“My job let’s me do some of the most awesome things. One of those things is narrating planetarium shows.My 2nd planetarium show is premiering Oct. 4 at the Ward Beecher Planetarium in Youngstown, OH on the YSU campus. We’re taking advantage of this event to also host a fundraising dinner with proceeds going to the creation of more shows just like this one.

Get your tickets now!

Every other night this show is shown, admission will be completely free! This show was produced using funds from the National Science Foundation, and Ward Beecher keeps it’s doors open thanks to an endowment and thanks to donations and grants like the one that produced this show. I love this idea: Raise money to pay the costs associated with producing content, and then give it away. It is our hope that we’ll be able to keep producing more planetarium shows, and that we’ll also be able to get this show and others like it out to a broader audience by allowing the show to be used at no cost by other planetariums around the world. Yes, you read that right: the show will be distributed at no cost so that your local planetarium can use it to help teach you about Cosmic Castaways.
If you’ve never heard of a cosmic castaway, don’t worry you’re not alone (if you were, we wouldn’t have needed to produce this show!) Cosmic Castaways are the stars that are torn our of galaxies through the gravitational interactions of systems that are either merging or passing near one another. If you want to learn more, you’re just going to have to go see the show (or wait for it to be available on our new website, Science on the Half Sphere on CosmoQuest.”
View your Cosmic Castaways Invitation [PDF]

This annual telescope and education fair includes solar viewing, displays, classes, meteorites, history tours, optional dinner & keynote lecture, and nighttime viewing.
A full day of awesome astronomy for adults, kids, teachers, everyone.
General admission is $6/adults, $4/kids for 12-5pm events, and 9-11pm events.
Reservations Required for Keynote Speaker and Dinner, add $20.
Contact:
The Cincinnati Observatory Center
3489 Observatory Place Cincinnati, Ohio 45208
(513) 321-5186 (513) 321-8771 fax

A fully functioning 19th century observatory, the Cincinnati Observatory is one of the most unique astronomical institutions in the United States. Located atop the rolling hills of Mt. Lookout, the Observatory is home to the world’s oldest telescope still in use nightly by the general public. Two National Historic Landmark buildings and the beautiful grounds provide a peaceful park-like setting and is centrally located in the city of Cincinnati.

Do you count how often you use a search engine per day? Do you think about the millions of searches resulting in advertisement money for Google, Yahoo and all the other companies? Do you ever wish you could re-direct some of that money to a charity and at the same time support your favourite astronomy project?

There’s a way to do that: GoodSearch.

The site relies on Yahoo to generate its search results, so there will be not much difference in what you’re already searching (and finding) today. But there’s a little difference in where the ad money goes: Part of their advertisement revenue (currently about $ 0.01 per search) goes to a US-based charity you select before starting to search.

And here’s how it works: Go to GoodSearch and enter “Astrosphere” in the charity search field on the main page (“enter your favorite charity or school here”). (Astrosphere New Media Association, based in Edwardsville, Illinois, is one of the non-profits responsible for producing CosmoQuest, Astronomy Cast, 365 Days of Astronomy and Telescopes 4 Teachers). When asked if you want to create an account, you can simply click “continue without registering” and you’ll be redirected to the main page, but now with part of the ad money from your searches going to Astrosphere (and feeding a hungry team of scientists & communicators, thus providing you with new and exciting projects).

If you chose to create an account (you can also register via a social network account), there are more ways to support CosmoQuest and Astrosphere: GoodShop and GoodDining (only available for those of you living in the United States).

Now, you may wonder if $ 0.01 per search (plus perhaps some shopping and dining) makes a difference. It does. If you look at the most successful fund-raisers via GoodSearch – both this year and in total -, the numbers are huge. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has raised more than $ 46,000 to date, and the Office of Letters and Light has raised more than $ 3,000 in a single year.

We’d love you to give it a try. If you like it, share it with your friends.

Every search counts.

(And we especially love it when you look up astronomy things.)

Very, yet holding moon dust was just the icing on the cake-of-awesome that was this year’s LASP CCLDAS New Media Practitioners workshop.

