Celebrate Earth Day 2025: A Look Back and a Look Up
Each year on April 22, people around the world pause to reflect on the planet we call home. Earth Day is now in its 55th year and is celebrated by over a billion people in more than 190 countries.
Long before April 22, 1970 became the first “official” Earth Day, a chain of ideas, led many to appreciate the earth and desire to protect both pristine environments and our air and water.The American conservation movement gained national momentum under President Theodore Roosevelt, who set aside over 230 million acres for national parks, forests, and wildlife refuges.
Impactful images helped. In December 1968, astronaut Bill Anders captured Earthrise from Apollo 8. That image redefined how people saw their world: not as the center of our universe, but as a small, oasis in the vastness of space.
The United Nations pushed forward an Earth Day and vernal equinox Earth Day is still quietly observed each year at UN headquarters. Our current national celebration began in 1970 and was enacted under President Richard Nixon who also began the EPA.
That first Earth Day saw an astonishing turnout: nearly 20 million Americans-10% of the country’s population at the time-took part in teach-ins, cleanups, rallies, and tree-plantings.
This history reminds us that Earth Day wasn’t the product of a single proclamation, but built on the culmination of years of observation, science, and civic engagement. .
This Saturday, April 19, 2025, HAL invites you to mark Earth Day not just by remembering—but by doing. Note: HAL will have a display at the Clarksville Commons and a few solar telescopes will be set up for viewing. See the link below.
Mission: Experiment with Heliophysics
Saturday, April 19, 1–3 p.m.
NASA Goddard Visitor Center
Come explore the Sun’s influence on Earth and the solar system with hands-on activities: solar car and robot races, solar viewing through Sunspotters, UV bead bracelet crafting, and more. A perfect family-friendly event celebrating the science that connects us to our star.
Earth Day Celebration at Clarksville Commons
Saturday, April 19
Celebrate green living with local farmers, environmental nonprofits, sustainable businesses, electric vehicle demos, and more. The Earth Day Celebration at Clarksville Commons is a vibrant community gathering designed to inspire climate action and environmental responsibility. HAL will have a display and a few Solar Telescopes will be available for viewing.
👉 Event details and directions
Whether you spend Earth Day looking at the stars, take a moment to reflect on our home planet. As astronomers know well, it’s the only one we’ve got, for now.
