The Eberly College of Science

Department of Astronomy
and Astrophysics

We promote science education, training, and research to expand our knowledge of the universe through undergraduate and graduate education, research, and public outreach.

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group of astronomy undergraduate students
Astronomy and Astrophysics undergraduate program

Develop a comprehensive view of the universe and its physical laws and learn how to explain the universe to the world.

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Take a leading role in one of the most productive astronomy and astrophysics research programs in the country.

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Astronomy and Astrophysics graduate program
Exploring the Universe at Penn State

More than 60 faculty researchers and educators and a dozen faculty members from other departments and colleges at Penn State pursue greater understanding of our universe. Areas of investigation include exoplanets, observational and theoretical cosmology, gravitational radiation, space and ground-based instrumentation, supermassive black holes, brown dwarfs, astrostatistics, and high energy astrophysics.

Female astronomer using telescope as male astronomer looks on
M42 Galaxy
alex wolszczan standing in front of radio telescope
Covering the most active areas:

Penn State is one of the world's leading institutions in exoplanet research. Alexander Wolszscan, discoverer of the first exoplanets, is one of many faculty in this vibrant field.

Researcher standing near a hood with a box containing an image sensor inside

For decades Penn State has been at the cutting edge of new approaches to investigating the universe, designing and constructing innovative instrumentation for both space missions and ground-based telescopes.

At the forefront of new astronomical instrumentation:
Astronomy and Astrophysics Department

Our faculty is one of the largest and most productive astronomy and astrophysics programs in the country engaging in front-line research programs and preparing the next generation of scientists for the future.

Featured Faculty

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Professor Jane Charlton

Jane Charlton

Professor

Research Interests

Galactic Evolution and Cosmology
Interacting Galaxies
Star Formation
Quasars
Quasar Absorption Lines
Online Education in Astronomy
Professor Suvrath Mahadevan

Suvrath Mahadevan

Professor

Research Interests

Exoplanets
Astronomical Instrumentation
Large Scale Surveys
Astrophotonics
Astrobiology
Precision Measurements in Astrophysics
Eric Ford.

Eric Ford

Professor

Research Interests

Exoplanets
Planet Formation
Astrostatistics and Astroinformatics
High-Performance Computing
Data Science
Life in the Universe
M42 Galaxy
Featured Story
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NEID Exoplanet Instrument Sees First Light

The exoplanet-hunting instrument NEID, designed and built at Penn State, has now made its first observations collecting starlight.

NEID at WIYN telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory
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Black hole or neutron star? Mystery object in "mass gap" discovered

A cosmic merger, detected in near real time by the gravitational-wave research group at Penn State, has produced an object within the "mass gap" — a gap in the masses of observed objects between neutron stars and black holes.

Artist's impression of mysterious astonomical object detected by LIGO
Astrostatistics at Penn State
Astronomy is better with better statistics

By adapting, developing, and improving analytical methods and predictive models, statistics is helping Penn State astronomers to harness the full potential of their data.

Left to right: Eric Ford, Eric Feigelson, Hyungsuk Tak, Jogesh Babu. Credit: Nate Follmer.
Gamma-Ray Sources
Galactic gamma-ray sources reveal birthplaces of high-energy particles

The international High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Gamma-Ray Observatory collaboration, which includes Penn State researchers, has identified the cosmic sources of nine extremely high-energy gamma rays.

HAWC observatory
“We aim to supplement the knowledge of physical science teachers at the secondary level with some really exciting things so they can transfer that on to their students."
Astronomy Outreach
W. Neil Brandt

Astronomy and Astrophysics Spotlight

 
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Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics
Penn State University
525 Davey Laboratory
University Park, PA 16802
814.865.0418
Fax: 814.863.2842

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