This brilliant book is so interesting and engaging. True fact, I did grow up knowing Pluto as a planet and it was a mind blowing surprise to find it changed status years ago. Children love being able to show adults just how much they know and how wrong they may be! This book will certainly give readers the upper hand in terms of facts. Perfectly titled, I will be sharing this with solar system loving readers this week with the challenge to teach me something new!
I am so pleased to be part of this blog tour and am excited to share a guest post from author and astronomer Dean Regas.
How I became an astronomer
I found astronomy by accident. I was fresh out of college and began working for the Cincinnati Parks as a part-time naturalist. My boss put me in charge of the little planetarium in one of the parks and I was scared. I knew nothing about space and couldn’t even identify the North Star. But as I went through training on giving star shows under the dome, when the lights went out, the stars spoke to me. It quickly hit me that astronomy was the coolest subject in the universe! I dove in and learned all I could.
I volunteered at the Cincinnati Observatory and they hired me as an educator in 2000. From there, I became an expert in observational astronomy and renowned educator in all things space. If it wasn’t for that part time job in the planetarium, I would’ve never found my calling in the stars.
For the first few years as a self-taught astronomer, I was definitely insecure about my newness to the subject. The universe is just so big that I thought I couldn’t play the part of astronomer. But the more I learned and the more people I met in the field, I found my niche. I think my career arc, beginning with absolutely no astronomy knowledge, actually helps me relate to the beginning stargazer much better. I try my best to break down the complicated field of astronomy and make it accessible to everyone.
Sharing views of the Moon and planets through a telescope is one of my favorite things. When guests put their eyes up to a telescope, something amazing happens. Their face literally lights up! You can see them seeing the mountains and craters on the Moon, the rings of Saturn, or the moons of Jupiter. Giving people that one-on-one, intimate moment with the universe is just so inspiring.
I love writing and so becoming an author of five books is one of the highlights of my career. I see how many people are stimulated by my writing and when I hear from a reader how my books inspired them to get outside under the stars to explore the universe – well, that’s just the best feeling in the world.
HOW TO TEACH GROWN-UPS ABOUT PLUTO by Dean Regas, illustrated by Aaron Blechaout now in hardback (£9.99, Britannica Books)
My Shelves Are Full 