Illinois Prof Looney was among the science team that released a beautiful image of the dust inferred magnetic field in two galaxies. The Cigar Galaxy (M82), shown here, has its large-scale magnetic field following the bipolar outflows (red) generated by the intense nuclear starburst.
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Illinois Profs Looney and Crutcher and grad student Erin Cox were among the science team that released a beautiful image of the dust inferred magnetic field in the Orion nebula using SOFIA HAWC+ observations. Prof. Looney is a co-I of the HAWC+ instrument, producing the cryogenic motors for the instrument at Illinois.
Department of Astronomy Professor Charles Gammie has been selected for a prestigious Associate Research Appointment in the Center for Advanced Study (CAS) during the 2019-2020 academic year. Tenured faculty with winning proposals are appointed Associates and awarded one semester of release time to pursue their projects in the coming academic year. In accordance with the Center’s missio
More Department News
- Four professors, one instructor, and one TA are on the Fall 2018 Excellent Teacher list. Professors Bryan Dunne and Brian Fields were listed as Outstanding. Others on the list include: Professors Charles Gammie, Joaquin Vieira, and Tony Wong, Instructor Amanda Winans, and TA Melanie Archipley.
- Globular star clusters are favorite targets for amateur sky watchers. To the naked eye they appear as fuzzy-looking stars. Through a small telescope they resolve into glittering snowball-shaped islands of innumerable stars crowded together.
- Yixian Cao earned her PhD on November 15, 2018. The title of her defense was "Spatially Resolved Study of Molecular Isotopologue 13CO In Nearby Galaxies". Congratulations, Yixian!
- Prof. Joaquin Vieira's lab is the center of activity for the new camera at the South Pole Telescope. Read more.
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.
