The Department of Astronomy is continually striving to achieve excellence in its research, teaching, and public outreach activities. Our research is internationally recognized in fields such as planetary astronomy, radio astronomy, and computational astrophysics, and we have established exciting partnerships with NASA Goddard and other institutions. We give our undergraduate and graduate students a top-quality educational foundation for their future careers. We organize regular open houses at the campus observatory as well as Maryland Day presentations, both of which are very popular events. We seek to continue these activities and to make them even better, and we seek to recognize our outstanding faculty and students. However, this cannot be accomplished in full without your help.

In this tight economy, the support of alumni and friends like you is key to our success. Whether you support us yourself or put us in contact with someone who can, your contribution is sincerely appreciated. Your tax-deductible donation will help us strengthen our program with faculty and student recruitment tools, state-of-the-art facilities and innovative outreach programs.

Gifts can be made with a credit card to the University of Maryland College Park Foundation. For a gift to the Department of Astronomy, choose "College of Computer, Mathematical, and Physical Sciences", then "Astronomy Department". For a gift specifically for the Department Observatory and its associated open house program, search for "Astronomy Observatory Gift Fund".

Gifts can also be made via check, made out to the University of Maryland College Park Foundation, with "Astronomy Dept." or "Astronomy Observatory" in the memo. We request that you include a letter such as the following: Department donations or Observatory donations. Checks and their accompanying letters should be sent to:

Jeff Snider
Director of Administrative Services
Dept. of Astronomy
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
(301) 405-1511

If you plan to make a very large gift, we recommend that you contact:

Dr. Stuart Vogel
Professor and Chair
Dept. of Astronomy
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
(301) 405-3001

If you would like to make an 'in kind' donation of goods, such as a telescope, please include a letter listing the item and its approximate value. (We recommend that you hire an appraiser for valuable items for tax purposes.) A form will also be available at the observatory for donations made during public events.

We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks for your efforts on our behalf!