The Wonders of The Universe: Amateur Astronomy Club interview with Mr. Spruell

One of the greatest unknowns in our universe is space – that dark, ever-expanding void that surrounds the planet we call home. While we have almost all the information of the earth, we know very little about space as a whole, just bits and pieces of some incomprehensible puzzle. Luckily, we have a club focused on teaching the younger generation about space to pick up where the other generations have left off. Recently, that astronomy club went on a field trip to see the stars without the big lights ruining the sky. We interviewed the club sponsor, Mr. Spruell, about the field trip and what they did there.

Q: What was the goal of the field trip and where did your students go?

A: The goal was to find dark sky sight with no light pollution. Our intended goal was not our final goal. Our intended goal was the Picket Post Trailhead. It is about an hour’s drive from the school near Superior. We went to Picket Post and in the past, we have been allowed to stay after close; however, it seems that the locals have been vandalizing it so they closed it and didn’t allow us in. But they did suggest a new place to us and we drove to the airport in Superior. We went down the dirt road to see the dark skies.

Q: Have you done events like this before?

A: Not with this club at this school but in the past, yes.

Q: How long did it last and what did you all do and see there?

A: We got there about 5:30-5:45 and it lasted until about 9:45. We took one of the school buses. The first thing we did was pack up our telescopes in the bus and observed the different nighttime sights. We saw Orion, I believe they saw Andromeda, we saw the beehive cluster, we also saw the Pleiades.

Q: What do you like about space?

A: I like the vastness of astronomy. The grandeur. How big it is. And that it’s something most people don’t know much about.

If you like space or want to go on fun field trips with one of the best science teachers ACP has to offer, then you can join the amateur astronomy club this year or next year. We hope that all of you interested can help solve the unknown questions in the years to come. Go Knights!