When I first announced that I was interested in studying astrophysics, one of the first pieces of advice I was given was to get involved in my community. So, I went on meetup.com and searched for meet ups in my area. (No, this ain’t an ad for meetup.com but I will say I loved the site.)  I found meet ups for writers, filmmakers, and musicians but there were VERY few that were dedicated to astronomy. However, after I kept scrolling, I saw that the Atlanta Astronomy Club just so happened to be having a meeting that Saturday! It was meant to be. I registered immediately.

Flash forward to Saturday morning. I’m laying in bed drifting in and out of sleep. I look out the window and there is torrential downpour. The astronomy meeting starts in a couple of hours. I have to decide between getting up, getting dressed, and making the trek out into the storm...or staying in my warm bed and finishing up season 2 of Black Mirror. Just know for about 40 minutes I chose the latter. Then all of a sudden, the rain stopped and it began to look bearable outside. I was still quite comfortable in my bed, but something inside me was telling me to get my ass up and see what this Atlanta Astronomy Club was all about (intuition). I hopped up, got dressed and headed to Fernbank Science Center.

For anyone that grew up in Dekalb County Public Schools, you know Fernbank Science Center all too well. This was a guaranteed field trip every year in elementary schools. And I will be the first to tell you that not one thing has changed since 1995! Sure, they could update the nature exhibit that's been there for the past 20 years...but a huge part of me enjoys the nostalgia of seeing the same museum from my childhood. Right around the corner from the nature exhibit, you can also find the Command Module from the Apollo 6 mission! This was an unmanned moduled launched on April 4, 1968 from the Kennedy Space Center. It was used as a test module to prepare for the Saturn V mission. And here it is, right in my own backyard! (The things I did not appreciate as a youngin).

I spot a sign the says “Atlanta Astronomy Club Meeting” and I head in that direction. Once I enter the room, I grab a seat a couple of rows back and read over the pamphlet about the astronomy club. It was founded in 1947 by the department chair of astronomy at Agnes Scott College (my alma mater)! This was yet another sign that I’m in the right place...on the right path. The room began to fill up quickly and by the time the meeting started it was filled to capacity. I looked around the room at all of the attendees. Out of around 50 + people, only 5 were black. Only 2 were black women. And only one looked to be under the age of 25 (that was me).

This was something that I expected. Especially after attending Neil deGrasse Tyson’s talk at the Fox, which I will write about in another post. The meeting itself was well organized. They started off by going over club announcements and upcoming events. We then went over a handout that covered The Drake Equation and then finally they ended with a cool presentation on exoplanets. After the meeting, everyone began mingling and chatting amongst each other, but I was way too shy to spark up a conversation with anyone. I wasn’t quite ready to leave yet, so I just roamed around the room, awkwardly, looking at the different space photos on the wall. That’s when an older white guy stopped me and asked how I enjoyed the meeting. I told him it was my first time attending, and that I had a good time. Then I told him how I wish there was a little more diversity amongst the attendees. The guy looked around the room and then back at me with a perplexed face. I don’t think he was expecting that response. He then said that this is his third meeting and he never realized the lack of diversity. My inner thought: “Well yeah… when everyone looks like you it’s hard to spot a difference.” I smiled and told him hopefully I will see him at the next meeting.

As I walked out of Fernbank and back to my car, I reflected on my experience at the meeting. One, I felt so motivated to research more about the topics we discussed. Two, I was proud of myself for drawing awareness to the diversity issue in the astronomy field (even i it was only to one person). Had I stayed in bed, not only would I have missed out on learning something new, but I also on educating someone on a topic I’m passionate about. The benefits of attending this meeting definitely outweighed the benefits of lying in bed in my comfort zone. I learned that in the future… when faced with the choice of having to do something productive versus nothing at all; productivity is always a good choice.

Atlanta Astronomy Club has meetings on the third Saturday of every month.

For moe info visit their website at http://atlantaastronomy.org/