The Astronomy and Rocketry Club (ARC) is a new club cofounded by sophomores Aaryaman Chaurasiya, Shlok Bhardwaj, and Maneesh Chilupur. ARC is planning to host meetings where club members create telescopes and miniature rockets in March and April, respectively.

Aaryaman has given further details on the process of each project.

“We will use two lenses and a PVC pipe to make a telescope… that can view the craters of the moon,” Aaryaman said. “…[W]e’re using a safe form of fuel to make our own model rockets and have a launch competition in terms of height.”

But the exciting activities aren’t restricted to current members of the club, and new members are encouraged to join.

“Any and all students are welcome to join and drop by if they are interested in joining ARC,” Shlok said. “We’d like for all kinds of students, especially STEM students to join. We promise there won’t be any homework!”

Students who have joined have expressed interest in various topics covered in club meetings.

“My favorite things about ARC [are] the long, in-depth explanations of subjects such as spacetime and gravity because they offer a broader perspective on those topics,” said sophomore Sheikh Faiyaz Ali. “Videos are shown about the topics to encourage club members to explore the topics on their own, and overall the presentations are well thought out.”

Aside from projects and career benefits, the cofounders have expressed their genuine interest in the club and astronomy overall.

“I just love hanging out with the people I know, doing the thing that I love the most, and having a fun time during it,” Maneesh said. “There’s no such thing as enough knowledge on space. It’s so vast you could spend a lifetime studying it and you wouldn’t crack a dent.”