Other highlights include attending presentations by Alan Stern and Mihály Horányi.
ComosQuest Ice Investigators will know that Alan Stern is Principle Investigator (PI) of the New Horizons mission . CosmoQuest Moon Mappers should know that Mihály Horányi is at the forefront of Moon science, conducting experimental investigations for CCLDAS on dusty plasmas (Moon Dust).

Where will Alan Stern and his team send New Horizons after it’s Pluto fly by?
ComosQuest Ice Investigators are helping to “churn,” as Alan Stern puts it ,earth based telescope data into Kuiper belt object (KBO) data. KBO data will be used to decide where New Horizons goes next, and that place may well be a very exciting and interesting place.

After absorbing the voluminous content in Dr. Stern’s presentations, as well as his cogent and logical argument that Pluto should be designated a planet, this Astrosphere New Media team member came away with a deeper and growing understanding of the importance of the Citizen Science projects and Planetary science in general. The same applies for the entire workshop experience: From the gracious hospitality extended by everyone at LASP- from Communications and Outreach Specialist Marisa Lubeck to Director of Mission Operations & Data Systems Bill Possel, to the top notch presentations by the Southwest Research Institute’s Hal Levison, CCLDAS PI Mihály Horányi, and Ball Aerospace’s Richard Dissly, and including the extremely informative table discussions with my fellow attendees, there is no doubt here that the goals of the workshop were met and exceeded. Thanks to the work of the above mentioned, this more-often blogger/better informed science education facilitator now loves his job more than ever.

Hand modeling courtesy Dauna Colter

Be sure to catch the first few minutes of this one. We really do need to feed Preston.

Additionally, Astrospherevids has these other great videos:

*Weekly Space Hangout

Produced jointly with Universe Today, the Weekly Space Hangout brings together the news writers to talk about the news makers. New episodes recored every Thursday and posted soon after.

*Weekly Science Hour

Produced jointly with Planetary Society, the Weekly Science hour brings your lectures from and discussions with leaders in space science and astronomy. Episodes are hosted by Pamela Gay and Emily Lakdawalla on alternating weeks.

*Virtual Star Party

Produced jointly with the Cosmoquest team, who have built (and continue to expand) a network of amateur and professional astronomers who have telescopes they can share online. When the weather is willing and the telescopes are available, they hold awe inspiring Star Parties that bring viewers the skies of dawn, dusk, and everything in between.

To watch live, follow any of these on Twitter and/or Google+ and watch for announcements.

Again, we apologize for not having updated more often. Please take a look at the educational videos we provide. We think you will agree our time has been well spent.

Norwegian Jewel by Stilleben

Want to see the world (not) end in style?

Join Pamela & Fraser (and many others) on a cruise around the Caribbean celebrating the “(Not the) End of the World.”

We will be sailing on the Norwegian Cruise Lines “Norwegian Jewel.”

To book:
Call Zelda (305-931-4896)
and say “Astronomy Cast sent me“

Itinerary (link to details)

• Dec 16, 2012 Depart Miami
• Dec 17, Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas
• Dec 18, At Sea Fraser & Pamela record live with you!)
• Dec 19, Ochos Rios, Jamaica
• Dec 20, George Town, Grand Cayman
• Dec 21, Worlds Ends Cozumel, Mexico with excursion to ruins at Tulum
• Dec 22, At Sea (Fraser & Pamela record live with you!)
• Dec 23, Disembark in Miami

Anyone who travels as part of the Astronomy Cast group will get a special gift from us and will get a super secret Astronomy Cast schedule of events to augment all the awesome, scientific and skeptical events already planned for the cruise.

To join us, call:

Zelda Rosenthal   REMEMBER: Say “Astronomy Cast sent me“
Cruise Shoppe Operations in Miami, FL
(305) 931-4896

More Details on the Main Cruise Webpage.

