Clock-building teen Ahmed Mohamed set to attend White House event

Monday night, the White House lawn will host its second Astronomy Night, bringing scientists, students and educators together to talk space and do some stargazing.

The relatively low key event has gone under the radar in the past, but the invitation extended to a certain tinkerer from Texas has changed the game this year. Ahmed Mohamed reportedly plans to attend after he and the clock that got him arrested were invited to the White House last month by President Obama.

"We think Ahmed will fit right in," White House Chief Data Scientist D.J. Patil said in September.

Ahmed might have created a slightly awkward situation for the White House by visiting with Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, an alleged war criminal, just days before the event.

There have been many Astronomy Nights during Obama's presidency, though most of them were on the National Mall. While Ahmed may be the most high-profile invitee, he's one of many young science enthusiasts getting to join.

See photos of Ahmed and his clock:

This will be only the second one hosted at the White House. At the first Astronomy Night in 2009, President Obama highlighted the achievements of teen scientists like Lucas Bolyard, who discovered an unusual type of neutron star, and Caroline Moore, who once held the record for being the youngest person to discover a supernova.

This year, more than 100 teens who've caught the space exploration bug have been invited to attend, like Oklahoma high school student Drew Hoke. His school says he recently chatted with a cosmonaut who was aboard the International Space Station. There's also a group of New York high school students who built what looks like their own mini planetarium.

Organizations around the country are invited to host their own Astronomy Night events.