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By Susan Andrew on 05/22/2012 05:38 AM

But thats about to change. Last month, UNCA announced a plan to partner with the Astronomy Club of Asheville to build a small observatory on the south-facing hillside at the north end of campus, at the end of Nut Hill Road.

Were so excited about working together, says Judy Beck, a faculty member in UNCAs Department of Physics and the science-licensure coordinator for the universitys Department of Education. Its really going to be a wonderful university-community partnership.

The observatory will be a step up for local astro-enthusiasts, who until now have been operating in backyards and parking lots across town, their pursuit of cosmic happenings hampered by light pollution from a variety of commercial and domestic sources.

The 1,300-square-foot facility will provide a shared home for equipment and programs belonging to both the university and the Astronomy Club, and frequent public events are anticipated.

Our first step is to sit down with curriculum specialists and science teachers to collaborate and design programs that will be most effective for teachers and their students, she says, adding that some programs will be geared to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for elementary through high school. Their input is critical.

An observatory was originally planned by the Astronomy Club as part of a proposed science center at a new Health Adventure, once slated for a vacant property along Broadway near the university. But when the Health Adventure plans fell through in 2011, the group took its proposal to the university, says club president Bernie Arghiere (pictured here).

This observatory will bring the solar system and the universe a whole lot closer to Asheville and Buncombe residents, Arghiere tells Xpress. There are many wonderful astronomical images on the Internet, but nothing takes the place of observing a planet or other celestial object directly in a telescope eyepiece. Thats the power of an observatory.

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