Philosophy
Her trip should be a lot of fun...congratulations.
Seventeen-year-old Sarah Chinski of Marion, Iowa, wins a trip to the Northeast Astronomy Forum & Telescope Show with her entry for Astronomy’s 2014 Youth Essay Contest.
by
Karri Ferron
February 28th, 2014
Astronomy
The editors of Astronomy magazine have selected 17-year-old Sarah Chinski of Marion, Iowa, as the winner of Astronomy’s 2014 Youth Essay Contest. For her entry on what she loves best about astronomy, Sarah will receive an all-expenses-paid trip for her and a parent to the Northeast Astronomy Forum & Telescope Show (NEAF), one of the world's premier astronomy expos.
Sarah caught the Astronomy staff’s attention with a thoughtful essay about her appreciation of the vast wonder astronomy evokes in people. “We as humans are quite curious creatures. … The study of astronomy gives us a chance to indulge that curiosity, to learn about something bigger than this isolated world in which we exist,” she wrote. “Not only is our curiosity satisfied, but we all gain a broader realization of what is important in the world by studying astronomy. As the beloved rascal Calvin (from the Calvin and Hobbes comics) once said, ‘When you look into infinity, you realize that there are more important things than what people do all day.’”
Sarah became interested in astronomy in a way that probably isn’t all that surprising for her generation: through a science-fiction video game, where she could drive around on fictional foreign planets and make observations. Soon she was reading up on black holes, comets, and nebulae. And because passive experience wasn’t enough for her, she invested in her first telescope last year, and her favorite object to study at the moment is the Moon.
But Sarah hopes lunar study won’t end in her backyard. After exploring fictional planets in a video game and our lone natural satellite with her backyard, she has discovered what she is meant to do: add to the ever-changing and expanding knowledge of the infinite universe.
And Astronomy’s editors think NEAF will be a perfect place to continue to cultivate Sarah’s ambitions. For her hobby enjoyment, NEAF features more than 115 vendors selling all kinds of astro-equipment. But it’s the speakers that her family and the staff think will leave Sarah inspired. This year’s lineup includes Alan Stern, principal investigator with the New Horizons mission to Pluto; Matt Greenhouse, NASA project scientist with the James Webb Space Telescope; Ken Kremer, NASA/JPL planetary ambassador; David J. Eicher, Astronomy editor; and many others. Astronomy workshops, daily solar observing, STARLAB planetarium shows, classes for beginners getting into astronomy, and astronomy events for kids will round out the schedule.
“NEAF is just the type of event an amateur astronomer and budding scientist like Sarah should attend,” says Eicher. “Astronomy is excited to provide her with this opportunity, and I hope it inspires her pursue her passion for exploring the wonders our universe has to offer.”
Astronomy [website]
The Rockland Astronomy Club, Inc.
- "practical Astronomy" Magazine--free
Practical Astronomy March 2010 Including March there are six issues [back to October 2009]. All may be downloaded. All you have to do is become a member. Everything is "free" and you may cancel membership anytime. Kevin Brown [Magazine Editor] writes......
- "astronomy's" Astronomy Essay Contest
Popular astronomy magazine Astronomy is holding an essay contest for youngsters 17 years old and younger.The topic of the essay is "What I love best about astronomy" and the prize is "...an all-expenses-paid trip for two to the Northeast Astronomy Forum...
- Philatelic Astronomy
Cool medium of celebrating astronomy over the years of philatelic commemoratives. ASTRONOMY AND COSMOLOGY IN STAMPS British astronomy on stamps of other nations International Year of Astronomy 2009 at Stockholm University Space and Astronomy Stamps...
- Music Of The Spheres?
In the words of Sarah Palin..."You bethcha"...she can hear the sounds of Uranus from her front porch. Abstract: What do Brian May (the Queen’s lead guitarist), William Herschel and the Jupiter Symphony have in common? And a white dwarf, a piano and...
- International Year Of Astronomy 2009
A very early reminder that next year [2009] will be the official year of "Astronomy" much as 2005 was "The World Year of Physics". In honor of the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first recorded telescopic observations of the moon, Jupiter, and...
