Another goal of the U.S. IYA effort is to cultivate sustainable partnerships. “Sidewalk astronomy” is an ideal vehicle for astronomy clubs and individual amateur astronomers to participate in IYA 2009. In addition to their own programs, local amateurs will set up their scopes at events held by professional organizations, including NASA, universities, observatories, planetariums, and museums of science or natural history. The relationships forged during this large-scale collaboration for public outreach in astronomy will continue beyond 2009.

We aim to give 10 million people their first look through an astronomical telescope in 2009. This is achievable if, for example, 100,000 amateur observers each show the sky to 100 people.

Millions of small telescopes are sold every year, but anecdotal evidence suggests that most are rarely used for astronomy. Our “telescope amnesty” program will invite people to bring their little-used telescopes to IYA 2009 events, where astronomers will teach them how to use them and offer advice on repairs, improvements, and/or replacements, encouraging more people to stay involved in the hobby.