Standing on a roof in the middle of winter, huddled in blankets with a cup of hot chocolate in hand may not seem like the greatest idea to some, but for the Astronomy Club it’s the best idea thanks to a giant telescope on the roof.

The CWU Astronomy Club puts on Star Parties to help answer any questions that someone may have about stars.

On the first and third Tuesday of every month the Astronomy Club puts on public planetarium shows that would show off stars, have guest speakers for presentations and set up telescopes on the roof of the Science II building.

When the star parties started, there were around three to four people that would show up. Now there is standing room only in the planetarium for shows and they had to add a third party during the month to make more room for people to interact.

Dr. Fallscheer works in the physics department as the astronomy professor and the advisor for the club. Fallscheer started teaching at CWU in 2014, started the club a year later and helps run events like the Star Parties and Boo Central.

“Anybody can join, the events we put on are get-to-know-you events and also public service that can reach out to students,” Fallscheer said.

Fallscheer also helps organize the guest speakers that come and present at the Star Parties and sets up the telescopes that the public is able to check out during the party.

Amber Benson is co-vice president of the Astronomy Club and a biology major with a minor in astronomy. Benson helps keep track of who helps out at events and keeps everyone informed about the meetings.

“I was originally going to major in fashion, but I was fascinated with stars and constellations and loved alien movies. The club is open to everyone and the members in the Astronomy Club come together from all different majors,” Benson said.

One of the most exciting parts of the Star Party is going to the large telescope that is on top of the Science II building roof. Club members take the public onto the roof, where they have extra blankets and hot chocolate on hand. The interesting thing about the telescope on the roof is that it is controlled by a computer within the building.

One of the most recent presentations that were held during a party was a presentation about the recent Cassini mission that ended in late August. This mission went on on for 12 years and was led by physics professor, Dr. Snowden.

Students in the club spend time at their meetings showing off what they will present at the next party. Some of the students talk about dark matter or what stars are actually made out of and the different elements that can be found through space. By presenting to the club beforehand, this helps the students have answers ready for any questions that the public might have about their presentation.

Mohamed Nawwar came to CWU from Egypt last year and has an interest in astrophysics. Nawwar started in Astronomy Club last year and is co-vice president with Benson this year.

“It is really fun and interesting to be able to share with people everything between us and Mars; that we can see stars light-years away, but don’t really think about it,” Nawwar said.

Since moving into the new science building, the astronomy department had the ability to get new telescopes. In the last year and a half the department got 17 new telescopes and two new solar telescopes.

The Star Parties are available not just for students, but for Ellensburg residents and anyone else who wants to understand what is going on light-years away from us.

“Our end goal is to make our resources available for the City of Ellensburg. We want the public to come and talk to the students,” Nawwar said.