One club I recently encountered around campus was the Astronomy Club. Although not widely known amongst students, this particular club struck me as very unique and incredibly involved. The club is open and encouraging to all students, regardless of their experience in the field of science. Primarily, the club’s focus is to seek out students who are interested in learning about the universe and allowing them to participate in experiments, movies, lectures, talks, and trips to observatories in the area.
Students passionate about astronomy and sharing their love of scientific exploration would find a great community of like-minded peers in the astronomy club. Physics professor David Moffett leads the group and provides members with the valuable resources and knowledge they need to study the stars above.
The astronomy club is an active organization that hosts multiple events throughout the year. This fall, the club is planning on making an overnight trip to the Pisgah National Institute, an observatory near campus, and once or twice a year the club provides students the opportunity to hear from an outside speaker or a Furman professor, who discusses a selected topic of interest. Moffett had the honor of giving a speech on the Higgs boson, an elementary particle whose discovery has important implications for physics, at last year’s presentation.
The astronomy club meets frequently, and many members are close friends. Every other week the club convenes for a lecture or a movie in the university’s planetarium, giving members chance to learn more about the night sky before they observe it.
One perk for club members is that they are given access to a number of school resources, like binoculars, telescopes, and, perhaps most notably, the planetarium. Many students spend all their college years at Furman unaware of our university’s planetarium, but it is a valuable tool to use and is something that sets Furman apart from many other universities.
Another interesting event the club organizes are “star parties.” During a “star party,” members of the club embark on an overnight trip to the university-owned Highway 11 observatory, where cookout and spend a relaxing evening gazing at the stars.
About 20 students, many of them non-science majors, attended the fall’s first star party on Saturday, Sept. 7, and the club has another star party planned for next month. Students interested in learning more can visit the club’s Facebook page — Furman University Astronomy Club — for more information and details about future events.