Astronomy Assistant AmeriCorps

POSITION DETAILS

Position (s): 4304

Position Title:

Astronomy Assistant - Ameri Corps

Conservation Legacy Program:
Scientists in Parks, Stewards Individual Placements

Site

Location:

Great Basin National Park, Baker, Nevada

Number of positions available: 1

Duration: 12 Weeks (not flexible)

Flexible

Start Date:

No

Start Date:

05/17/2026

End Date: 08/09/2026

Ameri Corps Slot Classification: 450 hours - this is the minimum number of hours the selected candidate must serve throughout the duration of their position.

• Segal Ameri Corps Education Award: $ 1,956.35 upon successful completion of position
• Weekly Living Allowance: $ 600.00 per week, fixed rate
• Relocation Allowance: $ 450.00 (distributed as a one-time lump sum with first paycheck)
• Student Loan Forbearance if applicable (administered by My Ameri Corps , directly)
• Student Loan Interest Payments if applicable (administered through My Ameri Corps , directly)

Preference given to applicants who submit applications before Sunday, February 15, 2026. Applications will be reviewed after the Final date to receive applications passes. Positions will close after receiving 60 complete applications, or at 11:59 p.m. EST on February 15, 2026, whichever occurs first.

This Astronomy Assistant is an Ameri Corps position. The projects completed by the SIP participant help to continue dark sky education and interpretation, and maintain Great Basin’s International Dark-sky Association designation. Their projects may contribute to the Basin and Range Dark Skies Cooperative mission, with social media and web outreach. The night sky measurements will be used by the park and the Great Basin Observatory to quantitatively describe the darkness of Great Basin to the Dark Sky International, the non-profit which designates Dark Sky areas.

Dark sky measurements and outreach are critical components of resource management and protection of the natural and cultural heritage that dark skies preserve.

The SIP participant will be assisting with night sky programming up to four times a week. During these night programs, the SIP will be responsible for connecting the public to the valuable resource of the night sky, enforcing safety guidelines to conduct successful programs, and directing visitors to safely use telescopes to view night sky objects.

• Assisting in various special programs including Star Trains and Moon Walks.
• Assisting the lead astronomy ranger with various projects to better the astronomy programming at Great Basin National Park.
• Individually conducting solar observations during day shifts, using public speaking skills to connect visitors to the sun and daytime astronomy.
• Individually conducting cave tours of Lehman Caves. Tours last 30 to 90 minutes, during these tours the SIP will be responsible for the safety and education of visitors.
• Taking night-sky darkness readings multiple times and month to continue the long term project of darkness measurement at Great Basin National Park.

• Monthly Dark Sky readings
• The annual Dark Sky International report on Great Basin's dark sky programs, conservation efforts, monthly measurements, and next steps. This is a report submitted annually since our designation in 2016.
• Assist with developing new Star Train programming
• Creating regularly scheduled social media posts about dark skies and resource protection
• Creating handout(s) or web page(s) about dark skies, lights capes, stargazing, and/or astronomy

• United States citizen, United States national, or a lawful permanent resident alien.
• Has received a high school diploma or equivalency certificate; or has not dropped out of secondary school to enroll as an Ameri Corps participant and agrees to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent prior to using the education award.
• Prior to starting the position, agrees to provide information to establish eligibility and to complete a National Service Criminal History Check for the employer of record, Conservation Legacy, and a separate government security background check for the host site.
• The applicant must be available to participate for the entire 12 Weeks in order to…