Ryerson Astronomical Society

Constitution History Photos RChive Meeting Notes Contact Us



The Ryerson Astronomical Society (RAS) is the University of Chicago's astronomy club. Our club's purpose is to have all humanity (or all University of Chicago students, for starters) observe the celestial luminaries in hushed awe with our antique 6.25" refractor, 10" reflector, and ~60" radio telescope. Our website has information about upcoming club events; details of RAS history; a collection of astrophotographs and RAS photos; the Rchive, a vast index of RAS documents; useful space and astronomy links; and contact information for our members.


RAS activities Fall Quarter 2014

First Meeting: Our first meeting of the 2014-2015 academic year will take place on Monday, October 6 in Ryerson 358 from 8pm-9pm (see below for information about finding and entering Ryerson). We will introduce the club and give some general information about our activities, followed by a short talk about the basics of observational astronomy. Anyone interested in becoming a member should stop by!

October 8th Lunar Eclipse: We will be having a special event for the upcoming total lunar eclipse (more information about the eclipse here). All are welcome! We will meet at 5am on October 8 (Wednesday of second week) on the roof of Ryerson with coffee and donuts to observe the eclipse, which will cover the moon by 5:30am. See below for information about finding and entering Ryerson. To get to the roof, walk up the spiral staircase opposite Ryerson 358, following the signs marked "Observatory".


Monday meetings: We meet to hear astronomy lectures from students and faculty every Monday night at 8 PM in Ryerson 358 (the classroom immediately at the top of the main staircase in Ryerson). A schedule for fall quarter talks will be posted after the first meeting.

Ryerson Wednesdays: Every clear Wednesday night from 7:30 to 9:30 PM we have public observing at our Ryerson rooftop observatory (all the way up the spiral staircase opposite Ryerson 358). If during Winter quarter, please email an RAS Officer before coming, as due to the weather we may not have already scheduled someone to be there.

Special events: We usually spend a night at Yerkes Observatory in Wisconsin every quarter to observe on the 24" and 41" reflectors. In spring quarter we have a Friday evening trip open to the public. Over 40 people went on the 2010 trip! We also occasionally visit dark-sky sites such as Willow Slough in Indiana.

Trouble finding Ryerson? Here's a map of campus showing the location of Ryerson.

Trouble getting into Ryerson? Try entering through Eckhart and crossing over on the second or third floor. If Eckhart's locked, call our office and observatory at (773) 702-7625 (that's 2-7625 from any campus phone).

Looking for internship information? We have a brief summary of astronomy and astrophysics related internships in a Google Spreadsheet viewable at this address. We will try to keep it updated, and feel free to email the webmaster John Roberts with suggestions for additions or for the removal of no longer relavent information. Also, take a look at the list of NSF REU programs in astronomy and physics (including astrophysics).


Thanks to the University of Chicago Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics for webspace and technical support.


https://docs.google.com/a/uchicago.edu/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AlBXz6JqmvvUdFFFT0x3azZZWGhleFNXSklDaElScXc&output=html