On May 20, if you are lucky enough to be in the right place (and you have the right tools to do so safely), an annular solar eclipse will be observable. Annular solar eclipses occur when the sun and moon are directly aligned and the moon is near it’s apogee in it’s elliptical orbit. The moon thus appears to be a smaller disk than the sun, which shows around the moon as an annulus, or very bright ring. Making up only about one third of solar eclipses, these still-spectacular events do not show the sun’s corona like total eclipses.

The Academy’s site describes the Science Educator Award as recognition for “a distinguished individual or organization on the basis of outstanding contributions to science education or to the public understanding of science, engineering, or technology.”

Pamela’s innovative work here at Astrosphere, the large international following of Astronomy Cast, and her pioneering research in the field of science education are cited by the Academy as award-worthy merits.

One of Pamela’s colleagues at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, School of Education instructor Kathy Costello, expounds on Pamela’s merits, “Dr. Gay’s excellence in communicating science to the public is legendary. In fact, she is a veritable rock star at national and international astronomy gatherings. It doesn’t matter if she’s presenting a talk on astrobiology or a giving a live podcast at Dragon*Con, fans hang on her every word, and with good reason: She has a gift for interpreting the most difficult astronomy concepts to make them accessible to people of all ages. It is easy to see and share her passion for the topic of the day. Dr. Gay is the co-host, along with Fraser Cain of Universe Today, of the weekly podcast Astronomy Cast. Since August of 2006, Astronomy Cast has been bringing astronomy content to people around the world. Each month, listeners download over 300,000 shows, and it is consistently listed in the top 25 of the Science & Medicine section of the iTunes Music Library, truly a testament to her ability to clarify complicated themes and explain the significance of astronomy in today’s world.”

As a team member on a few of Pamela’s many projects, I’ve seen Pamela’s gift for making ‘difficult astronomy concepts accessible’ demonstrated often. Most recently, at our Yuri’s Night event, I was struggling, rather unsuccessfully, at answering a bright teenage volunteer’s question about why the solar system is oriented as an ecliptic plane rather than a sphere. Pamela came to my rescue and said “it’s like when you spin pizza dough,” and the young man instantly understood. Pamela makes the extremely challenging field of science education look easy, and that is the mark of the master.

-JS Rhea

Dr. Crockett’s research involves searching for planets around very young stars. It’s hoped that the results from this research will help constrain models of planet formation and lead to a better understanding of where, when, and how often planets form.

Chris is also passionate about astronomy outreach and education and will talk for hours about the Universe if you let him. And you can let him, by listening to his
Astronomy Word of the Week, once a week, on 365 days of Astronomy.

Avivah is an astronomer from Indonesia who works as a writer and communicator, with a keen interest in social science, philosophy, music, art, archaeology and history. She is involved extensively with astronomy communication with the public, enjoying the challenge of conveying complex ideas in an easy-to-understand manner. Before focusing herself in EPO and new media, she did research on dynamical simulations of planetary systems.

Joining Astrosphere, she hopes to engage  more people to understand the universe through online media. Other than astronomy, Avivah loves to travel and doing outdoor activities like camping and hanging out with friends in roadside cafes. She lives in Bandung, which is a high altitude location, making the weather pleasantly cool. Avivah maintains langitselatan.com astronomy blog in Indonesia language.

365 Days of Astronomy is a legacy project of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA), and in 2009 was a major project of the IYA.  All the podcast episodes are written, recorded and produced by people all around the world.

“During the past three years, we’ve shared astronomy with the world, and we’ve heard from many different voices in astronomy – from professionals and amateurs to those who just enjoy the all the incredible discoveries and beautiful images of our Universe,” said Nancy Atkinson, who is now an advising producer for the project.

During the previous years, 365 Days of Astronomy published one podcast for every day of the year.  In 2012, the podcast will combine new podcasts with “encore” editions of popular past shows.

The 365 Days of Astronomy podcast is now looking for individuals, organizations, schools, companies and clubs to submit 5 – 10 minutes of audio for the “new” daily podcasts which will air Monday-Friday. Participants can sign up to record just 1 episode or up to 12 episodes (one per month.)

People from every continent except Antarctica have submitted podcasts the past three years, and the 365 Days of Astronomy team encourages a more diverse population from even more countries to sign up for 2012.

