Physics department finds new astronomy enthusiasm contagious
Nick Tabor
Issue date: 3/13/08 Section: Focus
She said she'd always found astronomy attractive. After she took Physics 101 and a cosmology class with Hayes, she started exploring the equipment herself.
"We got the telescopes out and started playing with them, and that's when I thought, 'We need to have an astronomy club,'" she said.
She started the club in 2004. It fizzled out after she graduated in 2006, but she said junior Heidi Phillips started working in January to revitalize the club.
Hayes said 31 students signed up for the club's mailing list at their most recent meeting, and they've attracted as many as 100 people at campus-wide astronomy events. He said he hopes that interest will continue to spread.
Any student who's willing to go through the proper training can use the equipment himself, he said.
"I think he gets excited when other people get excited about physics," said junior Katie Mustazza, a physics major. "I think maybe that's easier to do with astronomy than, say, particle physics."
But Hayes has grown accustomed to a small, dedicated group of astronomy enthusiasts.
"For me it's just about the beauty of [the universe] and the fact that it exists at all," Hayes said. "I don't think it's possible for us to really appreciate how big it is."
Schellhammer agreed.
"It sort of puts life in perspective, at least for me," she said.
"We got the telescopes out and started playing with them, and that's when I thought, 'We need to have an astronomy club,'" she said.
She started the club in 2004. It fizzled out after she graduated in 2006, but she said junior Heidi Phillips started working in January to revitalize the club.
Hayes said 31 students signed up for the club's mailing list at their most recent meeting, and they've attracted as many as 100 people at campus-wide astronomy events. He said he hopes that interest will continue to spread.
Any student who's willing to go through the proper training can use the equipment himself, he said.
"I think he gets excited when other people get excited about physics," said junior Katie Mustazza, a physics major. "I think maybe that's easier to do with astronomy than, say, particle physics."
But Hayes has grown accustomed to a small, dedicated group of astronomy enthusiasts.
"For me it's just about the beauty of [the universe] and the fact that it exists at all," Hayes said. "I don't think it's possible for us to really appreciate how big it is."
Schellhammer agreed.
"It sort of puts life in perspective, at least for me," she said.
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