New high-powered telescope reaches Chilean peak
The first major component of the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope (FYST) has arrived at its final home: the Cerro Chajnantor mountaintop, more than 18,000 feet above sea level.
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Astronomy News
Clearest images yet of 380,000-year-old baby universe released
The new results confirm a simple model of the universe and have ruled out a majority of competing alternatives, says the research team.
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Cornell Astronomers Secure Over 350 Hours of JWST Cycle 4 Time for Groundbreaking Cosmic Research
Cornell astronomers have secured over 350 hours of JWST Cycle 4 observing time, contributing to groundbreaking research on exoplanets, planetary systems, and distant galaxies. Graduate student Elijah Mullens and postdoctoral researchers Ryan Challener and Lili Alderson earned key investigator roles,...
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Barrier-breaking astronomer graces a U.S. quarter
Immortalized in a series honoring notable women, Vera Cooper Rubin, MS ’51, is the first Cornellian ever featured on a coin.
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Joseph Burns, emeritus professor, former dean of faculty, dies at 83 
Joseph A. Burns, Ph.D. ’66, emeritus professor of engineering and astronomy, and a former vice provost and dean of the Cornell faculty, died Feb. 26 in Ithaca.
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Concert celebrates the wonders of space March 2
In a musical journey through the cosmos, the Cornell Symphony Orchestra will perform the world premiere of “Ex Terra, Ad Astra,” a new work commissioned especially for this year’s Young Person’s Concert.
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Gain knowledge from Big Red experts—without leaving home
The University’s online learning platform, eCornell, offers a dizzying variety of content; here’s a sampling, from AI to wines to real estate.
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Astronomer Anna Ho and team win Scialog award
Ho’s project will look at supermassive black holes residing in the centers of distant galaxies.
Read moreTogether the Department of Astronomy and Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science represent one of the world’s leading institutes for space science with over 110 active researchers. Research emphases include cosmology, solar system exploration, exoplanet science, and fundamental astrophysics. Graduate students, early career researchers and undergraduates, are actively engaged in current NASA missions, NSF consortia, and CCAT-Prime/FYST. The department and center also run an extensive and robust outreach program to the broader community.
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Department of Astronomy research
The Department of Astronomy is a leading center of astrophysics and planetary science research.
Visit CCAPS, the Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science
Research spotlight
Universe Today reports "New research titled “Metal pollution in Sun-like stars from destruction of ultra-short-period planets” suggests that rocky planets are the source of these discrepancies. The authors are Christopher E. O’Connor and Dong Lai from Northwestern University and Cornell University, respectively." Read the full story here.
Undergraduate program
The Astronomy Major at Cornell University is designed to be flexible so that it can be customized to the needs of each student.
Learn about the undergraduate program
Graduate program
Astronomy offers a wide variety of world-class research opportunities in astronomy, astrophysics and space science, with strong multidisciplinary connections, and a friendly and supportive atmosphere.
Reaching beyond campus
In the spirit of the renowned Cornell Professor Carl Sagan, the Department of Astronomy reaches beyond campus in numerous ways. The Spacecraft Planetary Image Facility (SPIF) is a repository of spacecraft data, a facilitator of research, and a hub for PreK-12 education and public outreach activities. Ask an Astronomer has been answering questions from the curious since 1997. The Cornell Astronomical Society conducts viewing nights at the Fuertes Observatory and offers educational programing to the public.