Nicholas H. Dean

AFA Journal/Engage magazine staff writer

The heavens declare the glory of God; 
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
(Psalm 19:1, ESV)

June 2016 – Nestled in the quaint village of French Camp, Mississippi, the Rainwater Observatory and Planetarium is a hidden gem that serves to show just how true those words of Scripture are.

The Rainwater Observatory and Planetarium is an educational outreach ministry of French Camp Academy. (See 1/16 AFAJ.) It began in the summer of 1985, when a Jesuit priest sold a 16-foot reflector telescope to FCA. A group of eager staff, students, alumni, and astronomy enthusiasts gathered to create a new home for the telescope atop a lonely hill on FCA’s Rainwater Farm near the main campus. It was not long before others recognized the potential for a fully equipped observatory.

With significant contributions of time, materials, donations, and expert guidance, the site has become one of the largest observatories in the southeastern U. S. It now boasts more than 25 powerful telescopes that enable visitors to see the moon, stars, planets, distant galaxies, and even solar prominences on the sun. The observatory also contains a small planetarium, lecture room, bunk house, indoor and outdoor science exhibits, a picnic area, and classroom – all used by the FCA family and public alike.

Edwin Faughn, managing director of Rainwater Observatory and Planetarium, told AFA Journal, “This unique facility offers a window into the splendor of the heavens that few around the country can offer.”

For the students of French Camp, this window exists as a particularly incredible opportunity. With state-of-the-art equipment and invaluable resources, these students are able to learn about astronomy through their own eyes. In addition to lunar and solar viewing telescopes, the observatory has exhibits containing meteorites, rocks, minerals, astronomical artwork, and scale models of the solar system. As valuable as textbooks are, nothing can quite compare to a firsthand experience.

It is not only for the students. Each spring, the observatory hosts the annual Midsouth Stargaze and Astronomy Conference, an attraction that brings in amateur and expert astronomers from around the country, and includes presentations from professional research astronomers. The observatory also hosts workshops and a free monthly public program every second Friday of the month. Whether it is seeing a piece of the Chelyabinsk meteorite that hit Russia in 2013 or seeing a far off galaxy as though it is close enough to touch, the observatory has something to offer everyone.

For Faughn, though, the offering is more than mere astronomy. It is also a humbling opportunity to worship and give glory to God.

“It’s really humbling when we truly consider our very existence on this tiny planet. When we look up at the stars at night, we are not just seeing points of light but physical places in the universe.” Faughn told AFAJ, “Our minds cannot even begin to fathom the unimaginably vast and beautiful universe we live in.”

Faughn continued, “One of my favorite passages in the Psalms reads, ‘When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?’ (Psalm 8:3-4).”

Indeed, Rainwater Observatory and Planetarium presents an opportunity to draw one’s attention to the heavens and give glory to God for all that He has set in place.  

Rainwater Observatory and Planetarium
French Camp Academy
One Fine Place
French Camp, Mississippi 39745
rainwaterobservatory.org
662-547-7283