International Year of Astronomy Event Comes to Pasadena

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE 818-354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Whitney Clavin 818-354-4673
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
whitney.clavin@jpl.nasa.gov

TIP SHEET: 2009-092 June 1, 2009

International Year of Astronomy Event Comes to Pasadena

WHAT: The public is invited to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy 2009 at the
Pasadena Convention Center on June 6. The event includes a variety of fun, family-
oriented, hands-on activities and exhibit booths, such as a telescope for observing the sun
and a 100-foot scale model of our solar system. Special indoor presentations will be made
using a portable planetarium and a digital data immersion environment from the
Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. The event is presented by organizations
attending the subsequent summer meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

A stargazing party will follow that evening. Saturn, in particular, will be well positioned
for viewing. Small telescopes will be provided by the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers.

WHO: The event is organized by representatives of the International Year of Astronomy 2009,
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and the Rochester Institute of
Technology/NASA AstroZone team. Exhibitors include the popular Astronomy Cast
podcast and the Galaxy Zoo citizen-science.

WHEN: Saturday, June 6, from 4 to 8 p.m., followed by a stargazing party ending around 9:30
p.m. The telescope viewing and some of the afternoon outdoor activities are subject to
weather conditions.

WHERE: Pasadena Convention Center, 300 E. Green St. in Pasadena. Phone number: (626) 793-
2122. Driving directions and parking information are available online at
http://www.pasadenacenter.com/-directions.html . A street map posted on that site
includes a rose and purple background, which indicates where the outdoor astronomy
activities and bazaar will be held.

More information about the event is online at http://astronomy2009.us/newscenter/ . More information
about IYA2009 is at www.astronomy2009.org . Additional information on the U.S. plans and
programs for IYA is at www.astronomy2009.us .

The U.S. IYA2009 program is supported by the National Science Foundation and NASA, and by
private donations. The American Astronomical Society is the U.S. liaison to the IYA2009 program via
the International Astronomical Union. Key U.S. partners include the Astronomical Society of the
Pacific, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics,
the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The California
Institute of Technology in Pasadena manages JPL for NASA.
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