Expanding universe. Expanding mind.

Think outside the world

If you are interested in solving large problems with big ideas, Astronomy has a degree program for you.

In our programs, you will expand your mind using tools that can be applied to multiple problems.

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Astronomy News

NCSA Building Stronger Connections Among Observatories, Astronomers

The following passage is an except from an article about the proposed Hop-Enabled Real-time Observatory Information and Coordination (HEROIC) service from NCSA: "With hundreds of observatories scattered throughout the world, there has never been a better time for astronomers to observe the...

SKAI Launched to Further Explore the Universe

The following except below is from a recent article. Please follow the link for more information. Funded by a five-year, $20 million grant from the U.S. National Science...

UIUC astronomers lead NEXUS, an ambitious new survey with JWST

One of the largest ever allocations of competitive telescope time on the James Webb Space Telescope will go to Prof. Shen's group for the North ecliptic pole EXtragalactic Unified Survey (NEXUS). NEXUS will address a range of topics from the evolution of galaxies and supermassive...

Deep Learning meets the challenges of new astronomical data

New research by Prof. Xin Liu and graduate student Grant Merz is highlighted in an LAS News article (see link below). The project, known as Detection, Instance Segmentation, and Classification with Deep Learning, or DeepDISC, leverages machine learning—a branch of AI intertwined with computer...

Successful Thesis Defense from Dr. Frankie Encalada

We want to congratulate the successful thesis defense of the newly minted Dr. Frankie Encalada on August 23, 2024. He is pictured with his committee members Professor Leslie Looney, Professor Tony Wong, and Professor Charles Gammie

Astronomy Events

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Real data, real experiences

The universe provides plenty of room for exploration. Astronomy classes make use of vast, modern datasets to give you hands-on experience with real data.

Undergraduate programs Graduate programs

Help celebrate our centennial by reaching for the stars.

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100 gifts for 100 years

In celebration of the department’s centennial, we’re asking for your help to replenish the department’s annual fund. Our goal is 100 gifts for 100 years.

Celebrate with us Give to astronomy

Introduction to Astronomy

Learn the basic concepts of modern astronomy, from the Solar System to the Big Bang.

ASTR 100

Introduction to Astrophysics

Survey of modern astronomy for students with background in physics.

ASTR 210

The Big Bang, Black Holes, and the End of the Universe

Studies the origin, evolution, and eventual fate of the universe, and the scientific tools used to study these issues.

ASTR 350

Galaxies and the Universe

Explore elementary aspects of physical cosmology, including galaxies in our Local Group, starburst galaxies, and quasars.

ASTR 406

Computing in Astronomy

An introduction to the use of computers in astrophysics research.

ASTR 310

Astronomy picture of the day

Discover the cosmos with NASA.gov. Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

Learn about today's picture