Philosophy
Sarah Chinski is selected essay winner and will go to NEAF
Her trip should be a lot of fun...congratulations.
"Astronomy selects 2014 Youth Essay Contest winner"
Seventeen-year-old Sarah Chinski of Marion, Iowa, wins a trip to the Northeast Astronomy Forum & Telescope Show with her entry for Astronomy’s 2014 Youth Essay Contest.
by
Karri Ferron
February 28th, 2014
Astronomy
The editors of Astronomy magazine have selected 17-year-old Sarah Chinski of Marion, Iowa, as the winner of Astronomy’s 2014 Youth Essay Contest. For her entry on what she loves best about astronomy, Sarah will receive an all-expenses-paid trip for her and a parent to the Northeast Astronomy Forum & Telescope Show (NEAF), one of the world's premier astronomy expos.
Sarah caught the Astronomy staff’s attention with a thoughtful essay about her appreciation of the vast wonder astronomy evokes in people. “We as humans are quite curious creatures. … The study of astronomy gives us a chance to indulge that curiosity, to learn about something bigger than this isolated world in which we exist,” she wrote. “Not only is our curiosity satisfied, but we all gain a broader realization of what is important in the world by studying astronomy. As the beloved rascal Calvin (from the Calvin and Hobbes comics) once said, ‘When you look into infinity, you realize that there are more important things than what people do all day.’”
Sarah became interested in astronomy in a way that probably isn’t all that surprising for her generation: through a science-fiction video game, where she could drive around on fictional foreign planets and make observations. Soon she was reading up on black holes, comets, and nebulae. And because passive experience wasn’t enough for her, she invested in her first telescope last year, and her favorite object to study at the moment is the Moon.
But Sarah hopes lunar study won’t end in her backyard. After exploring fictional planets in a video game and our lone natural satellite with her backyard, she has discovered what she is meant to do: add to the ever-changing and expanding knowledge of the infinite universe.
And Astronomy’s editors think NEAF will be a perfect place to continue to cultivate Sarah’s ambitions. For her hobby enjoyment, NEAF features more than 115 vendors selling all kinds of astro-equipment. But it’s the speakers that her family and the staff think will leave Sarah inspired. This year’s lineup includes Alan Stern, principal investigator with the New Horizons mission to Pluto; Matt Greenhouse, NASA project scientist with the James Webb Space Telescope; Ken Kremer, NASA/JPL planetary ambassador; David J. Eicher, Astronomy editor; and many others. Astronomy workshops, daily solar observing, STARLAB planetarium shows, classes for beginners getting into astronomy, and astronomy events for kids will round out the schedule.
“NEAF is just the type of event an amateur astronomer and budding scientist like Sarah should attend,” says Eicher. “Astronomy is excited to provide her with this opportunity, and I hope it inspires her pursue her passion for exploring the wonders our universe has to offer.”
Astronomy [website]
The Rockland Astronomy Club, Inc.
- "practical Astronomy" Magazine--free
Practical Astronomy March 2010 Including March there are six issues [back to October 2009]. All may be downloaded. All you have to do is become a member. Everything is "free" and you may cancel membership anytime. Kevin Brown [Magazine Editor] writes......
- "astronomy's" Astronomy Essay Contest
Popular astronomy magazine Astronomy is holding an essay contest for youngsters 17 years old and younger.The topic of the essay is "What I love best about astronomy" and the prize is "...an all-expenses-paid trip for two to the Northeast Astronomy Forum...
- Philatelic Astronomy
Cool medium of celebrating astronomy over the years of philatelic commemoratives. ASTRONOMY AND COSMOLOGY IN STAMPS British astronomy on stamps of other nations International Year of Astronomy 2009 at Stockholm University Space and Astronomy Stamps...
- Music Of The Spheres?
In the words of Sarah Palin..."You bethcha"...she can hear the sounds of Uranus from her front porch. Abstract: What do Brian May (the Queen’s lead guitarist), William Herschel and the Jupiter Symphony have in common? And a white dwarf, a piano and...
- International Year Of Astronomy 2009
A very early reminder that next year [2009] will be the official year of "Astronomy" much as 2005 was "The World Year of Physics". In honor of the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first recorded telescopic observations of the moon, Jupiter, and...