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• The Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s 2017 Andrew Fraknoi Supporters Award goes to a longtime friend and supporter of the ASP: Dr. Rick Fienberg, Press Officer for the American Astronomical Society (AAS).
  
  The Fraknoi Supporters Award is named in honor of Andrew Fraknoi, former ASP Executive Director, who shaped the Society’s educational mission and left an enduring mark and profound impact on the organization. The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions towards ASP’s mission of advancing public understanding of science through astronomy. We have chosen to honor Rick Fienberg for the countless ways he has actively promoted the interests and welfare of the ASP for many years — both inside the AAS and within the astronomy community at large. Rick has been the champion for numerous collaborate efforts between the ASP and AAS, for example, the Astronomy Ambassadors program. Astronomy Ambassadors 2-day workshops are held at AAS national winter meetings and help early-career astronomers become better science communicators and outreach providers. Rick was also instrumental in obtaining conference scholarships for ASP’s 128th Annual Meeting, which focused on best practices for engaging underserved audiences in the 2017 Great American Eclipse. STEM leaders working in underserved communities across the nation — many who had never been to our meetings — attended thanks to AAS support made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). In addition, NSF-sponsored mini-grants provided by the AAS helped many of our attendees purchase the education materials needed to make their eclipse events even more meaningful. Tens of thousands of underserved youth across the country fully engaged in the solar eclipse thanks to the AAS scholarships and mini-grants, and neither would have happened without Rick's advocacy and help. More recently, in his role as co-creator of the Galileoscope educational telescope kit, Rick helped the ASP secure a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to launch a professional development project to train science educators to lead inquiry-rich, investigatory learning experiences that help their audiences understand basic optics, how telescopes function, and the scientific processes that astronomers use to understand the cosmos. Rick Fienberg has a B.A. in physics and an M.A. and Ph.D. in astronomy. While in graduate school, Rick discovered he enjoyed teaching and writing about astronomy more than doing research. So in 1986, just a year after finishing his doctorate, he became an assistant editor at Sky & Telescope, and within five years he was running the parent company, Sky Publishing. Rick now manages media relations for the American Astronomical Society. He has been a member of the ASP for over 30 years. About the ASP The ASP is a 501c3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to use astronomy to increase the understanding and appreciation of science and to advance science and science literacy. The ASP connects scientists, educators, amateur astronomers and the public together to learn about astronomical research, improve astronomy education, and share resources that engage learners of all kinds in the excitement and adventure of scientific discovery. Current ASP programs and initiatives support college faculty, K-12 science teachers, amateur astronomy clubs, science museums, libraries, park rangers, and girl scouts to name a few. Through its annual awards, ASP recognizes achievement in research, technology, education, and public outreach. The awards include the ASP’s highest honor, the Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal awarded since 1898 for a lifetime of outstanding research in astronomy. The Bruce Medal has gone to some of the greatest astronomers of the past century, including Arthur Eddington, Edwin P. Hubble, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, and Vera Rubin. The ASP also presents the Klumpke-Roberts Award for outstanding contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy. Awardees include Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, and the Hubble Heritage Project.

