Sidewalk Astronomers Participate in 100 Hours of Astronomy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SIDEWALK ASTRONOMERS PARTICIPATE IN 100 HOURS OF ASTRONOMY

(Falmouth, MA, March 25, 2009) – Weather permitting, the Falmouth Sidewalk Astronomers will be participating in the 100 Hours of Astronomy event, a cornerstone project of the International Year of Astronomy, to be held Thursday, April 2 through Sunday, April 5.

As part of the event, the Falmouth Sidewalk Astronomers will be holding public viewing sessions from 6pm to 9pm, near the Katherine Lee Bates statue on the Falmouth Public Library lawn. A key goal of the 100 Hours of Astronomy is to get as many people as possible to look through a telescope, which coincides with the club's goal of sharing the night sky with the public. Everyone is welcome to come and get free views of the moon, planets and stars through telescopes, and if they have them, to bring their own telescopes and binoculars.

“We try to meet at the library every month around the time of the first quarter moon,” said Peter Cook, one of the founders of the Falmouth Sidewalk Astronomers, “but the sky has to be reasonably clear, with less than 50 percent cloud cover, and the winds less than 10 mph.” Cook noted that the weather hasn't cooperated over the past few months, but he is hoping it will this time, given the significance of the event.

Declared by the United Nations, and sponsored by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the United Nation's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Year of Astronomy marks the 400th anniversary of 1609, in which significant advances were made in astronomy. In that year, Galileo was the first to use a telescope for astronomy, and Johannes Kepler published the "Astronomia nova", in which he proved that the Earth orbits the Sun, a theory originally proposed in 1543 by Nicolaus Copernicus.

For additional information, contact Brent Putnam or go online to www.100hoursofastronomy.org or astronomy2009.us.

About the Falmouth Sidewalk Astronomers:

The Falmouth Sidewalk Astronomers are an informal group of amateur astronomers dedicated to sharing the night sky with the public. Instead of seeking out dark sky locations to practice the hobby, sidewalk astronomers bring their telescopes and knowledge to where the people are.