The Department of Astronomy is excited to be part of the new Data Science majors on campus. Astronomy + Data Science majors will take advantage of astronomy's close ties with data science and the large surveys observing now and over the next few years. Read about it here.
Astronomy at IllinoisWhy study Astronomy?
Featured StarDENEB (α Cygni)
Illinois astronomers help capture first image of Milky Way's black holeCongratulations to Prof. Gammie and his team as part of the international collaboration that just released the first image of the accretion disk surrounding the supermassive Black Hole at the center of our Galaxy. It's a great achievement. Read about it here
100 Gifts for 100 YearsHelp celebrate our centennial by reaching for the stars. 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.
Illinois Graduate Student Detects Signs of Water in a Galaxy Far, Far AwaySreevani Jarugula is among the ALMA scientists who detected signs of water in the Universe.
Grad student Colin Burke decodes the mysteries of black hole accretionAstronomy grad student Colin Burke and Prof. Yue Shen led a new study revealing a relation between the light flickering pattern and the black hole mass in active galactic nuclei, published in the Aug 13 issue of Science. Read more here
We are excited to announce that the Observatory was awarded a $500,000 grant from the National Park Service. These funds will be used to repair brick and other exterior components that will complement the university's funding to repair the roof. Thanks to Department members Prof. Bryan Dunne and Prof. Leslie Looney and the...
Join Physics and Astronomy Professor Nico Yunes at the William M. Staerkel Planetarium at Parkland College on Sept 2 to discuss the science behind the fun planetarium show Einstein...
More Department News
- Congratulations to Professor Joaquin Vieira for his promotion to full professor! Read more here
- Congratulations to Dr. Sreevani Jarugula! She defended her PhD thesis "Molecules in the Early Universe" on July 8, 2022 with advisor Prof. Joaquin Vieira.
- Congratulations to Dr. Jesse Miller and Dr. Ada Ertel! They defended their PhD theses: "Consequences of Near-Earth Supernovae on the Heliosphere" and "Paleo-astronomy: Investigating Near-Earth Supernovae using the Geologic Record", respectively, with Prof. Brian Fields this week...
- The AAS has released the astronomical obituary of Illinois Emeritus Professor Ed Olson, who passed in 2020. Ed was an expert on eclipsing and mass-transferring binary stellar systems. Read more here.
Calendar
Astronomy Picture of the Day
ASTR 100Learn the basic concepts of modern astronomy, from the Solar System to the Big Bang.
ASTR 210Survey of modern astronomy for students with background in physics.
ASTR 350Studies the origin, evolution, and eventual fate of the universe, and the scientific tools used to study these issues.
