University of Chicago Astronomy & Astrophysics
At the Astronomy & Astrophysics Department of the University of Chicago, we work on a wide range of topics at the frontiers of astrophysics: from the newest theories in early-universe cosmology to the ancient ideas of the Babylonian theory of the planets; from distant thermonuclear flashes to the nearby interstellar medium; from large-scale structure to small-scale star formation. We study the cosmic background radiation, as well as design adaptive optics. We build detectors, use telescopes and interferometers, and we think about the cosmic consequences of string theory. Our interests range from the theory of astrophysical jets to observations from a jumbo jet carrying an infrared telescope. We investigate the universe using wavelengths from radio astronomy to the highest-energy cosmic rays. We travel the world to discover the cosmos. Our scientific activities take us south to Antarctica and Argentina, north to the polar regions. We go anywhere we can learn about the universe.
We celebrated our 100th birthday in 1997--our Department has had a long and quite colorful past. The founding genius was George Ellery Hale, who subsequently built the Mount Wilson observatory, providing our graduate Edwin Hubble with the tools to discover the expansion of the universe. Hale also co-founded the Astrophysical Journal, which was edited until 1971 within our Department. Other luminaries who have had strong associations with our Department are E. E. Barnard, Otto Struve, S. Chandrasekhar, Gerard Kuiper, William Morgan, Bengt Stromgren and David Schramm among many others.
The astrophysics program at the University of Chicago began with the building of the Yerkes Observatory, in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, where the entire Department was located. By the mid-sixties it had become clear that ties to the intellectual community on campus needed to be strengthened, and there was a shift of the center of mass from Wisconsin to Chicago. All of the academic programs are now on campus. Yerkes still provides laboratory facilities, contains the bulk of the library astronomy holdings outside of Crerar, and offers access to research telescopes and instruments for prototyping and instruction.
