Galaxies and Great Conversations: A Night with UCCS AIAA at Kosmos Resort
- ajcamarata9
- Sep 8
- 2 min read
Under the crystal-clear skies of Mosca, Colorado, University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) students gathered for an unforgettable night of stargazing — where the Milky Way spilled across the horizon and Saturn’s rings came into sharp view through high-powered telescopes.
The Kosmos Stargazing Resort and Spa hosted a stargazing party the evening of Saturday, 16 August 2025. It was completely enthralling with planetarium shows and amazing views of the night sky through their numerous telescopes. They are located in a Bortle class 2 zone Dark Sky Site, which means it is ideal for stargazing, astrophotography, and immersive night-sky exploration.
“It was a great opportunity for the students to meet and discuss the night sky with other like-minded individuals,” said Dr. Lynnane George from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the AIAA student branch faculty advisor.
Josh Pappas, Aerospace Engineering major and AIAA student branch president, brought his wife, Catie, to the event. He said, “I grew up the son of a Park Ranger at a National Park in West Texas. As a kid, I would look up at the stars in wonder at the brilliance of the Milky Way in the sky. Our time at Kosmos made me a kid again, looking at the stars with the same wonder from all those years ago.”
Accompanying the group was local entrepreneur and CEO of several start-up companies, Kartik Krishna. He said, “I am super glad that I was able to witness some unique Colorado magic and attend the stargazing party on 16 August 2025. Most aerospace and defense communities will classify me as a dummy in terms of my own space knowledge. However, I left the party genuinely intrigued with the many new space knowledge pieces I gathered in Mosca. : )
Looking at the sun through one of the big telescopes and learning about solar flares was a WOW moment. Watching the star constellations with the naked eye guided by the green laser pointer from the local expert was fascinating to say the least. Also got to catch a glimpse or two of Starlink satellites!! To top it all, I had plenty of enlightening conversations with fellow party guests on how American space entities are contributing to space junk.”
As the telescopes powered down and the group packed up for the night, the consensus was clear — the cosmos has a way of bringing people together, one starry night at a time. Dr. George said, “Events like these bring science to life!”
Submitted by Dr. Lynnane George, UCCS Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering