BackyardAstronomy.org (http://www.BackyardAstronomy.org ), located in Burbank, California, has been selected by NASA to be a member of the Night Sky Network, a nationwide coalition of amateur astronomy societies committed to sharing their time, their telescopes, and their enthusiasm for astronomy with their local communities. BackyardAstronomy.org recently received their first Outreach ToolKit from NASA. Entitled "PlanetQuest", the kit is designed to help amateur astronomers answer questions about how scientists hope to find Earth-like planets circling other stars. Club members will use the Outreach ToolKit at public astronomy nights, during classroom visits, at youth group events, and at other public events catering to students of all ages.

Membership in the Night Sky Network includes training for club members, special opportunities for working with NASA scientists and educators, access to a dedicated website for communicating with other Night Sky Network participants, and public recognition by NASA for their outreach activities. "NASA is very excited to be working closely with the amateur astronomy community," said Michael Greene, head of public engagement for NASA's Navigator Program based at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "Amateur astronomers want more people to look at the sky and understand astronomy, and so do we. We have a strong commitment to inspiring the next generation of explorers. Lending support to the energy that the amateur astronomy community brings to students and the public will allow NASA to reach many more people." For more information go to http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov. To find out about the schedule of programs sponsored by your local astronomy club, email eventcoordinator@backyardastronomy.org

The Night Sky Network is sponsored and supported by JPL's PlanetQuest public engagement program. PlanetQuest is a part of JPL's Navigator Program, which encompasses several of NASA's extra-solar planet-finding missions, including the Keck Interferometer, the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM), the Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF), the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI), and the Michelson Science Center (MSC).