Astronomy

Keivan Stassun, Stevenson Professor of Physics and Astronomy and director of the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation at Vanderbilt University, has been appointed to the National Science Board by President Joe Biden. Read More

David Weintraub’s commitment to equal opportunity in astronomy inspired his latest book, The Sky Is for Everyone. The autobiographical essays by women who broke down barriers and changed the face of modern astronomy include a chapter by alum Yilen Gómez Maqueo Chew. Read More

A team of astronomers has made the discovery of a lifetime that will help answer burning questions on the evolution of stars. The group is led by Keivan Stassun, Evolutionary Studies Initiative member and Stevenson Professor of Physics and Astronomy. Read More

Robert O’Dell, Distinguished Research Professor of Physics and Astronomy, has been named a 2022 fellow of the American Astronomical Society for extraordinary achievement and service to the field of astronomy. He is among 23 fellows being inducted into the AAS this year. Read More

Vanderbilt University researchers from the departments of physics and astronomy, math, electrical engineering, and history have received a $3 million National Science Foundation Research Traineeship Award to establish a graduate certificate program in the emerging field of multimessenger astronomy. Read More

International astronomy collaboration strengthens evidence for signal that may hint at ultra-low frequency gravitational waves. Read More

Stephen Taylor, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, has received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program award to further his efforts to probe ultra-low-frequency gravitational waves. Read More

Keivan Stassun joins leading astronomers to write "Astro2020," a once-in-a-decade guide for astronomy research, prioritizing gargantuan telescopes on the ground and in orbit as well as increased diversity and inclusion. Read More

The School of Medicine Basic Sciences brought together a biologist, a Christian theologist, a philosopher and an astrophysicist June 17 for a lab-to-table conversation exploring their views and academic perspectives on the origins of life. Read More

Led by Vanderbilt astrophysicists, researchers work with data from thousands of galaxies to investigate the origins and physics of black hole binaries in nearby galaxies. Est. reading time: 2 mins. Read More

NSF funding will support the development of new techniques to search for signatures of exotic interstellar phenomena. Read More

Vanderbilt astronomers lead group that created the roadmap for studying supermassive black holes after detecting the low-frequency gravitational waves they create. Est. reading time: 2 mins. Read More

Join Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory on Saturday, April 17, at 8 p.m. CT for a free, educational star party and discussion. Read More

Billy Teets, director and resident astronomer for Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory, will lead a discussion of the history of the Voyager spacecraft—including their engineering, major discoveries and what they are up to today. The virtual event will be at 7 p.m. CT on Thursday, March 25. Read More

Vanderbilt astronomers have painted their best picture yet of an RV Tauri variable—a rare type of stellar binary—by mining a 130-year-old dataset that spans the widest range of light yet collected for one of these systems, from radio waves to X-rays. Read More

Thanks to her passion for astronomy, as well as mentoring from faculty, undergraduate Samantha Bianco is both a named co-author on a graduate-level scientific research paper and the first Vanderbilt student officially to have completed an Immersion Vanderbilt project. Read More

Through a partnership with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Vanderbilt astronomers use big data to see the cosmos as a stop-motion movie instead of a snapshot. Read More

Learn how federal policy shapes space exploration, observe a once-in-a-lifetime planetary conjunction and more this month with Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory. Read More

Take a guided tour of the autumn skies during a star party led by Billy Teets, acting director and outreach astronomer for Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory. Stargaze on Saturday, Nov. 14, and learn how to buy a home telescope from a Vanderbilt astronomer on Thursday, Nov. 19. Read More

The intermediate-mass black hole first observed in May 2019 presents an entirely new category of black hole. Read More