This is a permanent place for STAHR alumni to share their reflections and memories from their time here! If you’d like to share a testimonial of your own, please feel free to fill out this form (:
“STAHR shaped so much of my time in college – and ultimately, shaped the person I became. The observatory was a true retreat for me. Learning the constellations, getting a feel for how the stars move overhead, mastering the art of quickly targeting the telescope upon a planet without even using the finder scope – these are all special memories for me. And in a more profound way, getting involved in STAHR as a student organization, starting to teach telescope classes and planning observing trips, really unlocked something within me. I really love space and the night sky and sharing these passions with others. STAHR was the place where I found these, and I’ll always be deeply grateful for it.” – Tom Rice ’12
“I loved my time with the observatory. Anytime I was there, it felt like my own personal fortress of solitude — above it all, isolated but with a view of every part of campus. I could go up at night and step out to the roof and trace out my entire day of classes and activities, ponder for a little bit, and then head inside and observe Saturn or Jupiter or a star cluster and gain some cosmic perspective.” – Ben Burns ’10
“STAHR was a lovely, small community that I stumbled into almost on accident. The observatory was my favorite place at Harvard – I remember going there alone late at night and pointing the telescope at whatever nebula I could find. I also loved the dark sky trips, where a bunch of us would drive to a tiny town on the coast and bring a couple telescopes in the trunk. One time we went in winter and it was awfully cold. I shared my extra wool socks when someone got their feet wet in the snow. We all sipped on hot chocolate while looking up into the milky way. There’s nothing like it!” – Elisabeth Meyer ’15
“Being a part of STAHR was what I dreamed of becoming since I came for Visitas and saw the observatory for the first time. Getting a chance to have a place to come up and explore the night sky night after night deepened my appreciation of astronomy and brought the heavens closer than ever before. I made lifelong friends on our STAHR board, and will never forget the joy of seeing, and showing Saturn’s rings to all our visitors.” – Rodrigo Cordova ’19
“Observing one night when an elevator repairman came in to access the machine room; after he did his job I asked if he wanted to see Saturn and we watched it together for a while and talked about the universe until he said ‘well, I’d better be going, there are three entrapments I have to get to…’ !!”