Mike Simmons
Mike Simmons is the Founder and CEO of Astronomy for Equity, an Affiliate Research Scientist at the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, and Board Member of Dark Sky International, with over 50 years of experience leading and founding astronomy programs and organizations.
Mike is a pioneer in using astronomy as a universal language to transcend cultural boundaries, bringing scientific opportunities to marginalized communities worldwide. He is a member of the International Astronomical Union’s Executive Committee Working Group for Equity and Inclusion and the Outreach Committee of the African Astronomical Society.
Mike is the founder and former leader of Astronomers Without Borders, an organization he led for over 13 years to unite astronomy and space enthusiasts worldwide through their common interests. Since 2021, Mike has served as Founder and CEO of Astronomy for Equity, a nonprofit venture that uses astronomy and space exploration to bring scientific opportunities to marginalized communities, working to break the self-perpetuating cycle of underrepresentation in STEM fields. The organization promotes programs that expose students, teachers, and the public to STEM fields in communities where educators and family members traditionally steer students away from underrepresented fields.
As an Affiliate Research Scientist at the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science since 2021, Mike leads initiatives focused on diversity and inclusion in astronomy and space science. In January 2020, Mike cofounded OneSky Expeditions, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company brings people together through astronomy by offering small group tours to unique sites around the world.
Mike serves on the Board of Directors of Dark Sky International (formerly the International Dark Sky Association), where he advocates for the protection of natural nighttime environments from light pollution. He is an active member of the International Astronomical Union’s Working Group on Diversity and Inclusion and regularly gives presentations on using astronomy to improve international relations and reduce inequity.
Mike founded Astronomers Without Borders in 2006, serving as its President until 2020, recognizing astronomy as a universal interest that transcends cultural differences and uniting astronomy and space enthusiasts worldwide through their common interests.
During the UN-declared International Year of Astronomy 2009, Mike co-chaired and led the effort to organize the Cornerstone Project “100 Hours of Astronomy” in more than 100 countries. An estimated one million people looked through outreach telescopes in one night, making it the largest participatory outreach event in history. The 100 Hours of Astronomy event ran April 2–5, 2009, and included 24 hours of live webcasts from research observatories and public observing events worldwide, becoming one of the year’s most successful global astronomy initiatives.
From 2010 to 2021, Mike served as Contributing Editor at Sky and Telescope Magazine, where he wrote about international astronomy outreach and the global astronomy community. His international outreach efforts began in 1999 when he traveled to Iran for a total solar eclipse, where he discovered a vibrant yet resource-limited astronomy community that inspired him to return multiple times.
In 2004, he led a group of Westerners to Iran to observe the rare Transit of Venus alongside hundreds of Iranian amateur astronomers. In 2006, he traveled to the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq with observing equipment donated by American astronomers to their enthusiastic but isolated Kurdish counterparts.
In the early 1980s, Mike founded the Mount Wilson Observatory Association (MWOA), a support organization dedicated to improving the experience of visitors to the observatory, serving as its founding President and remaining on the Board of Trustees for nearly 20 years. His outreach activities began in the early 1970s when he joined the Los Angeles Astronomical Society (LAAS), where he served in various roles, including two terms as President and ten years on the Board of Directors.
In 1976, Mike joined the staff at Griffith Observatory, where he operated the Zeiss 12-inch refracting telescope for the public and introduced tens of thousands of visitors to the many facets of astronomy. He has been the Founding Group Member of The Overview Institute since May 2008, an organization dedicated to promoting the overview effect and its potential benefits for humanity. He also cofounded AstroGear Today and has been involved with numerous international astronomy initiatives.
Mike retired from a 36-year career as a Specialist in biomedical research at the UCLA School of Medicine, where he worked from February 1969 to June 2005 in the Pulmonary Division. He primarily focused on data management and statistical analysis, study design, designing data collection instruments, publication, and presentations.
He earned his education from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Minor Planet 22294 Simmons was named in his honor in 2003, with the citation partly recognizing his “varied outreach activities in astronomy,” his efforts in “organizing the Palomar Observatory’s 1.2-m Schmidt Oschin Telescope plate archive,” and “several trips to Iran to promote friendship and amateur astronomy.”
In 2014, Mike was awarded the prestigious Gabrielle and Camille Flammarion Prize from the Société Astronomique de France (SAF) for “setting a worldwide example that astronomy does transcend political and cultural borders.” In 2009, Mike received the prestigious G. Bruce Blair Award from the Western Amateur Astronomers for “outstanding contributions to amateur astronomy,” and in 2005, he was presented with the Clifford W. Holmes Award by RTMC for a “Major Contribution to Popularizing Astronomy.”
Mike is a writer and photographer who has contributed to publications including Scientific American, Astronomy, and Sky and Telescope, where he served as Contributing Editor. He regularly gives presentations both in the United States and abroad on international relations through astronomy.
Mike lives with his wife in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California and has happily become a doting grandfather.
Watch Astronomy for Equity with Mike Simmons. Listen to the Big Impact Astronomy podcast.
Read Astronomers Without Borders: One People, One Sky.
Visit his LinkedIn profile, Astronomy for Equity Homepage, and Blue Marble Space Institute profile. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and X.