Our Mission
The UW-Madison Astronomy Department’s mission is to conduct cutting edge research and to offer students and postdocs the highest quality of education. We conduct research in diverse areas of astronomy, from the physics of stars to cosmology, in observation and theory, and through the construction of cutting edge instruments for our complement of telescopes. We pride ourselves in an inclusive, diverse, and friendly scientific environment.
The department consists of 150 members, with currently 20 faculty members, 6 scientists, 6 postdoctoral fellows, and 30 graduate students. We offer an undergraduate major in Astronomy and Physics and graduate studies towards a Ph.D. in astrophysics. Regular seminars, group meetings and lunches, and many intra- and inter-department collaborations enrich the exchange of ideas that is vital to developing new ideas and to perfect scientific inquiry.
From a traditional strength in observational astronomy and space- and ground-based instrumentation, and a long history of first rate research in the study of astrophysical gases and the interstellar medium, the department is pursuing traditional as well as new avenues, with a recent emphasis on the observational and theoretical study of structure formation and the physics of stars.
This website, implemented in 2011, aims to convey some of the exciting science and the engrossing learning environment you can find at the UW-Madison Astronomy Department.
Upcoming Events in Astronomy
News & Announcements
Maggie Ju, a second-year physics PhD student, is featured in the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium’s Student Spotlight. Maggie is a recipient of a WSGC Graduate and Professional Research Fellowship and works with Professor Melinda Soares-Furtado on young variable objects (including brown dwarfs and free-floating planets!) in the Orion Nebula Cluster. She uses near-infrared time series observations from the James Webb Space Telescope. In the future, her project will also explore disk evolution using millimeter-wavelength data in collaboration with postdoctoral fellow Abygail Waggoner. Alongside her research, Maggie engages the public as an Outreach Fellow and a docent at UW–Madison’s physics museum. Read the Student Spotlight here.
Congratulations to Bob Aloisi for receiving the Wisconsin Initiative for Science Literacy Award for Communicating PhD Research to the Public!
WIYN/NEID has published its 100th paper, with nearly half of these peer-reviewed papers published by UW-Madison. Congratulations to all students and colleagues throughout the WIYN consortium!
Check the Sterling Hall bulletin boards for more events and announcements.
Please note our bulletin board policy: These bulletin boards are for exclusive use of Department of Astronomy to promote Department of Astronomy events. Any materials posted here not posted by Department of Astronomy administration will be removed and discarded.
Washburn Observatory
Washburn Observatory, now home to the UW honors program and still in use for public observing and undergraduate instruction.
Gov. Washburn
Gov. Cadwallader C. Washburn was the founder of Washburn Observatory.
James Watson
First Director of Washburn Observatory.
Elizabeth Schofield
Assistant and “computer” at the Washburn Observatory, 1882-1883.
Emma Gattiker
Student and computer (part of the Washburn staff responsible for data reduction).
Alice Lamb
Wisconsin Astronomer (ca. 1885).
WI Solar Observatory
The Wisconsin Solar Observatory in front of Washburn Observatory.
Washburn Observatory
Washburn in the 1920s.
Washburn Aerial Photo
Washburn 15 Inch Refracto
The 15 inch refractor at Washburn Observatory still in operation during open houses and undergraduate.
Edward Holden
Edward Holden with 4.8 inch Respold meridian circle.
Cyrus Woodman
Founder of the Woodman Astronomical Library.
1st Woodman Library
The original Woodman Astronomical Library was located in Washburn Observatory.
Albert S. Flint
Staff Astronomer at Washburn Observatory.
George Comstock
George Comstock was the third director of the Washburn Observatory.
Clock Setting
Joel Stebbins
Joel Stebbins (fourth director of Washburn Observatory) at the eye piece of the 15 inch refractor.
Photometer
Gen. Astro. Instruction
The Washburn refractor has long been used in graduate and undergraduate instruction.
Pine Bluff Mirror Blank
Albert Whitford and C. Morse Huffer inspect the mirror blank for the 36 inch Pine Bluff Telescope (1952).
Rocket Instrument
Rocket Payload
Sterling Hall Bombing
Sterling Hall, which at that point housed the Astronomy on its top floors, was bombed in 1970.