To help facilitate that, 365 Day of Astronomy has a new Project Manager, who is based in Southeast Asia.

“We are hoping to increase our international voices, and have hired Avivah Yamani as our new project manager to help us in this goal,” said Dr. Pamela Gay, Executive Director of Astrosphere New Media, which is “home” to the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast.  “As in previous years, we are looking to sign up a variety of participants, from amateur astronomers, classroom teachers and students to scientists, science bloggers and big media companies.”

2012 continues the Year of the Solar System, which marks an unprecedented flurry of robotic exploration of space, and is the perfect opportunity for more of the public to become involved in creating podcasts to share astronomy with the world.

The 365 Days of Astronomy has gained a wide audience, and each podcast is heard by 3,000 – 10,000 listeners.  The project was awarded a Parsec Award in 2009 for “The Best Info-tainment” podcast in 2009, and was nominated for the “Best Fact Behind the Fiction” award in 2010.

The project is also asking individuals and organizations for financial support.

The podcast team also invites people and organizations to sponsor the podcast by donating $30 to support 1 day of the podcast, with your dedication appearing at the start of the show. For just $360, it is possible to sponsor 1 episode per month. Alternatively, you can also have a dedication message at the end of the show for a week, for a donation at the $100 level.  These donations will help pay for editing, and posting of the podcasts.

For more information visit:

365 Days of Astronomy: http://365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

Astrosphere New Media: http://www.astrosphere.org/

Year of the Solar System: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/yss/index.cfm

It’s not easy, but it’s rewarding. We will send you a cool “Podcaster” button if you like, but the real reward is knowing you have helped continue our Mission here at Astrosphere New Media Association. You will be more than a podcaster. You will be an Astronomy Communicator.

Carl Sagan said, “We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces.” A old Chinese proverb tells us “It’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness”.

From interpreting science and  technology, illuminating knowledge rather than lamenting ignorance, relaying the joy of appreciating the night sky, to explaining complex astrophysics; the whole spectrum of Astronomy awaits your voice as a guide to others. Please, visit http://365daysofastronomy.org/join-in/ and add your voice to the 365 Days of Astronomy.

Gear with a flare for education

Astrogear provides astronomy gear with a flare for education. We are the sole provider for items that support the projects of Astrosphere New Media Association such as Astronomy Cast and 365 Days of Astronomy. All proceeds support their efforts to increase science education on a global scale. As we gain further support, we will begin offering more items for other projects. We appreciate your support and hope you will come to us for your future astronomy gear needs. We have a few 3XL TeeShirts available now for a limited time. Just order the shirt of your choice selecting 2XL and note in the order you actually want the larger size. Our shipping department (that’s me) will see it though.

Click the GEAR link at the top of the page.

LeAnn Jensen!

Pamela joins other featured speakers Lawrence Krauss, Elizabeth lofts, Phil Plait, Bill Nye, and Neil De Grasse Tyson for this years conference entitled TAM 9 FROM OUTER SPACE.

People from all over the world attend TAM to experience the world’s largest gathering of like-minded science advocates and skeptics. The four-day conference features  panel discussions, workshops, and presentations by leading thinkers and celebrities. Evening performances and parties for attendees round out the fun. Selected sessions will available for free as video podcasts.

Pamela will have a few AstroGear tee-shirts with her at TAM, but if you can’t see her there,  you can help support our mission here at Astrosphere by going to the AstroGear site and browsing our stylish yet thought provoking collection.

TAM 2011 takes place at Southpoint Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, July 14-17.

Our intrepid podcasters Pamela & Fraser have just finished preliminary production of the next Astronomy Cast. Prepare to be awed with this episode about Planck the Man & Planck the NASA Mission. Other near-future episodes being assembled and readied for launch include the payloads Decadal Survey, Extinction Events, and Geomorphology. Follow us on twitter for announcements of lift-off dates.

http://twitter.com/#!/AstronomyCast

365 Days of Astronomy is a legacy project of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA), and in 2009 was a major project of the IYA.  For two years now, the project has published one podcast for every day of the year.  The episodes are written, recorded and produced by people all around the world.   “This podcast gives a voice to everyone in astronomy – professionals, amateurs, and those who just enjoy the amazing discoveries and images of our Universe,” said Dr. Pamela Gay, chair for the IYA’s New Media Group.

