The cosmos has fascinated humanity since the dawn of time. Planets, moons, comets, stars, and galaxies have captivated the minds and hearts of scientists, philosophers, and millions of people all over the world. Many have been intrigued by the immense size and energy of the universe. In this spirit, Wittenberg University's Astronomy Club offers the chance to enjoy the mysteries of space through observation, education, and fun activities.

What is the Wittenberg Astronomical Society?
Who are its members?
How do I become a member?
Why is the club referred to by two different names?
What do members do?
What's in the observatory?
What's in the banner at the top of the page?
I want to join, but I don't know anything about astronomy.
I am in the class and I've forgotten when the scheduled observing sessions are. And I've lost page 3 of my syllabus.
When I go to the news page, all I see is a list of links.
I have a question that's not answered here.

What is the Wittenberg Astronomical Society?

The Wittenberg Astronomical Society a group where any student, scientifically-inclined or not, can participate in the pursuit of astronomy. The club's current constitution was ratified in 1999, but the group was originally founded more than thirty years earlier.

Who are its members?

Wittenberg Astronomical Society members are students from a wide variety of majors, interests, and class years. The club is open to all students at Wittenberg University. There is no membership fee and meetings are open.

How do I become a member?

Show up to meetings, participate in activities, and voila. You can also subscribe to our mailing list to recieve updates on the club and its activities. To subscribe, go to the WittLink Portal, clicking on "Mailing Lists" (under "Email" on the side menu bar), selecting "astro" off of the self-subscribed mailing lists, and clicking "join list."

Why is the club referred to by two different names?

Wittenberg Astronomical Society is our official name. It's unwieldy to say. Astronomy Club is much friendlier and is often used in more casual situations. The main site banner is official and therefore has Astronomical Society. For all intents and purposes they mean exactly the same thing and if you want to call it one or the other, no one will be confused.

What do members do?

The astronomy club has meetings which take place monthly, usually in the evening in room 319 in the science building. Free pizza and pop is provided. We discuss future activities and recent astronomy news. Some past club activities outside of meetings include trips to planetariums in Chicago and Cleveland, trips to England and Scotland, trips to dark sky sites, and observing here in Springfield.

What's in the observatory?

A very cool telescope that's about 15 feet long and gives incredible views of planets, moons, stars, nebula, and other celestial stuff. The observatory also houses rats.

Don't worry, the psychology department takes good care of them (right up to the point at which they kill them) and the rats tend to stay in the basement. In addition to the main telescope, Weaver Observatory also houses the offices of the student newspaper The Torch. To find out more about Weaver and the telescope, click on the "Weaver Observatory" link in the menu bar to the left.

What's in the banner at the top of the page?

A variety of celestial objects, all pictures from hubblesite.org and arranged with a considerable amount of artistic license; for example, Mars, Neptune, and Saturn do not occur in nature in the order they have in the banner. Nor do they orbit VY Canis Majoris.

I want to join, but I don't know anything about astronomy.

That's okay! All that's required to be a member of the astronomy club is an interest in astronomy; no prior knowledge is needed.

I am in the class and I've forgotten when the scheduled observing sessions are. And I've lost page 3 of my syllabus.

They are all listed in this blog post: click these words right here. Because there are so many of them and they are for the benefit of the class, they will not be preceded by reminder posts on the blog.

When I go to the news page, all I see is a list of links.

The news page's RSS feeds are displayed using javascript. They display a link to an alternate version of the feed if, for some reason, javascript will not run on your computer, either because you have disabled it or because you do not have it. Clicking on the link will take you to a version of that particular feed which you can then view; click the back button to get back to the news page. Enabling javascript will allow you to view the feeds while remaining on the news page.

I have a question that's not answered here.

Click on the "contact" link to the left to find contact information for the club's officers and advisor, any of whom will be happy to answer your question.