![December 2009 Terri Lappin](https://www.astronomy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/december-2009-terri-lappin.jpg)
Terri Lappin (in green) shares her enthusiasm about the Sun with a group of visitors at a recent Sharing the Sky Star Night.
Wendee Wallach-Levy
The more I think about it, the more I am convinced the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) is meant for the world’s amateur astronomers. Even its goal — to show the world that the universe is “yours to discover” — is designed to inspire people unfamiliar with astronomy to take their first looks skyward.