Second Sunset
The Art of DIY Telescopes, Sidewalk Astronomy, & Astrophotography
Astro & Lunar Photography by Gael Gomez and Adam Green
Join us Tuesday, October 28, from 6–10 pm for a heartfelt farewell to Gael Gomez. This is our last chance to come together before he’s forced to return to Venezuela due to the sudden revocation of his family’s Temporary Protective Status here in the United States. We’ll have telescopes on the back deck, a live telescope feed inside the gallery, refreshments, and prints for sale to help support Gael during this difficult transition.
Lost Origins is thrilled to present “Second Sunset,” an exhibit celebrating sidewalk astronomy, the wonders of space, and the DIY telescope community.
Founded in 2024 by Adam Green and Gael Gómez, the Mount Pleasant Sidewalk Astronomers turn DC sidewalks into open-air observatories. With homemade telescopes strong enough to reveal Saturn from Mt. Pleasant and Irving streets, they transform ordinary nights into cosmic encounters—reminding us how curiosity and creativity connect us to the universe and to one another.
Gomez, a 19-year-old Venezuelan immigrant, is the subject of an upcoming documentary by filmmaker Jason Garza, highlighting his love of astronomy and his family’s struggle to remain living in Washington D.C. under increasingly difficult policy shifts towards immigrants in the United States.
Gael’s future is uncertain. His family’s Temporary Potective Status was recently revoked and will be returning to Venezuela in early November, before this exhibit concludes.
