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Saturday, September 20, 2025; 5 - 11 p.m.
4th to 6th Street, SW., on the Mall, in front of the Air and Space Museum; Metro: L'Enfant Plaza
In Washington, D.C., on Saturday, September 20, 2025, from 5 to 11 p.m., visitors will be a given a free guided tour of the sky at Hofstra University’s Astronomy Festival on the National Mall (AFNM); hofstra.edu/dcstars. This festival is organized by Dr. Donald Lubowich, executive director and Hofstra’s coordinator of astronomy outreach, and Shanil Virani, assistant director of the festival. Mr. Virani is an astronomer and educator at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
AFNM features solar, optical, and electronic telescope observations; hands-on activities; demonstrations; handouts; posters; banners; and a chance to mingle with astronomers. Dr. Lubowich and local amateur astronomers will set up 35 telescopes on the National Mall. Starting at 5 p.m., visitors will be able to view sunspots with the help of specially filtered telescopes. After dusk and until 11 p.m., telescopes will provide close-up views of the sky.
AFNM visitors will meet representatives from the nation’s foremost scientific institutions, organizations, and universities who will present exciting demonstrations and answer questions about new astronomical discoveries and careers in science. The Astronomy Festival is an opportunity to encourage children to pursue their interest in science or math and to promote public understanding of science. Gazing at the rings of Saturn or the Moon’s craters captures the imagination for all. The AFNM was started as part of a NASA-funded Music and Astronomy Under the Stars program, which brought astronomy to outdoor concerts all throughout the United States, and was co-hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
We thank our sponsors: Supernova: DC Space Grant Consortium, ePlanetarium; Nova: DarkSky International
Participating Organizations: Carnegie Science; Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science & Technology; DarkSky International; DC Space Grant Consortium; ePlanetarium; Johns Hopkins University/Applied Physics Laboratory; Maryland Science Center; Maryland STEM Festival; NASA (Goddard Space Flight Center, Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope); National Air and Space Museum, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, NSF’s NOIRLab, Port Discovery Children's Museum, PSW Science; Scistarter, Unistellar, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, U.S. Naval Observatory.
Participating Universities: American University; Georgetown University; George Washington University; Rice University; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; University of Maryland, College Park.
Participating Astronomy Clubs: Goddard Astronomy Club, Howard Astronomical League, National Capital Astronomers, Northern Virginia Astronomy Club, Westminster Astronomy Society.
