Star Light, Star Bright
The key in getting interested in stars is simply looking up, according to Tonya Triplett, USU physics education and astronomy professor.
She said although students have seen pictures of planets and stars their whole lives, looking at them through a telescope is an entirely different experience.
“You can see a picture in class, but as soon as you see it for yourself, it’s real,” she said. “Just like any first experience, it’s spectacular and you have nothing else to compare it to.”
Each semester Triplett requires her students to view the sky through telescopes at the observatory, which is located just east of Romney Stadium. She said many people don’t think there is really anything to see until they look through the telescopes with their own eyes.
“Everyone is in awe,” she said, even if they try to hold it in.
“I go with my little kids and they are always so excited and they’ll jump up and down. I know that’s how the students are feeling on the inside; they’re just way too cool to show it off. But that moment of discovery is what happens in an observatory.”
According to “Aristotle’s Astronomy,” an article written by Thomas Fowler, Aristotle believed stars were perfect and divine celestial bodies. Triplett said over the years, people have forgotten what’s above them in the sky.
“We forgot to look up,” she said. “Centuries have passed. All the sudden we think, ‘Oh yeah, there are stars,” when they used to be used for clocks and calendars and religious holidays. We don’t look up anymore. We have calendars on the walls and computers. We are cheating ourselves.”
Triplett said the light that allows people to see stars has traveled for years to get to earth. The farther away a star or planet is, the longer the light has traveled. For example, Triplett said, if a star is 10 light years away, the light is already 10 years old before it reaches a student’s eye in a telescope. She added that the light seen by students while looking at stars is theirs alone. Others who look after will not see exactly the same picture.
“The light that you see will never be seen by anyone else,” she said. “It’s frozen for you. It’s a very personal experience. You are receiving the light. It’s yours. It’s a gift. The photons that go into your eyes are yours and no one else will get them.”
At least 400 students in astronomy classes are using the observatory this fall, said James Coburn, physics professor. It currently has some smaller telescopes students can use, but the large one is broken. Coburn said after 30 years, the donated dome that allowed the telescope to work is not worth fixing. Instead, the university is going to build a new observatory on top of the Science Engineering building.
The new observatory is still in the planning stages, and the earliest construction would start would be next spring, Coburn said. It may even have 16 to 20-inch telescopes, he added.
For now, Monday through Thursday, students can still get a good view of stars and planets for free with the smaller telescopes. Triplett said going to the observatory makes a great date.
“It’s a fun thing to do and it’s in the evening anyway,” Triplett said.
Going to local star parties is also enjoyable, she said, adding one will be held on the Quad Friday night. The Astronomy Club is hosting the party, and several amateur astronomers will be there with nice equipment, Triplett said.
Star parties usually have a person talking about constellations, Triplett said.
Sherrie Lambert, sophomore majoring in elementary education, is currently taking a course on astronomy because she wanted to learn more about the different constellations.
“I took the class to learn about each of the different constellations and how to find them,” she said. “All I pretty much know right now is how to find the Big and Little Dipper and that is about it.”
According to the International Astronomical Union, on a clear night, there are more than 1,000 visible stars. Out of these, there are 88 constellations which can be seen in the northern and southern skies.
“The fun part going to a star party is the person with their telescope sets it up to something they love so they can share that with you,” Triplett said.
The star party will begin at 8 p.m. for students that want to attend.
-manette.n@aggiemail.usu.edu, courtnie.packer@aggiemail.usu.edu