One of my colleagues has just returned from a trip to Australia, where, in the "Red Centre," she went to a stargazing event. In addition to seeing constellations unique to the southern hemisphere, she reported with enthusiasm viewing Jupiter and four of its moons through one of the telescopes.

President Obama recently shared that excitement with about 150 middle schoolers at a star party on the White House grounds. In addition to the children, his guests included Sir Isaac Newton and Galileo (local science teachers in costume), four astronauts, and two student-astronomers. The astronomers--one in junior high and the other in high school--each recently made a rare space discovery: a stellar explosion slightly smaller than a supernova, and a rotating radio transient (similar to a pulsar).

All were there to help celebrate the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first observation of Jupiter and its moons, as well as to encourage students' interest in science, math, and technology at an age when many lose interest. While I'm sure there was considerably more light pollution in Washington, D.C., than in the sparsely populated Australian outback, the president and his guests enjoyed their view of Jupiter, Gannymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa.

 "What will your great discovery be?" President Obama asked the group of students. "Galileo changed the world when he pointed his telescope to the sky. Now it's your turn. Don't let anyone tell you there isn't more to discover."