Florala

Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: Life

Media Credit: Stephen McArthur Head in the clouds - Planetarium Director Dr. Mel Blake explains a slide during a weekly night presentation.

If you've got a penchant for stargazing, then UNA's new astronomy club might be right up your alley.

The club is not official yet, so it can't make use of university resources.

However, faculty adviser Dr. Mel Blake holds regular planetarium shows and is even considering field trips.

According to Blake, who started teaching at UNA in January, there are only a handful of students in the club, but he hopes that there will be more interest once it becomes official.

Blake says he wants to stay in a purely advisory role and "doesn't want to be running the club or telling them what to do."

"I'm trying to stay one step back," Blake said.

But, the club is only a small part of the improvements Blake has in mind for the astronomy department.

"They didn't hire me to sit around," he said. "The planetarium was pretty much just marking time until now."

Blake and the astronomy department are planning several activities for International Astronomy Day on May 10.

The day will start with family-oriented activities, such as a planetarium show intended for children and a star mobile construction workshop.

Dr. Rob Preese, a researcher with Marshall Space Flight Center, will also be giving a speech on NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope.

The GLAST mission will enable NASA researchers to explore the universe's most extreme environments, such as black holes, merging neutron stars and streams of hot gas moving at the speed of light.

There will also be planetarium shows in the evening.

Blake also wants to make many improvements to the very dated observatory. The building and facilities are very old and not easily accessible, and have absolutely no handicapped access.

Getting the decades outdated technology replaced would cost roughly a quarter of a million dollars. Right now, Blake is trying to get some surplus machines from the computer department.

2009 will also be the International Year of Astronomy, and the Astronomy Department is already planning for that, as well.

Its members are particularly interested in pairing with the Art Department for several projects.

One idea is to collaborate on Gustav Holt's symphony "The Planets" in some way. Blake has also expressed interest in art students' painting murals on the observatory walls.

Blake gives presentations at 6:30, 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday evenings in the observatory.

The events are free to all UNA students.

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