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

Prof Leslie Looney
Dean's Teaching Award to Prof. Leslie Looney
Congratulations to Prof. Leslie Looney, one of this year's recipients of the Dean's Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching!  Leslie is not just a captivating and popular teacher, but has long been the driving force behind innovation in our curriculum.  He will be honored at a...
Telescope
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...
Headshot
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...
NIRCam deep field
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...
Objects detected by DeepDISC
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...

Astrofest 2025

Illini AstroFest is being organized to bring together members of the astrophysics community from around campus to showcase our research, encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration, and build community. It will take place on April 25, 2025, from 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications.

There will be poster sessions in the morning and afternoon. All members of the Illinois campus community are welcome to attend. This event is specifically geared towards early-career researchers and faculty members. Registration by April 11 is required to attend, and all registered participants are asked to present a one-minute introductory slide.

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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. 

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Help celebrate our centennial by reaching for the stars.

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

Illustration of observable universe

Introduction to Astronomy

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

ASTR 100

 heat map of universe

Introduction to Astrophysics

Survey of modern astronomy for students with background in physics.

ASTR 210

 Hubble image of universe

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

 Stephens quartet galaxy

Galaxies and the Universe

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

ASTR 406

 Computer generated model

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