JACKSON, Wyo. — Wyoming Stargazing recently released their Annual Report for 2022 with updates on the Snow King Observatory and Planetarium, Dark Sky Community certification and JEDI in STEM program.
The Report outlines that the construction of the Snow King Observatory and Planetarium that began in June 2022 made substantial progress through December 2022. According to Samuel Singer, founder and executive director of Wyoming Stargazing, even if it doesn’t look like much has changed on the outside, recent Observatory progress includes interior work on plumbing, electrical and camera installation.
The Report also revisits Teton County’s 2022 adoption of an updated exterior lighting standard that qualifies Teton County to apply for Dark Sky Community certification from the International Dark Sky Association. Although some community members have seen these new standards as a government overstep, the project is moving forward in 2023.
“If all goes well, there’s a distinct possibility that we could have an application submitted by the end of the year,” Singer says.
The Report also looks at the Justice, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) in STEM program, which Singer says will now be expanding with an additional scholarship initiative. Wyoming Stargazing will be funding their first scholarship for incoming students to the University of Wyoming (UW) this fall in partnership with First in Family.
The selected students will also receive a paid assistantship through UW’s Science Initiative, funded by the Wyoming NASA Space Consortium program at the UW. The Jackson, Wyoming, scholars chosen will be announced late May/early June.
