UTD’s Astronomy and Cosmology Society is unlike many other student organizations on campus. Instead of membership dues and event attendance requirements, the club runs purely on passion and curiosity, allowing anyone interested in space — from novice to expert — the chance to explore what lies beyond.
The club’s development began in spring 2023, when then-sophomore psychology student Haroon Mangrio realized there was no astronomy club on campus. Seeking members, he found just the amount for the club to take off. Since then, it has grown to more than 60 members and is advised by astrophysics professor Mustapha Ishak-Boushaki, who engages in dark matter and dark energy research on campus.
“I had never founded an organization before, I had no idea how to do [it],” Mangrio said. “You have to have five people to sign on to start the club, [and I thought] where do I find five people to do this with me, but I did, actually. We are definitely finding our feet as a club, but there is enough support on campus.”
From observing the night sky to studying planetary movements, astronomy may appear to be a solo activity. Yet, for Mangrio, learning about space in a group setting where people can bond with one another on top of seeking knowledge, creates a wholesome experience. A visit to the planetarium or the local IHOP after a club meetup, it’s these new friendships that stick out most.
“My whole goal for the club was for it to be laid back and social, so that it can be as inviting as possible,” Mangrio said. “My favorite memories of the club don’t have anything to do with [the] research side, it’s more about the people.”
Student organizations with membership fees are usually career-focused and help with entering the workforce, according to Rishikesh Venkat, neuroscience senior and club vice president. On the other hand, interest-based clubs like the Astronomy and Cosmology Society give students the time and space to explore hobbies unrelated to their daily work. While astronomy is closely related to careers in physics or aeronautics, the club’s members hail from a diverse range of majors, those from psychology to economics. Venkat shares that the relevance and importance of astronomy is not limited to one group, but to all majors including the non-science majors. No matter one’s major, the human desire to explore the unknown remains.
“[When you learn] about space, it’s gearing up to what’s coming,” Venkat said. “It is the last frontier left for humanity, [we ask] what’s out there, is there life out there, [are] there resources out there that we can use.”
In the past few years, many astronomical events have drawn large crowds, namely the total solar eclipse in April last year. While these larger events are a driving point for further engagement and contribution in astronomy and cosmology-focused organizations, Venkat said that lesser-known events also have a strong place in the field. One example close to home: the University of North Texas’ monthly “star parties.” Recently, the club attended one of these partes at the Rafes Urban Astronomy Center, where members could stargaze and connect with fellow community members who share their passions.
“Solar eclipses [and] astronauts coming down from space after days doesn’t happen that often,” Venkat said. “[Yet] things like rockets being launched up into space, that’s not something a lot of people tend to think about, but if you love space you realize what a big deal it is.”
To encourage the growth of the club and ongoing member interest, the members and officer board have carefully considered its meeting spaces and frequencies. It may seem as though clubs require consistent meeting places and regularly scheduled events to succeed, yet according to Venkat, their non-regular meetups are a driving force for each member to have a fresh and wondrous attitude towards anytime they do meet.
“One of the biggest things that drive the interest in our club is the member’s own interest,” Venkat said. “We realized that having those regular meetings, those requirements, takes away the joy out of the club.”
For Mangrio, his innate nature of curiosity initially sparked his interest in the solar system with his interest in knowing how small individuals are in the universe, and how we are made up of stardust, from the iron in our blood and the phosphorus in our DNA. He believes most everyone has the curiosity to spark a love for astronomy, recommending books such as Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan and Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson as starting points for those wanting to begin their own journeys into learning about space.
Space can prove to be a very technical field, with facts both known and unknown appearing abstract. While space-focused careers require advanced-logical thinking conceptual mastery, Venkat shared that the club presents a more holistic view, encouraging the art of learning foremost.
“The whole point about the club is [being] curious,” Venkat said. “I came in knowing half as much as the room, [but] we don’t look at it that way, we look [at] it as everybody is a member.”
Along with learning about the solar system and the development of the universe, studying astronomy also provided Venkat insights into the environment here on Earth. This understanding gave him a new perspective, as well as a newfound push to learn more and be an advocate for environmental change.
“My sophomore year I was driving to Houston, [it was] pitch black, and I looked up and just saw stars,” Venkat said. “You really [become] aware of how much the cities diminish it and realize it’s not [an] individual effort.”
Both Venkat and Mangrio, as seniors, share hope for the club’s future. Venkat hopes the club seeks opportunities in research now that the club has begun its growth. To him, this means answering questions of applying astronomy and cosmology to people’s everyday lives, along with focusing on the members themselves and their college major/minor applications to the field. Mangrio hopes for members to find connections on campus and to forge lifelong friendships, an individual goal he himself met through this club.
The club’s next adventure begins with a collaboration in the works with Whiskers and Soda, a coffee shop that has cats roaming around, a nod to the club’s unofficial name: “The Astronomy & Cosmology Society (and Cats)!” Students interested in joining the club can fill out the interest form and visit the Instagram page, @utdastrocosmo, for up-to-date information.
“Astronomy can be a great way to connect people,” Mangrio said. “Stargazing on its own has been such a pastime of the human race, and I [find] that community and astronomy are inseparable.”
