By Amber Koski
Every semester professor Deneault takes weekly trips with his students to stargaze. This is only one of the unique aspects of being in his PSY126 astronomy class here at UT.
Weather permitting, professor Deneault loads his Celestron 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain into one of the 15-passenger university-owned vans and heads to Clearwater beach, (CWB), students in tow. As a requirement, each student taking Deneault’s course is expected to participate in at least one trip.
At around 8:00 p.m., students leave the UT campus and arrive about a half-hour later — well after the stars have risen in the sky.
Near the residential end of the main CWB strip, Deneault and students set up the telescope.
The residential end of the beach offers less light interference because of its lack of tall buildings and storefront distractions.
The night sky varies with the seasons. In a fall semester, the Orion Nebula, the Pleiades in Taurus, Betelgeuse, the Summer Triangle, along with Jupiter’s distinctly colored bands, zones and moons, can be seen.
But this time of year is actually not as good for stargazing.
Professor Deneault commented on the hindrances Florida weather has on star viewing: “The rainy season is just ending and it’s still quite humid. In Florida, the best gazing can occur in the winter time when it’s comparatively cloud-free and lower humidity.”
But in a spring semester, the visible constellations shift with the rotation of the Earth and its position in the night sky, making viewing a completely different experience.
A handful of students typically attend a weekly trip to CWB; this small number makes viewing more stars possible, because the time transitioning between viewers is smaller.
Some less cooperative nights, it’s a stargazers race to beat the clouds. Clouds and light pollution from the city all affect the constellation and planet visibility.
Professor Deneault explains the two main determinants in choosing CWB for his stargazing field trips: “At Clearwater beach, it’s typically dark over half the sky (at the least), and secondly, it’s the beach.
Nothing says ‘I had a good time’ more than going to the beach.”
Even once your time in intro. to astronomy is complete, professor Deneault welcomes students to come next semester to catch a glimpse at the layout of the night sky during a different time of the year.
If students wish to return or come without taking the class, email professor Deneault at edenault@ut.edu to get more information on trips and times. Friends of students are also welcome.