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I'm going to see the starry sky on the weekend.
"Astronomy Club"

Chiharu Okura, 3rd year School of Education

From the left: the author, General Secretary Someya, and Deputy General Secretary Akita

Have you ever seen the Milky Way piercing the night sky?

Our astronomy club is student club group of people who love stars. Some of us are knowledgeable about constellations, some take professional photos of the starry sky with our own cameras, and some just enjoy stargazing.

The most attractive thing about the Astronomy Club is our mountain hut. We own a hut with a loft in Nobeyama, Nagano Prefecture. It's not in a dense forest, but surrounded by lettuce fields, so there's nothing blocking the view. It gets pitch black at night, so it's the perfect place to watch the stars. There are no cars, and you can even lie down on the ground on the premises and watch the stars.

A mountain hut owned by the astronomy club. Members can use it freely with anyone, anytime.

We hold training camps during long holidays such as summer vacation, and go stargazing at locations carefully selected by members who are knowledgeable about stars. Last summer we went to Miyakojima in Okinawa and Kawazu Town in Izu, and this spring we went to Oku-Nikko. In addition to the training camp for the whole group, we also have training camps for each grade, so the appeal of this club is that there are many opportunities to see the stars. During the training camp, we enjoy sightseeing during the day and take a car to go stargazing at night.

One weekend, a member of the group suddenly called me and we went on a drive to Mount Fuji to observe the stars. We stayed at a glamping site in the woods, and left the car at midnight to watch the stars on the shores of Lake Kawaguchi.

Left: At the Southern Alps Suspension Bridge in Nagashima Park, Kawane-cho, Shizuoka Prefecture, where we held a training camp for first-year students only. The people standing on the bridge are members of student club.
Photo on the right: A starry sky photographed with Mt. Fuji during a weekend drive to Lake Kawaguchi

In addition, at Waseda Festival, we hold an indoor starry sky display and planetarium every year. The planetarium is made by assembling cardboard into an arch shape, covering it with a black sheet, and placing a projector inside, and student club members point out the stars and give explanations. They decide on a theme and write a script, and introduce constellations that fit that theme. Last year, we introduced the constellations that can be seen in the winter night sky and their myths.

We also regularly hold various other events, such as renting out the Cosmo Planetarium Shibuya for one day in June 2024 to host a planetarium screening.

The Milky Way seen at Yonaha Maehama Beach in Miyakojima, Okinawa Prefecture, where we went for a training camp

All the photos shown so far were taken by members. As you can see, in the starry sky where we, the Astronomy Club, go to observe, shooting stars and the Milky Way can be seen clearly and beautifully. Seeing is believing. Why not try "stargazing" as a new hobby in your university life?

[Official student club Information]
◆ student club name: Astronomy Club
◆ Group classification: Student Association
◆ student club Founded: 1960
◆ Genre: Academic and Natural Sciences
◆ Activity date and time: Wednesday and Friday from 17:00
◆ Number of participants: Approximately 150 people
◆ Location: Waseda University Student Center 11th floor, E1108
◆Instagram: @waxa_tenmon
◆ X: @waxa_souten