Back in June, Astronomy on Tap made its in-person return at Pete’s Candy Store. And this month, astronomy enthusiasts can experience an extra special iteration of the out-of-this-world gathering at Greenpoint Library.
The Spooky Science! Astronomy Night will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 25. Aspiring astronomers can register for free here.
Join Astronomy on Tap NYC and the Amateur Astronomer Association for a “night of fright, a tsunami of zombies, a cauldron of Aldeberans, and telescopes balanced precariously on tightropes” hosted by Brian Levine, AoT producer, regular, CUNY NOAA CESSRST team member, and board member for the New York City Museum Educators Roundtable.
“[The event is] gonna be in their little exhibit presentations space upstairs, and we’ve had themes in the past, so we’re theming this one spooky science for Halloween,” Levine explained. “It’s also happening during the month that they have a little space-based exhibit. The Amateur Astronomer Association of New York, I believe, partnered with them to buy some telescopes recently. So we’ll take those out and — assuming the skies are clear — we’ll have at least one or two people helping out. And at the very least, Jupiter will be out.”
The evening will feature an introduction to the astronomy art exhibit, plus talks from K. E. Saavik Ford, a CUNY BMCC professor and research associate at the American Museum of Natural History, and Kat Troche, a NASA Solar System Ambassador and the Amateur Astronomers Association’s VP of Operations; games, and the aforementioned roof viewing (weather permitting).
“Anywhere that reaches out, we’re trying to have a show,” Mark Popinchalk, another frequent AoT volunteer organizer and CUNY/AMNH Astrophysics PhD candidate said. “We’re in a bit of a growing phase. We’re coming back to being in-person and we’re already really excited about the response we’ve seen at Pete’s, and I have appreciated that some of the regulars have traveled for several events.”
AoT’s monthly events at Pete’s also continue in the back room, and have proven to be a great evolution of the event as the flow of the space allows for conversations with speakers and other attendees to continue even when people filter back into the bar, which all ladders up to organizers’ philosophy of increasing speaking experience and networking for their guests, many of which are early professionals.
And if you’re not a physicist in the making, have no fear. Astronomy on Tap makes sure to cater to a general audience, even going so far as to enforce a “no jargon allowed” rule.
“It differs by event. The last event we had, a bunch of grad students showed up that just heard about the event and lived in the area and they did pretty well in the trivia, but I would say the makeup of the crowd is typically people who are coming to support their friends — some of them have astronomy experience, some don’t — or the regulars, who again, some know things, some don’t.”
And no, people usually don’t cheat (or at least don’t get caught), though there are prizes.
The event at Greenpoint Library is meant for those age 18 and above. There will not be alcohol served at the event, but it may not be appropriate for children. For more information, visit here.