The Department of Astronomy is sad to announce the passing of Professor Emeritus Lew Snyder. He was a big influence on the Department for 30 years, serving as the Director of the Laboratory for Astronomical Imaging for many years and as the Chair of the Department in 2002- 2005. The family has established the Lew Snyder Memorial Fund that will be used to support graduate students. You can donate...
Astronomy at IllinoisWhy study Astronomy?
Featured StarAL TARF (β Cancri)
New Center for Astrophysical SurveysNCSA and the U of I have begun a new Center for Astrophysical Survey, directed by Prof. Joaquin Vieira
Supernova May Have Caused Mass ExtinctionProfessor Brian Fields and graduate students Ada Ertel and Jesse Miller have published a paper linking a supernova to a mass extinction millions of years ago. Read the article here
Get InvolvedExplore research opportunities for graduate students
Congratulations to Prof. Emeritus You-Hua Chu for being named an AAS Fellow! And congratulations to Illinois PhD alum (1984) John Hawley for also being named an AAS Fellow.
We are happy to announce that the observatory roof will finally be renovated. The dome will be included, but we will keep it as original as possible. If you want to help with the Observatory renovations (plans include interior upgrades but we need help), consider donations to either the Department of Astronomy Annual Fund or Friends of the Observatory Fund (...
More Department News
- Alum Dr. Dom Segura-Cox led a team that included Prof. Looney that discovered multiple rings and gaps in the disk of a young star. This is the youngest star that these structures have been seen in yet, suggesting that the conditions for planet formation are favorable at even younger times than...
- Congratulations to Di Wen who successfully defended his thesis on Wednesday, October 7, 2020.
- A team led by Illinois astronomers Qian Yang (postdoctoral researcher), Prof. Yue Shen and Prof. Xin Liu discover the longest echos from the heart of faraway galaxies. Read more about it ...
- Congratulations to Professor Brian Fields for being selected as a 2020 American Physical Society Fellow! He was recognized for his pioneering contributions to cosmology, nuclear and particle astrophysics, nucleosynthesis, cosmic-ray physics, gamma-ray astronomy, astrobiology, and supernovae.
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.
