Understanding the cosmos involves both observation and theory. Observation provides real-world data about how stars, galaxies, and other objects in space behave. Theory connects that data together ...

The twin Magellan Telescopes in Chile are each 6.5 meter optical telescopes. These telescopes are both equipped with instruments to take images and spectra of light from a wide variety of astronomical ...

Our department is young in spirit but has a century-old tradition of exceptional graduate students and faculty. Our teaching and research interests span the entire Universe with exciting observational ...

About 13.8 billion years ago, the Big Bang gave rise to everything, everywhere, and everywhen—the entire known Universe. What caused the Big Bang? What happened that first moment at the beginning of ...

The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian High Energy Astrophysics division focuses on X-ray astronomy and instrumentation involved in observations of high-energy sources. This research aims ...

Scientists now estimate that there are over a trillion galaxies in the Universe. Many follow broad classification patterns, but no two are exactly alike. The variety of galaxies we see gives us a ...

The Chandra X-ray Observatory is one of NASA’s premier space telescopes, in operation since 1999. The day-to-day control of the telescope, including telling it what part of the sky to observe, is ...

The MMT Observatory is the premier visible-light and infrared telescope jointly managed by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, part of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and ...

Is Earth unique, or are there other planets with life in the Milky Way? To answer this question and many others, astronomers need larger and more sensitive observatories than anything we currently ...

The Center for Astrophysics (CfA) provides world-class opportunities for academic training and career development in astrophysics. It is home to the Harvard University Department of Astronomy, which ...

T he Telescopio Nazionale Galileo on La Palma in the Canary Islands at sunset. The High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher for the Northern hemisphere (HARPS-N) is an instrument on this ...

BHEX combines a network of dedicated partners and the latest in optical communications technology to examine never-before-seen rings of light (photon rings) predicted to exist in black holes and ...