Since 1958, the advanced studies program at St. Paul’s has thrived on challenging dedicated students in many rigorous courses outside the typical high school curriculum. However, there is only one course here that asks students to work outside the typical high school time schedule: astronomy. With access to the school’s observatories and the class’ nocturnal nature, the students who are presumably walking around after lights out in a state of rebellion, are actually putting in mandatory extra hours that are unlike anything they ever experienced in high school.
Most people see the night sky as both beautiful and mysterious as they stare into the vastness that peers deep into the vacuum which makes up the space outside our atmosphere. The curiosity has always existed inside our minds, but it was the students here that decided to expand upon their curiosity besides the occasional rhetorical question. Astronomy student Aubrey Wesson described her first experiences with the sky as “overpowering” and went on to say how she saw the night sky as “almost supernatural.” Wesson, who received her first telescope at a young child, instantly developed a curiosity for the world outside our own. As she grew up Wesson took another approach to the subject of astronomy.
“There are a lot of philosophical questions that come out of astronomy”, explained Wesson as she reflected on the connections she has made between philosophy, astronomy, and theology. She described the topics that came up when “crossing [astronomy] and religion” as the reason that she has stayed in touch with the topic for so long. “I’ve just always liked talking to people about it.” This explains why Wesson entered her second option as World Religions, but that was only a backup to the subject that had the potential to explore so much more, and although this is not true for every astronomy student, that same potential always exists.
Intern Tony Ferraro offered more insight into the class and the reasons behind him taking it. A graduate of Yale, Ferraro might not have seemed a good fit for the job; even though Ferraro is a graduate of such a prestigious college, he never attended the ASP program in which he now works. The lack of a degree in astronomy also speaks to his first-glance inexperience that accompanied his interview. However, Ferraro is in no way under qualified. In addition to his background in physics and philosophy, Ferraro’s excitement for astronomy comes from the idea that “there is still stuff to discover” and the fact that in astronomy “you actually have the chance to see new things.” Sparked by an introductory course on observational astronomy, his passion goes further as he looks for a graduate school to study astronomy.
The class itself is unique in the way that it is conducted due to the nature of astronomy itself. Ferraro explains the class as being “split between actual observation and research”. He went on to explain the opportunities for the class and the technology, including what Ferraro believes to be “the second or third biggest telescope in New Hampshire, which provides for some serious research.”
This raises a question, however: what good is an observatory without the night sky? The astronomy class has found out the cost of taking the course; while most of us find ourselves forced into bed at 11:30 every night, the students of astronomy find themselves observing planets and stars until the clock strikes three. While some may see this as a major downfall of an interesting course, students and interns alike make the most of their time in the earliest hours of the day. Ferraro sees the time as “lead[ing] to more group bonding” as the rest of us sleep peacefully.
Master Teacher Nicole Hoffman provides more insight into the night classes and how they operate. She describes the opportunities of late night studies as “college level research” within the three observatory domes that are available to her access and discretion. “We work as often as it’s clear and as late as we can” described Hoffman when asked how the bedtime dynamics work. This can provide for some pretty unpredictable nights for both students and staff that reflect the weather itself, but Wesson projects the varying as a strange adventure that she’s “sure she’ll get used to.”
During the daily hours of class, Wesson and her classmates can find themselves doing many different things. If sleep is allowed, students in class can be found preparing charts that will eventually be lined up in the observatory visits. Wesson describes the “finding stars we want to track and mapping them out” as her favorite part of her indoor hours. However, on the morning following observatory nights, the astronomy class can be found in their classroom enjoying the breakfast they missed as they slept in past the morning’s meal and chapel in an attempt to get in a healthy sleep. Hoffman describes how both observatory snacks and delayed period breakfasts, which is under the support of the Director, as working to “closely [bond] the class because we all stay out late together and eat breakfast together.”
So far the class has done many things, including what other class’ members may see as leisure: star gazing. Hoffman describes the simple work they do as rising in complexity, as they will soon go from the basic portable telescopes to the “eight-inch reflecting telescopes” that reside in the four observatory domes that make up the Hawley Observatory. While students may be excited over this fact alone, Hoffman finds new excitement with the introduction of the new solar observatory on top of the Lindsay center, but has clouded the exact reason for her excitement and the plans she has for the new technology in hopes of keeping the “student led interest” class on its toes. This means that for the most part, the studies reflect what the students of the class are interested in; whether it is constellations, galaxies, or planets.
The indoor regular schedule class consists of the what Hoffman discerns as “nitty-gritty, but still important” as the students take on astronomy history, which is to be followed up by star composition and physics in the upcoming weeks, a place where Ferraro will be sure to provide the students with an amazing Yale-graduated resource, and later with theories as to how things were made. It can also consist of review on the night before, if it is an observatory night, to get student feedback in an attempt to find interest and provide answers.
Hoffman, who in past years has been isolated from most other classes, with attempts to save time for the students including having day classes in the observatory, ended by saying that she “likes being integrated more during the day [in Lindsay], plus there’s the AC.”
No comments:
Post a Comment