the public with unique astronomy experiences. The ASP provides training and materials to enhance clubs outreach activities, and inspires more than four million people through their participation in 30,000+ plus events.
Interested in astronomy? Find your local club and events.
Already a member of a club? Access free resources.
Looking for informal astronomy activities and demos? Look no further.
Started in 2004 with the PlanetQuest office, the ASP has administered the Night Sky Network for NASA JPL, working with missions and Mission Directorates to bring the science of NASA to the amateur astronomy community.
Girl Scouts Stars
The ASP is partnered on a NASA Cooperative agreement to create new astronomy badges for Girl Scouts, connect them with their local astronomy clubs, and train amateur astronomers to make their outreach more girl-friendly.
Find out how to provide better outreach with girls through our Resources for Working with Girl Scouts page.
Eclipse Megamovie
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific led the volunteer effort for this historical project, working with Google and UC Berkeley to create a movie of totality over the entire 90 minute path across the US.
Sharing the Universe
Legacy Program
Sharing the Universe was an NSF research grant dedicated to researching the culture of astronomy clubs and identifying solutions to address the challenges of effective and sustained public outreach.
Resources to increase your Club’s Outreach and In-reach include:
- Tips for Stellar Presentations (Videos and Activities)
- Growing Your Astronomy Club (Videos and Resources)
The Sharing the Universe project is funded by the National Science Foundation and is supported by the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) of the National Science Foundation under Grant Number DRL 0638873. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in the material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Resources for Amateurs
Informal activities and demos for amateurs and beyond
Resources for Growing Your Astronomy Club
New to outreach? Check out these Tips for Stellar Presentations