The 365 Days of Astronomy podcast is now looking for individuals, schools, companies and clubs to submit 5 – 10 minutes of audio for our daily podcast.

The 365 Days of Astronomy has gained a wide audience, and each podcast is heard by 5,000 – 10,000 listeners.  The project was awarded a Parsec Award in 2009 for “The Best Info-tainment” podcast in 2009, and was nominated for the “Best Fact Behind the Fiction” award in 2010.

Participants can sign up to do just 1 episode or up to 12 episodes (one per month, subject to editorial discretion).  People from every continent except Antarctica have submitted podcasts the past two years, and the 365 Days of Astronomy team encourages a more diverse population from even more countries to sign up for a particular day (or days) of 2011. A calendar of astronomical events is available on the project’s website to provide ideas but the podcasts can be about virtually any astronomical topic. “We are seeking a wide range of contributions, from simple concepts or how-tos to more in-depth discussions of complex concepts,” said Dr. Gay.  “Over the past two years, we received a wide range of contributions, from simple at-home first-time podcasts to highly polished and professional recordings. We expect the same for 2011 and are looking to sign up a variety of participants, from amateur astronomers, classroom teachers and students to scientists, science bloggers and big media companies.”

The project is also asking individuals and organizations for financial support.

The podcast team also invites people and organizations to sponsor the podcast by donating $30 to support 1 day of the podcast, with your dedication appearing at the start of the show. For just $360, it is possible to sponsor 1 episode per month. Alternatively, you can also have a dedication message at the end of the show for a week, for a donation at the $100 level.  These donations will help pay for editing, and posting of the podcasts.

For more information visit http://365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

NASA Year of the Solar System

Beyond IYA

As the International Year of Astronomy (IYA 2009) IYA 2009 comes to a close, those involved hope to sustain the momentum gained during the year in communicating astronomy with the public.  The IYA produced a number of excellent new media projects, creating fresh excitement and enthusiasm for astronomy and science.  A new non-profit organization and website have been created to provide a brand- new “home” to sustain IYA projects such as the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast and Second Astronomy in Second Life ™, as well as other existing and new projects.

Astrosphere New Media Association is dedicated to promoting science and skeptical thought through Internet-based technologies and distribution.  Its efforts are focused on the creation of technologies and content that enable better astronomy communications and greater astronomy content access for the public.

The projects encompassed by Astrosphere New Media include the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast, Astronomy 2009 Island in Second Life, the popular Astronomy Cast podcast and a new project for 2010, We Are Astronomers.  Additionally, Astrosphere will be hosting the archival websites from the US IYA.

The Internet provides a new way for astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts to communicate and interact with the public.  Astronomy communicators can use these new forms of communication — such as blogs, podcasts, social networks, interactive data tools, and community content sites (such as wikis) – to provide the public with dynamic web content through Web 2.0 technologies.

Astrosphere New Media Association will help facilitate this “new media” and new forms of communication for astronomy.

“This project rose out of two needs,” said Dr. Pamela Gay, Executive Director. “There are many of us working together in our spare time to communicate astronomy to the world. We’re building tools, writing content, and then giving it all away. What we needed was a central advocate who could work to find us a little funding for travel and servers and just help us get what we do out to the world. Astrosphere is here to be that advocate, and to provide IYA projects a home beyond 2009.”

The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is a community project that “airs” one podcast per day, 5 to 10 minutes in duration, for all 365 days of the year.  The podcast episodes are written, recorded and produced by people around the world who donate a few minutes to share their passion for astronomy.

