Knox Students Get Hands-On Learning on MACRO Trip

Associate Professor of Astronomy and Director of the Knox Observatory Nathalie Hauberg ’06 and Makerspace and Science Technician Alex Fluegel ’19 visited the Winer Observatory in southern Arizona to perform maintenance on the Robert L. Mutel Telescope with a trio of Knox students over spring break. 

The group is the latest of Knox participants of the MACRO Consortium, a joint effort of regional colleges and universities to study the stars and all things space.

Haurberg and Fluegel have taken Knox students to Arizona multiple times over the last few years since Knox became part of MACRO, performing various tasks, such as maintenance and repairs to the telescope, while learning how to operate it via mobile from Knox’s campus.

“There’s ongoing maintenance and constant instrumentation developments to do. A big goal was to add a new camera and update the computers,” Fluegel said. “We were doing a complete network wrap. We also worked with another colleague from MACRO, who was setting up other pads at the observatory. It was a good experience for students—something they will use when we set up a new peer and mount at Green Oaks.”

For the three students, the experience was relatively new, as they were getting their first looks at the telescope and the Winer Observatory in person.

"I’m a visual learner, so seeing helps me understand how the telescope works. I think that is going to enrich this term when I take both Nathalie’s astronomy and observational astronomy classes," Taylor McAdams ’27 said.

Students worked on the telescope early in the week, learning the ins and outs of the technology while also keeping eyes toward the sky.

“I’m in the engineering program, so I’m interested in the instrumentation, how the telescope moves, and how to detect data,” physics major SeongKyung Jung ’27 said. “I thought this experience was very helpful in my academic career path. Also, I’ve always been interested in space, so it was cool to see how the instrumentation is done at the observatory.”

This was the second visit this academic year; the previous trip in the fall helped bring the site online.

“Due to the Arizona monsoon season, the telescope turns off in the summer, so we take a smaller trip down in the fall,” Haurberg said. “The spring trip is something we hope to continue to do during breaks because we typically can bring more students down to learn about the telescope.”

Seeing their work in action, with a full view of the night sky, not only left a lasting impression on the students during the trip but will also come in handy this term and in the future.

“Thinking short-term, I wanted to go down to see how astronomy is done, see the processes, the equipment, and meet the people who do that,” physics major Roy Bridgewater ’27 said. “Looking at the future, maybe a career in astronomy, so to be able to get an experience of being immersed in that world and seeing things I’ve only seen in textbooks is really cool.”

- Photos by Knox MACRO participants and Philip Griffin '20

Published on April 02, 2026

- Scott Holland, Knox College Office of Communications