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Research Guides

Departmental Research

The Department of Astronomy has active educational and research programs in key areas including the origin of the Solar System, the search for cosmic life, stellar evolution, the processing of the elements, the formation and structure of stars and galaxies, and the structure and evolution of the Universe. Other topics of study include cosmo-cartography and cinematography (i.e. mapping the universe and its changes), galaxy formation and evolution, dark matter and energy, gravitation, galactic structure, stellar structure and evolution, planetary and cometary composition and formation, orbital stability, asteroid studies, and numerous other topics.

Programs & Degrees

The Department of Astronomy grants the following degrees:

 

Graduate Astronomy students have the opportunity to participate in one of two interdisciplinary degree programs:

  • The UW Astrobiology Program (with the departments of Aeronautics & Astronautics, Atmospheric Sciences, Biology, Earth & Space Sciences, Environmental & Forest Sciences, Microbiology, and Oceanography)
  • The Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship in Big Data and Data Science (with the departments of Oceanography, Computer Science, Statistics, Genome Sciences, and Chemical Engineering)
  • The N-Body Shop, while not a degree-granting program, is a theoretical and computational astrophysics research group which many of the Astronomy faculty and graduate students are involved with