Second Astronomy (go in world at this slurl) takes real world events into virtual realities, allowing the citizens of Second Life (TM) a way to experience projects such as From Earth to the Universe and The World at Night. In early 2010, Second Astronomy will showcase John Gleason’s h-alpha astrophotography and roll out walkable, island size Spitzer MIPSGAL/GLIMPSE image. Later in the year, new virtual ‘as the eye sees’ telescopes pop up around the island, creating a star party atmosphere and building a cultural astronomy “sky stories” experience.

Astronomy Cast takes a facts-based journey through the Universe each week with Fraser Cain (Universe Today) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (Star Stryder).  The podcasts are available online or through iTunes .

We Are Astronomers is a Beyond 2009 project that looks to capture the diversity of who we are as astronomers through pictures and videos.  Astronomers include professionals, amateurs, and armchair enthusiasts.  To find out how you can help, email info@WeAreAstronomers.org.

Other new media science and astronomy projects and even skepticism projects looking for collaborators, direction, support or a “home” are welcome to contact Astrosphere New Media Association at:

Astrosphere New Media Association
P.O. Box 804
Edwardsville, IL 62025

email:info@astrosphere.org

For those of you who’d like a less virtual experience and who will be in the DC area, there are also a few events open to the public. On Monday night, at 6:30pm, Brian B. Schwartz will be talking on Science as Performance and on Wednesday night there will be a Tweetup / Meetup at a location to be announced.

Join us?

Making it 2 years in a row...

The award-winning 365 Days of Astronomy podcast is proud to announce
that the project will continue for another 365 days and is now
accepting sign-ups for participants for 2010. This is a legacy project
of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) and is being managed by
Astrosphere New Media Association.

In 2009, the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast was a major project of the
IYA, publishing one podcast for every day of the year. The podcast
episodes are written, recorded, and produced by people all around the
world. “This podcast gives a voice to everyone in astronomy –
professionals, amateurs, and those who just enjoy the amazing
discoveries and images of our Universe,” said Dr. Pamela Gay, chair
for the IYA’s New Media Group. The continuation of the project was
officially announced at the .Astronomy (“dot Astronomy”) conference in
Leiden, The Netherlands, on Friday.

The 365 Days of Astronomy podcast is now looking for individuals,
schools, companies, and clubs to submit 5 to 10 minutes of audio for
our daily podcast.

“The Universe is a big place — but the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast
brings a little piece of it down to Earth each day,” said Dr. Chris
Lintott, BBC Sky at Night.

The 365 Days of Astronomy podcast has gained a wide audience, and each
episode is heard by 5,000 to 10,000 listeners. The project was awarded
a Parsec Award for “The Best Info-tainment” podcast of 2009.

Participants can sign up to do just one episode or up to 12 episodes
(one per month, subject to editorial discretion). The 365 Days of
Astronomy team encourages people to sign up for a particular day (or
days) of 2010. A calendar of astronomical events is available on the
project’s website to provide ideas, but the podcasts can be about
virtually any astronomical topic. “We are seeking a wide range of
contributions, from simple concepts or how-to’s to more in-depth
discussions of complex concepts,” said Dr. Gay. “In 2009, we received
a wide range of contributions, from simple at-home first-time podcasts
to highly polished and professional recordings. We expect the same for
2010 and are looking to sign up a wide range of participants, from
graduate students in astronomy to science bloggers to big media
companies.”

The project is also seeking financial support from individuals and
organizations to help pay for editing and posting of the podcasts.

For more information visit http://365DaysOfAstronomy.org

I would like to share with you some of the best words I have read this year:

Dear Applicant:
We are pleased to inform you that upon review of your application for tax exempt status we have determined that you are exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to you are deductible under section 170 of the Code. You are also qualified to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, transfers or gifts under section 2055, 2106 or 2522 of the Code.

I have one thing to say: WooHoo.

Galileoscopes from NOAO

Our auction of 2 autographed Galileoscopes raised enough money to donate 33 telescopes to 33 kids. We don’t know where on the planet these telescopes will fly, but no matter where they go I’m sure the kids behind the eye pieces will be thrilled to have a chance to explore the sky with their own eyes.

