The Astronomy Students Association (ASA) is founded on the principle of spreading interest in astronomy. Our goal is to promote astronomy and to flourish throughout the university as a learning community. For astronomy majors, we also serve as an academic resource in promoting departmental opportunities and events.
All University of Texas students are eligible for ASA membership! Although some of our members are astronomy majors, this organization is open to UT astronomy lovers and there are no dues or fees. Contact us to join our mailing list and be part of our amazing association.
If you are not a student or faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin and you still want to be part of an astronomy organization, you may want to check out the Austin Astronomical Society.
Co-Presidents: Melissa Morris and Yaswant Devarakonda
Treasurer: Jamie Sullivan
Secretary: Emily Strickland
Historian/Webmaster: Sofía Rojas
Outreach Coordinator: Jessica Wigley
We are sponsored by the UT Astronomy Department and our faculty sponsor is Dr. Steven Finkelstein
The Astronomy Deparment has several faculty, research scientists and postdoctoral fellows who are active in virtually all areas of modern astronomy. The department also has close association with McDonald Observatory near Fort Davis Texas, which provides excellent observing access for students and staff!
Meetings are held every Wednesday at 5:30 PM in RLM 15.216B (the only classroom on the 15th floor) during the Fall and Spring Semesters. If you're interested in Astronomy, feel free to stop by!
From time to time, ASA hosts guest speakers from various fields to talk about current research or topics of general interest. Check for flyers around RLM and keep track of our website to receive information about the next speaker.
ASA highly focuses on outreach to spread interest and fascination for astronomy and the sciences to the public, especially to children and teens! We work with local teachers and organizers on astronomy and space science presentations. ASA can go to a school during regular class time visits or a private event to show our demos and "eyes-on" sessions with telescopes to let students and teachers actually see what they have been reading about. We can also host large groups here at the university. For more information, contact our Presidents via email.
To get away from classes for a while, we take a short trip out to a dark site multiple times during the semester to do some just-for-fun astronomy with portable telescopes. Come by a meeting to find out more and join our mailing list or social media to receive information about the upcoming observing activities.
There are also weekly opportunities to stargaze with the telescopes at the university during the viewing nights offered by the Astronomy Department. Click here to know more about this program and plan your visit.
We conclude the school year with a trip to the university's own McDonald Observatory located in Fort Davis, Texas. For more information about this prized wing of campus, click here.
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The Society of Physics Students is a student organization that brings together Physics and Non-Physics students.
The Undergraduate Women In Physics is dedicated to promote gender equality within the scientific community.