Fresh Starts, Bright Stars
The Undergraduate Astronomy Society (UAS) is the student organization for all things space! While the club is primarily made up of undergraduates majoring in astrophysics and earth and planetary sciences, as a part of the Blue Heart Initiative, UAS welcomes anyone to our community—all majors, years, and interests. It’s a step to grow your knowledge of astronomy, get trained on telescopes (for free!), and interact with fellow astronomers via professional development and mentorship if you’re interested.
As an astrophysics major, I found that there are not many opportunities to get directly involved in the department as an underclassman because all of the mandatory lower division courses are done through other departments, but I was still hoping to make friends in my year and gain guidance from upperclassmen. I was encouraged by an upperclassman friend to join UAS, so I did!.
I’m currently the Website Development Officer, working on creating a brand new website for the club. I’m also a member of the Telescope Crew (more on that later!). If astronomy has ever been of any interest at all to you, I cannot recommend UAS enough! Here’s how the club works.
Weekly General Club Meetings
General club meetings are typically from 7:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursdays in Campbell Hall. The topics range anywhere from resume workshops, to Kahoot games, to graduate school panels, to origami. One of my favorite club meetings was when we talked about the ethics involved in scientific research. I had no idea how much went into a scientific publication! Another highlight was a craft night to celebrate Valentine’s Day as a club.
Meetings are very low stakes, open to anyone at any time (yes, you can join mid-semester! Just show up!), and usually informative in some way.
The UAS Fall 2025 Infosession.
Telescope Crew
The optional Telescope Crew is (in my humble opinion) one of the coolest opportunities a club on campus can offer. A team of trained students (the Telescope Officers) offer free training on the club’s Schmidt Cassegrain and Newtonian telescopes, with a chance for further training on the Astronomy Department’s Richard Treffers Telescope on the sixth floor of Campbell Hall for a select number of people. Although this does not mean unlimited access to the telescopes, it does mean you can help run Sidewalk Astronomy!
As of Fall 2025, some UAS officers have also taken on creating a brand new Telescopes DeCal (004 of the Astron 98 series). It’s similar in content to joining Telescope Crew, but taken for two P/NP credits. In addition to trainings, the DeCal does an introduction to optics, teaches the history of telescopes, and has students participate in labs to gain more experience in driving telescopes.
Sidewalk Astronomy
This is an exciting community outreach program run by Telescope Crew through UAS. Trained club members bring the club telescopes (and sometimes personal ones) out onto Upper Sproul in the evenings (because it must be dark) to allow for the greater Berkeley community to engage in some “Sidewalk Astronomy”! As students and community members pass by, Telescope Crew invites them to take a peek through the telescopes to look at celestial objects like the Moon, Jupiter, and Mars in our very own solar system.
If you see telescopes on Sproul, I highly recommend stopping by and taking a peek. It’s not often that you have telescopes like these at your disposal.
Photo by Seabass Branch. Students looking through a Newtonian telescope on Upper Sproul Plaza.
The Cluster Mentorship Program
Lastly, while this mentorship program is targeted towards astronomy and physics majors to learn more about research, professional development, and their chosen cluster topic, anyone is welcome to join.
There are four clusters, each named for an actual star cluster in the universe: Hyades for those interested in stellar physics (stars), Omega Centauri for cosmology (evolution of the universe), Pleiades for planetary science, and Hercules for instrumentation (building things). Each cluster is mentored by 2-3 upperclassmen who all have experience and knowledge in their respective fields. They host study sessions, informational presentations, and community bonding events.
As an officer myself, I’d like to emphasize that this program truly is open to everyone. If you are not majoring in astrophysics but are still interested in research or learning more about the field, join a cluster!
One of my favorite things about the cluster program is the year-long competition where the winning cluster is determined by its members simply showing up. Points can be earned during academic marathons (cluster members can earn points for their cluster by completing homework assignments—incentive to study hard for the sake of your cluster!), attendance at presentations, and other exciting events.
Reach for the Stars
No, truly. You’re at Cal for a limited amount of time. Although we’re all busy students, I highly encourage you to try new things—including clubs like UAS that are a part of the Blue Heart Initiative, accepting everyone who is interested. For all you know, you may never get the chance to see the moon up close through a telescope again, or never learn about the exciting astronomy research that visiting professors or fellow club members are a part of. Astronomy is for everyone, so let this be your sign to reach for the stars.
Milana Berhe, Class of 2028, is majoring in astrophysics and political science and minoring in creative writing. Cover photo by Isabella Star, Class of 2025.
Want More?
- Why Join a Club @ Berkeley?
- For broader advice on mentorship, read Find a Mentor @ Cal.
- Find Your Impact @ Cal.