Take The “A” Train to the Stars
Astronomers, in addition to their scholarly and academic functions, have the mission to bring enlightenment to the people. In the City of New York, astronomers fulfill this mission through the Amateur Astronomers Association. Over the decades, the Association, or AAA, evolved a multi-faceted scheme of public enlightenment in astronomy. Under this scheme, astronomy in New York City has become a freestanding cultural amenity on a par with streetfairs, artshows, plays, and parades.Once a month during the school year, the Association presents a formal public lecture on astronomy. These are convened in the American Museum of Natural History, the ancestral birthplace of the AAA. Occasionally, lectures are featured at a large university in the City for time and place variety. At these lectures, a professional astronomer explains some contemporary topic on a first-year college level, illustrated by slides and viewgraphs. The lectures — and all public activities of the AAA — are free of any charge. Area high schools and colleges employ the AAA lectures as an extra-curricular activity for their students.