(Presentations to be made at National Convention in Tucson, Arizona)

(Kansas City, MO)–The Astronomical League is pleased to announce the top finishers in the competitions for its National Young Astronomers Award Program (NYAA) and the Jack Horkheimer Award Program.

The first-place winner in the NYAA program is Andrew Hitchner, Norristown, Pennsylvania. His project was entitled “A Study in Stellar Spectroscopy.” Tongji Li, Hershey, Pennsylvania, was awarded second-place in this competition for her work “Will Humans Become Extinct Like the Dinosaurs Did?” Third place was awarded to Erika Tinley, Tucson, Arizona, for “The Geometry of Active Galactic Nuclei as Evidenced by their Emission Line Spectra.” The first-place winner receives an all-expenses- paid trip to ALCon 2010, the national convention of the Astronomical League, being held in late June in Tucson, Arizona. The top three finishers receive beautiful plaques to commemorate their outstanding achievements. The NYAA is generously supported by Explore Scientific, which also provides one of its great telescopes to the first-place winner.

Other top finishers in the National Young Astronomer Award Program include Stephen Argentati, Tucson, Arizona; Gayathri Cheran, Burke, Virginia; Summer Emmons, Trussville, Alabama; Travis Le, Aica, Hawaii; Caroline Moore, Warwick, New York; Megan Parsons, Fowler, Michigan; Christina Ramsey, Humble, Texas; and Megan Rosenberger, Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania. All top NYAA finishers receive a one-year complimentary membership in the International Dark Sky Association, an organization devoted to protecting the night sky.

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