My fellow editors and I are reading through entries for Astronomy’s annual Out-of-this-world award for outstanding astronomy programming. I’m impressed with how helpful you amateur astronomers are to your community. I’ve been to a few star parties (one at the Grand Canyon and another outside Austin, Texas), and both times everyone I encountered was more than willing to help me around the sky and let me look through their telescopes. I’m one of those “armchair astronomers” (I read books, work through the math, take university courses), but I’ve done little observing. That doesn’t mean I’m not interested in the night sky. In fact, I think the band of the Milky Way (observed at a dark location) is one of the most amazing sights. And M51. Wow. It’s gorgeous.

So, thank you to all you amateur astronomers who help your communities see the awesomeness of the universe.