We are also excited to be able to share that Galileoscope will be going into 2010! Details aren’t public yet, but when they are, I think everyone will be proud of the shape this wonderful project is taking. One thing I can share is Astrosphere will be helping them out with web hosting, and getting their new media voices heard.

This auction was our first fundraiser and suffice to say, we learned some important lessons: 1) eBay auctions are easy, but eBay buyers don’t like first time sellers. I am a first time seller. This is fixable with time. 2) eBay has special programs for non-profits. They require paper checks (which I don’t have – who uses checks?!) and the official letter from the IRS (which I’m waiting on). There will be more auctions – we have a ‘scope signed by the folks from Flood(!!!) – but they will happen after we are official with the IRS and with eBay.

Three Dreamers

I know a set of men who had a dream. They wanted to see every child in the world have access to a high-quality low-cost telescope. They wanted something that would show the rings of Saturn, survive a tumble down the stairs, and just keep revealing the sky night after night after night. This is a good dream; a dream inspired by the one laptop per child project. It is a dream that could be a reality, but it needs help. These men need you to dream with them and help their dream become a reality.

Moon thru a Galileoscope (by Andreas O. Jaunsen)

The Concept is Born
The Galileoscope project was launched about the time everyone realized the 2009 International Year of Astronomy idea was about to become a UN endorsed reality. Lead by Doug Arion, Rick Fienberg, and Steve Pompea, the Galileoscope telescope team gave themselves a goal of $10 per scope and set out to design. Like the original One Laptop Per Child goal of $100 per computer, they overshot a little bit. In this case, they came in at $20 per scope + shipping (or $15 to donate). Still not bad. See that image to the right? That was taken through a Galileoscope. These are systems with excellent optics.

The Problem
There is only 1 problem with the Galileoscope: No one can get one in a timely fashion unless, well, you go bid on this or this auction. Here’s the reason for the problem: No one ever provided the start up money needed to produce that first batch of Galileoscopes. We are literally collecting money until we have enough to run a batch out of the factories, producing and shipping that batch, and collecting money for the next batch. At a minimum, we just needed one rich soul to come forward with $200k to turn the factories on and start producing scopes while we collected a round of orders. Ideally, we need just $500k to get a stock pile of scopes we can sell with 24-hour shipping, while incoming money goes to the next round of orders. But that large donation never came. That donor, that sponsor, that dreamer never stepped forward. So these men with a dream, they put in their own money to get this started, and they asked the world – Will you buy a scope? We’re sorry, but it could take 6-months to get it. But will you buy a scope please?

Looking in the box

Originally, we’d all imagined millions of orders – both personal purchases and donations for kids everywhere in the world. Just like the original One Laptop Per Child, we have the option to Buy-One-Give-One. These scopes are the price of a double-CD. Why not think they’d sell like the latest top 40 hit? With orders like that, we projected we could turn on more assembly lines, speed up the rate of production, and keep maybe not ahead, but at least keep up. But those millions of orders never came. Everyone it seemed was waiting to see one, touch one, and play with one (or to at least have overnight delivery). But without those millions, that one touchable one never came to the vast majority of people who were thinking “Maybe I’d buy one. I just want to see one first.” They are coming to those who order, one by one a few hundred thousand scattered across the world at a time. They are coming. You may have yours (comment if you do?), and I know mine are coming soon.

A Solution
The one thing this project needs to overcome the delivery problem is funding. Galileoscope itself isn’t a non-profit company (simply because they didn’t spend all the extra money to become a not-for-profit. It costs almost $1000 in fees to set up a not-for-profit for something like Galileoscope!), so they either need help from other organizations or help from someone who doesn’t care about tax deductions. Bottom line – they need finacial help, and while I haven’t found that couple hundred thousand dollar donor, I’m hoping to find maybe a couple thousand dollars of help.

