By: Anaya Miller & Yoly Viera
The School of Engineering and Physics on Feb. 27 hosted a Star Watch, an hour-long opportunity to showcase the stars at night. This event, which takes place in Hickman Science Center’s parking lot, is not widely known, despite its monthly occurrence. During this Star Watch, the department’s two telescopes were trained on Jupiter, a nebula, and on Earth’s moon.
Steven Kuhlman, an adjunct in the School of Engineering and Physics, and his wife, Lisa, an associate professor in the School of Business, are frequent attendees of the monthly event, which was started by his father.
Kuhlman’s father, Henry Kuhlman, PhD, is an adjunct professor in the School of Engineering and Physics and has been watching the stars since his department bought a telescope in 1972. After the department moved from Daniells Hall to the Hickman Science Center, Star Watch moved to the Hickman parking lot, where it has been since 1997.
That Friday, the Kuhlmans were joined by an assortment of colleagues and students. Kuhlman said that about two dozen people attended—more than usual, according to his father.
The group typically views the moon, planets such as Jupiter or Saturn and seasonal constellations.
“One of the other things that I like looking at is, if you look long enough, you can see some satellites,” Kuhlman said.
He and his wife consulted a sheet detailing daily satellite and rocket sightings to find that a satellite would pass overhead around 7:37 p.m. According to Kuhlman, the group can expect to see anywhere between six to 10 satellites in the hour they watch the stars.
Henry Kuhlman’s favorite part of Star Watch is hearing people say “ooh” when they look through the telescope for the first time.
Of the people gathered at Star Watch, many were students. Reginald Taylor, a junior computer science major, and Isabel Williams, a junior archaeology major, were among those in attendance. That Friday was Taylor’s first Star Watch.
“This was very nice,” Taylor said. “More engaging, I’d say, than most little gatherings. My favorite part is … I got to see the moon and I think Jupiter, too. I didn’t know that Jupiter had four moons. I haven’t been into astronomy much, but it’s pretty interesting to see all the planets and nebulas.”
Williams participated in Star Watch during her first semester at Southern and has kept going back because she likes how the night sky is always changing.
“You’re always going to be able to see something different,” Williams said. “Even if you’re looking up every night, for every day of the year, it’s going to look different. I like going back because it’s a way for me to see new things up close through the telescopes and to have knowledgeable people point out things that I wouldn’t have known are out there.”
Kuhlman invited more of the campus to attend the nighttime events.
“Come see the stars; come see the planets,” he said. “Get a good chance to be outside, to visit with friends and start the Sabbath right. Start the Sabbath in nature.”
