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Ellis Abel Learns.

In my own words · Des Moines, IA

Why I love stars

A Hubble Space Telescope view of the faint blue spiral galaxy NGC 3274 surrounded by scattered stars on a black background. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Astronomy" page — read by families in Des Moines, IA.
A Hubble Space Telescope view of the faint blue spiral galaxy NGC 3274 surrounded by scattered stars on a black background. NASA/ESA/Hubble · Public domain
  • The light I see left a long time ago.
  • I am looking at the past with my own eyes.
  • Nobody has to give me permission to look up.

You can love stars in Des Moines.

What it really is

Astronomy is studying things too far away to visit, using the light they send.

Three things to try today

  1. Find one star and learn its name.
  2. Look for it again a week later.
  3. Notice it moved.
Technicians on a work platform check the mounting structure of the 20-ton infrared telescope installed inside NASA's SOFIA airborne observatory. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Astronomy" page — read by families in Des Moines, IA.
Technicians on a work platform check the mounting structure of the 20-ton infrared telescope installed inside NASA's SOFIA airborne observatory. NASA · Public domain

For the grown-up reading this

A child in Des Moines, IA who loves stars is not unusual. A child in Des Moines, IA who is told that loving stars is unusual — that is the problem. The Des Moines–West Des Moines, IA metro area has about 758,539 residents, ranking 82nd in the country.

Astronomy is the cheapest science on earth. It needs a dark sky and patience.

If the kid who loves this is a girl

Read what one popular teacher said to one little girl who took out the classroom trash without being asked — and what that girl did with the rest of her life.

Girls are great at math — Des Moines, IA →

Love something else too

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket lifts off from its launch pad, trailing a bright orange exhaust plume. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Rockets" page — read by families in Des Moines, IA.Why I love rocketsNASA's long-nosed X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft flies over the California desert alongside an F/A-18 chase plane. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Planes" page — read by families in Des Moines, IA.Why I love planesA FreeFly Alta X quadcopter drone hovers in the air during wildfire response flight tests near Redding, California. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Drones" page — read by families in Des Moines, IA.Why I love dronesTwelve gold-coated hexagonal mirror segments of the James Webb Space Telescope installed side by side on the telescope's backplane at Goddard. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Telescopes" page — read by families in Des Moines, IA.Why I love telescopesThe Cold Atom Laboratory, two white equipment containers packed with lasers and vacuum hardware, on a bench before flight. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Physics" page — read by families in Des Moines, IA.Why I love physicsFive labeled water-quality sample bottles lined up in a bag, ready to be carried to the laboratory for analysis. Real USGS photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Chemistry" page — read by families in Des Moines, IA.Why I love chemistryA Keyence optical microscope set up on a laboratory bench with its monitor and sample stage. Real USGS photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Microscopes" page — read by families in Des Moines, IA.Why I love microscopesAn optical bench in the Laser Optics Laboratory at Ames Research Center, crowded with mirrors, lenses and beam paths. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Lasers" page — read by families in Des Moines, IA.Why I love lasers

Near Des Moines

Why I love stars, everywhere in the US · All things to love · STEM jobs you could do · Summer camps in Des Moines