David Castañeda

Students gathered at NMSU’s observatory to admire the full moon. Sept. 29, 2023.

As the moon rose over the Organ Mountains, more than 150 enthusiastic students gathered to observe the full moon at the Tombaugh observatory. As they listened to traditional Chinese music and snacked on mooncakes, a slideshow ran on the observatory wall to tell those nearby about the rich history of the celebration they were attending.  

As students peered through telescope lenses and casted their eyes up to the stars, they participated in a festival that takes place across the world in Asian American communities.  

The Sept. 29 Harvest Moon Festival was a joint event from Asian American and Pacific Islander Programs and the astronomy department. The event’s main purpose was to celebrate the Harvest Moon Festival, which is the second most important celebration in East Asian communities after Lunar New Year.  

For AAPI Programs, it is a way for them to continue growing their programs. The organization is not yet a fully-fledged diversity program like other well-known programs on campus, but they hope that events like these will help show the need for Asian American visibility.  

“Having this festival that represents many cultures across East Asia and seeing that the attendance was largely representative of everyone- it was representative of all races and people at NMSU,” said AAPI Acting Director Dr. Sophia Sangwanthong. “It shows not only the need for visibility for AAPI folks but for education and cultural programming that speaks to the continent of Asia as a whole.” 

Because the event was jointly hosted by both AAPI Programs and the astronomy department, there were opportunities for students to learn about both Asian Culture and astronomy at large. In addition to watching the full moon rise, students were also encouraged to observe the double star Albireo.  

Students were able to observe through telescopes available at the site, and one of the observatories was open to participants. Lines to participate in the astronomy aspects of the event wrapped around corners, everyone excited to get a glimpse of the night sky. 

“The moon has a lot of meaning for a lot of different cultures, and scientifically has a lot of influence on earth,” said astronomy department member Zach Edwards. “Albireo is significant because it becomes two stars when observed from a telescope. One star is red and one of them blue.”   

The joint event is one of the many events hosted by AAPI programs throughout the year. While their events see high attendance, the group is only beginning its tenure at NMSU. Currently, AAPI programs exist in an in-between state. The organization is not yet a full diversity program but is also not considered a student organization or club.  

The Harvest Moon festival’s high turnout represents the necessity of the program and the support it has from the NMSU community. In addition to taking part in a worldwide celebration and uplifting Asian American voices, it helps grow the relationship between the sciences and cultural branches of the university.   

“This event means a lot to me as a member of the Asian American community to see things from my and other Asian cultures reflected within the work that I’m doing,” said astronomy student Audrey Dijeau. “Ultimately, astronomy is something that everyone around the world can share. We all share the same night sky.”  

The event was unfortunately cut short due to lightning and storm conditions out of the South. While the event was cut short, the AAPI programs showed high attendance with enthusiastic participants. The event only lasted an hour but was representative of the ongoing work the organization is doing.  

AAPI Programs invite people to join them for other cultural celebrations and programming they host throughout the year. Upcoming events include a partnering with NMSU’s Creative Media Institute to present a Japanese horror double feature screening on Oct. 23 at the CMI Theater. Throughout the year, there will also be events hosted to celebrate Diwali, and an academic summit during the spring semester with other diversity programs.

For more information, visit their account on Instagram @nmsu_api.