Melissa Brown
Published: October 11, 2006
The Escambia Amateur Astronomers’ Association was selected as a runner-up for Astronomy magazine’s inaugural “Out-of-this-world” award for public programming on Sept. 12.
PJC’s Dr. Wayne Wooten spearheads the club, serving as the Astronomical League Liaison and said the Association is “very proud to be recognized.”
In a congratulatory e-mail to Wooten from Matt Quandt, the public relations specialist for Astronomy magazine’s publishing company, Quandt said the group’s “events not only introduce the public to cosmic vistas, but they inspire curiosity in the science of astronomy.”
Wooten wrote and submitted the two required essays for the application, and although the group failed to win the grand prize of $2,500 this year, “there’s always next year,” said EAAA member and PJC student Rick Hogue.
“Basically they gave us a bunch of freebies,” Wooten said. “We didn’t get any money.”
The award is a prestigious coup, and the association is featured on the magazine’s Web site, www.astronomy.com.
“The club members’ enthusiastic commitment to involve the local community in their hobby is an inspiration to the astronomy community at large,” Quandt said in an e-mail.
The award honors continual outreach programming, an area in which the EAAA excels.
“Every time we go to a stargaze with the public, something interesting happens,” Hogue said. “I’m very active in the club and enjoy putting on star watches for the public, school children, scouts, and anybody that will look through the telescope.”
Membership in the club is open to anyone interested in learning more about the space sciences, and students qualify for discounted dues of $12 per year. The next scheduled club meeting is at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 13, in Pensacola campus Bldg. 17, room 1775.
“If any of the students have any interest in astronomy at all, they’re more than welcome to come to any of our meetings or check our Web site for upcoming stargazes,” Hogue said.
“The next big thing is going to be Nov. 8,” Wooten said. “We’re going to have a transit of Mercury, where Mercury goes in front of the sun starting about 1:10 p.m. Mercury will be about two-thirds of the way across the sun when they set, so we’ll be watching up until then. We’ll be set up outside the planetarium.”
Membership is not required to attend club meetings or stargazes. However, members do benefit by receiving the monthly newsletter, The Meteor (edited by Wooten), and may rent club-owned equipment, such as telescopes, for $1 per month.
“Dr. Wooten’s enthusiasm is contagious,” Hogue said. “He’s really the backbone of this club. I would hate to see what the club would be like without him.”