Felicia Day

This is where you, the casts of Battlestar Galactica and Ghost Hunters International, as well as the wonderful Felicia Day and the new non-profit Astrosphere New Media all come into play. At Dragon*Con in Atlanta on Labor Day weekend, I got pictures of a few famous people (and a few cool costumes) with a Galileoscope. When (thanks to the great Phil Plait!) I asked Felicia Day for her photo, she just signed the box. w00t! An idea was born! We’d get signatures and give someone the chance to have the ultimate geek gift of SyFy geekery. Our wonderful volunteer Laura S. took a box, and I took a box, and between us we cornered the cast of Ghost Hunters International and Battlestar Galactica. Two Galileoscopes. Two sets of different signatures. Two possibilities to make scopes for kids a reality. The proceeds from this scope will buy scopes for needy kids, and with each scope purchased we are a little closer to a production run.

An eBay Auction
Right now on eBay we have (through Astrosphere New Media Association) two charity auctions. All proceeds are tax deductible and Astrosphere will use the proceeds to buy scopes for needy kids. The auctions are open until October 1st around 7am Pacific / 10am Eastern / 3pm London. You now have the chance to have your own scope, your own geek signatures, and to do a good thing all at once.

Now, I know there is the potential for the winning bid to not be divisible evenly by the $15 a scope costs, so I’m going to step forward and say I’ll personally round the bid amount up to buy that last telescope (I’m just a state university professor, so I can’t do anything cool like match the winning bids, but I would if I could, and if you can, would you please?) Right now, the two scopes are at

• 

  Felicia Day + Battlestar Galactica Cast signed Galileoscope

  Scope 1: Signed by Felicia Day, Michael Hogan, Kandyse McClure, Alessandro Juliani, Mary McDonnell, Michael Trucco, Kate Vernon, Luciano Carro, Richard Hatch, and the BSG Science Advisor Kevin Grazier (see picture). Current Bid: $152!

• 

  Ghost Hunters Galileoscope

  Scope 2: Signed by Ghost Hunters International Joe Chin, JC Howell, Dustin Pari, Dave Tango, and 2 more (see picture). Current Bid: $66!

This means if the bidding ended right now there would be 15 scopes for kids who may never have seen the sky with anything other than their eyes. That’s awesome.

But can’t we do better?

Here is my challenge: Fandoms – Ghost Hunter Fans, The Guild / Dr Horrible Fans + Battlestar Galactica Fans – which of you can get the most scopes into the hands of the most kids? Show your fandom colors by bidding high and lending a helping hand.

Please?

We have 9 days left. Spread the word. Spread this post. Help gets scopes for kids. Help a dream.

Kate Vernon (Ellen Tigh) Cool Costumed People Adam Savage and Phil Plait Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers) Galiloscope in Surly Amy's Scientific Jewelry Richard Hatch (The ORIGINAL Apollo) Steam Punk Boba Fett

Remember: The Universe is Yours to Discover.

Success! (© Nikolais | Dreamstime.com)

After over a year of working on State of Illinois and IRS non-profit paper work, our IRS liason says that we’re there!

I feel like I should write something very profound here, but all I can say is, “Wow, what an amazing sense of relief.” For any of you looking to set up a non-profit, don’t do it on your own if you have a full time job. There are lawyers who you can give reasonable amounts of money to and they will do the leg work for you.

That said – we did it! We did it on our own! And now, I can say safely, Astrosphere New Media Association – An ACTIVE non-profit.

Help! Paperwork! (© Edie Layland)

But while we wait we can also begin to act. Currently Pamela is madly trying to figure out how to install Pligg, so we can get some social sharing of content going on around here, and on Tuesday she and Chris will be trying an experiment in webcasting. Let’s hope for an audiance! Answering questions from you will make all of this that much more fun.  Will join us for a laugh and a smile?

Hello! Welcome! (© Lightpainter)

Welcome to Astrosphere! This little website is the virtual home of a New Media association that hopes to spread science and skeptical thinking via the internet.  We have big plans, but our first (and perhaps most tedious) plan is simply to attain 501(c)3 non-profit status in the United States. In addition to filing out a frightening stack of paperwork, the filing is going to require us to write the IRS a large check. If you feel like helping us in our struggles, click donate, and please give us your address. Your donation won’t be tax-deductible, but we will send you a thank you card.