Astronomy

Gayley, Gurnett, Howes, Kaaret, Lang, McEntaffer, Mutel, Scudder, Spangler

Our astronomical research ranges from the innermost solar system to the most remote galaxies. We use radio telescopes to observe radio galaxies, quasars, and stars; we use both X-ray telescopes and telescopes at other wavelengths to study the galactic center, black hole candidates, and supernova remnants. We also use spacecraft to observe the planets and solar system. Our theorists study stellar winds, the solar corona, accretion disks, astrophysical turbulence, and the interstellar medium. Students hone their speaking skills in our weekly space and astrophysics seminar.		Image gallery
We have recently added faculty members and broadened the range of research opportunities that we offer in astronomy. Our students use major observatories, and some spend a period of residence at national radio observatories. With our instruments on major spacecraft, we are one of the few departments in the U.S. that offer students significant opportunities for spacecraft exploration of the solar system. We are also one of the few departments with its own robotic observatory, which is located in Arizona. Our PhDs are successful in finding research careers at national observatories, laboratories, and universities. Our faculty includes leaders of the Plasma Astrophysics topical group of the American Physical Society.

• Theory Topics: highly supersonic stellar winds accelerated by photon pressure; radiation transport in stellar atmospheres and disks; how massive stars lose mass prior to a supernova
• Simulation Topics: colliding winds in hot-star binaries, radiation transport in outflows from stars
• Students may participate in international collaboration in stellar research
• Students develop skills including programming in Fortran and C++
• Students' experience in writing dynamic numerical simulations prepares them for positions either as academic postdocs or as a software specialists in industry
• In most years, grant support is available for an RA stipend and student travel to conferences

• Experimental studies of planetary radio emissions and plasma waves
• Group is conducting a low-frequency radar search for subsurface water at Mars
• Student analysis of spacecraft data: Voyagers 1 and 2 (now approaching interstellar space); Cassini (in orbit around Saturn); Cluster (consisting of four spacecraft in Earth orbit); and Mars Express in orbit around Mars
• Supervised over 50 space physics thesis projects; former students now at NASA centers, industry, other universities
• Students also interact with other group members, including a large number of research scientists, engineers, and programmers
• In most years, grant support is available for multiple RA stipends and student travel to conferences

• Turbulence in the magnetized plasmas found in laboratories, space and astrophysics
• Analysis of spacecraft data from the turbulent solar wind
• Students develop skills including high-performance computing on the nation's fastest supercomputers, analysis of simulation and observational data, and development of simple analytical models to interpret results
• Students also interact with group members including a postdoc and collaborators around the world
• In most years, grant support is available for an RA stipend and student travel to conferences

• Black holes, compact objects in our galaxy, intermediate mass black holes
• Students use satellite based observatories such as NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope, and the European Space Agency Newton X-ray Multimirror Observatory
• Students learn data reduction using astronomical software and develop programming skills
• Students build detectors for future space-based observatories
• Students learn laboratory skills and knowledge of nuclear instrumentation electronics
• Grant support is available for RA stipend and student travel to conferences

• Observations are multi-wavelength, using both radio interferometry and X-ray imaging/spectroscopy
• Topics include the interstellar medium of the galactic center: magnetic and X-ray phenomena, stellar winds, and ionized and molecular gas
• Students use the Very Large Array (VLA), the Owens Valley Millimeter Array (OVRO) and the Chandra X-ray Observatory
• Students develop skills with data reduction and analysis using astronomical software and they develop programming skills using IDL
• Students supported by a pre-doctoral research fellowship may reside at the VLA and interact with staff radio astronomers
• Students also interact with other astronomy faculty
• In most years, grant support is available for an RA stipend and student travel to conferences

• Observations of supernova remnants and low mass X-ray binaries
• Students use space based observatories such as Chandra X-ray Observatory and Spitzer Space Telescope
• Students develop data reduction and analysis skills using astronomical software
• Students learn numerical methods and write code in IDL and other languages
• Students design X-ray spectrometers for future space based observatories
• Students design and build instrumentation for suborbital payloads
• In most years, grant support is available for an RA stipend and student travel to conferences

• Observations are very-long baseline interferometry (VLBI), using radio telescopes and spacecraft
• Jets in active galaxies, stellar radio emission, interstellar and interplanetary turbulence
• Students use radio telescopes: Very Large Array (VLA), Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), Arecibo; and two optical telescopes located in Arizona: Rigel, and the Iowa Robotic Observatory
• Students develop programming skills using C and Fortran
• Students also interact with group members including a programmer as well as other astronomy faculty
• In most years, grant support is available for an RA stipend and student travel to conferences

• Solar wind expansion
• Students will develop skills writing code in C, Fortran and IDL, and numerical methods
• Students will also interact with group members including four software engineers as well as other faculty
• In most years, grant support is available an RA stipend and student travel to conferences

• Interplanetary medium, interstellar medium, radio galaxies, quasars
• Students use the Very Large Array (VLA) and Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) radio telescopes
• Students also encouraged to carry out instrumentation-development projects with the 4.5 meter instructional radio telescope on roof of Van Allen Hall
• Students develop skills in numerical methods, writing code in C and other languages
• In most years, grant support is available for an RA stipend and student travel to conferences