• The Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) is proud to award the 2017 Arthur B.C. Walker II Award, for outstanding achievement in astronomy and education by an African American scientist, to Dr. George Carruthers, renowned astrophysicist, inventor and 2012 National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipient.
  [caption id="attachment_7346" align="alignright" width="240"] Credit: Len DePas[/caption]
  Dr. George R. Carruthers, astrophysicist, pioneer in the use of ultraviolet spectroscopy to study the universe, and inventor who developed the first moon-based observatory for the Apollo 16 mission, is the recipient of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s Arthur B.C. Walker II Award. The Arthur B.C. Walker II Award recognizes outstanding achievement by an African American in astronomy and for actively promoting diversity in science. Dr. Carruthers, recipient of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Barack Obama in 2012, will receive the Walker award on October 28, 2017 during the ASP’s Annual Award Gala in Burlingame, California. About Dr. George R. Carruthers
  [caption id="attachment_7347" align="alignnone" width="243"] Dr. George Carruthers of the Naval Research Laboratory is shown with a far-ultraviloet spectograph which he developed for astronomical observations from sounding rockets. This instrument made the first detection of interstellar molecular hydrogen in a March 1970 rocket flight. Credit: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory[/caption]
  George Robert Carruthers (born October 1, 1939) began his career working for the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. where his work focused on ultraviolet astronomy. In 1969, Dr. Carruthers received a patent for an instrument designed to detect short wavelength electromagnetic radiation. His invention, a 50-pound, gold-plated ultraviolet telescope was used during Apollo 16, the NASA mission landing the first moon-based space observatory.  Over 200 images of Earth's atmosphere, the Milky Way, and deep space were collected from this groundbreaking lunar observatory.  The instrument was also the first to detect molecular hydrogen in outer space. When Halley’s Comet returned in Earth’s skies in 1986, one of Carruthers’ instruments captured an ultraviolet image of it.  Carruthers also invented a camera used by the NASA Space Shuttle. In the 1980s, Dr. Carruthers spearheaded a program allowing high school students to spend a summer working with scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (Science & Engineers Apprentice Program). Dr. Carruthers has received a number of prestigious awards and honors.  He is the recipient of the Arthur S. Flemming Award (for outstanding achievement federal government employees, the American Astronomical Society‘s Helen B. Warner Prize (for significant contributions to observational or theoretical astronomy), the Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal from NASA, and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Carruthers was also inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his contributions to aeronautical engineering. About Dr. Arthur B.C. Walker II Arthur B.C. Walker II (1936 – 2001), Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Stanford University, was a renowned and highly respected aerospace engineer and solar physicist.  While at Stanford, Arthur was an active member of the Center for Space Science and Astrophysics and chaired the Astronomy Program from 1977 until 1980.  His most significant contribution to academic life at Stanford was mentoring under-represented graduate students in science, namely women and African-Americans. Among these students was Sally Ride, the first female U.S. astronaut.  He was also a leader of the African American community at Stanford and the longest serving member of the advisory committee for the Afro-American studies program. He served as a role model for many of the young African-American assistant professors including Condoleezza Rice. NASA recognized his lifetime of service during a combined meeting of the National Conference for Black Students and the National Society of Black Physicists in 2001. Dr. Walker’s devotion to science and service encouraged and promoted African Americans to enter physics as a profession at all levels. About the Arthur B.C. Walker II Award The ASP's Arthur B.C. Walker II Award has been established to honor an outstanding scientist whose research and educational efforts substantially contributes to astronomy and who has (1) demonstrated a substantial commitment to mentoring students from underrepresented groups pursuing degrees in astronomy and/or (2) been instrumental in creating or supporting innovative and successful STEM programs designed to support underrepresented students or their teachers. The Arthur B.C. Walker II Award also includes an “Arthur B.C. Walker II Scholarship” which the recipient gives to a student of their choice.  In addition, and perhaps even more important than the financial benefit, the prestigious scholarship from the ASP will help support the student’s academic and career goals. The Arthur Walker Award was established in 2016 and the inaugural recipient was Katherine Johnson, renowned NASA mathematician space scientist. About the ASP The ASP is a 501c3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to use astronomy to increase the understanding and appreciation of science and to advance science and science literacy. The ASP connects scientists, educators, amateur astronomers and the public together to learn about astronomical research, improve astronomy education, and share resources that engage learners of all kinds in the excitement and adventure of scientific discovery. Current ASP programs and initiatives support college faculty, K-12 science teachers, amateur astronomy clubs, science museums, libraries, park rangers, and girl scouts to name a few. Through its annual awards, ASP recognizes achievement in research, technology, education, and public outreach. The awards include the ASP’s highest honor, the Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal awarded since 1898 for a lifetime of outstanding research in astronomy. The Bruce Medal has gone to some of the greatest astronomers of the past century, including Arthur Eddington, Edwin P. Hubble, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, and Vera Rubin. The ASP also presents the Klumpke-Roberts Award for outstanding contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy. Awardees include Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, and the Hubble Heritage Project.

• The Astronomical Society of the Pacific is proud to have been a partner in the "Megamovie" Project - a collaborative project between Google and the Multiverse Team at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory. The Eclipse Megamovie Project is gathering images of the 2017 total solar eclipse from over 1,000 volunteer photographers and amateur astronomers, as well as many more members of the general public. These photos will be stitched together to create an expanded and continuous view of the total eclipse as it crossed the United States. The resulting dataset will be open to the scientific community and general public for future research.

  2017 Eclipse Megamovie

  In progress, check the Eclipse Megamovie website for updated content.

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   Chasing Totality: Making the 2017 Eclipse Megamovie

  More information can be found on the Eclipse Megamovie website.