Eberly College of Science

Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics

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an illustration of a planet and a star

Newly discovered ‘super-Earth’ offers prime target in search for alien life

October 23, 2025

Students stand at their research posters with symposium attendees.

ICDS Symposium spotlights student, faculty research

October 22, 2025

simulated image of neutron star merger remnant

Mixing neutrinos of colliding neutron stars changes how merger unfolds

September 19, 2025

Guido Cervone, Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences director, stands at a podium to give welcome remarks at last year's ICDS Symposium.

Institute for Computational and Data Sciences Symposium scheduled for Oct. 6

September 15, 2025

Artist’s impression of a black hole star

Mysterious ‘red dots’ in early universe may be ‘black hole star’ atmospheres

September 12, 2025

Illustration with merging black holes at center, surrounded by swirling representation of gravitational waves

Black holes everywhere! Ten years of LIGO and gravitational waves

September 10, 2025

image of galaxy marked with location of XUE10, and its spectra inset

Abundant carbon dioxide in planet-forming disk challenges planet origin models

August 29, 2025

illustration of signals from Earth headed toward Mars, the Sun, and other planets

If aliens explore space like us, we should look for their calls to other planets

August 21, 2025

simulation of two neutron stars merging

New grants to support neutron star research and undergraduate exchange program

August 18, 2025

students pose behind Green Bank Observatory sign

Finding patterns through the noise: Penn State undergraduates search for pulsars

July 28, 2025

Four people sit around a wooden table over a white posterboard with colored post-its on it.

New program aims to help faculty build skills in AI, quantum sciences

June 23, 2025

Robin Tuluie holds microphone and gestures

Heard on Campus: PhysicsX founder on deep learning in physics and engineering

June 23, 2025

Vera Rubin Observatory underneath streaks of stars in night sky

Tune in to unveiling of first images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and LSST

June 17, 2025

A detector mounted on a crane over ice

Strange radio pulses detected coming from ice in Antarctica

June 13, 2025

illustration of nebula with glare from a star

Unveiling the secrets of planet formation in environments of high UV radiation

May 21, 2025

three panels of hypothetical planetary system

Combination of cosmic processes shapes the size and location of sub-Neptunes

March 17, 2025

Image of Kevin Luhman holding a U.S. stamp with his image from the James Webb Space Telescope

Q&A: The story behind the cosmic image on a new US stamp

March 11, 2025

illustration of a space craft approaching Earth

Could an Earth-like alien civilization detect us?

February 05, 2025

A play button overlaid on a Research at Penn State graphic showing a scene from the movie "Moana 2," an image of Penn State faculty member Christopher Palma with a raised hand, and the text "Is the way finding showing in 'Moana' realistic?"

WATCH: Astronomer gives wayfaring in ‘Moana’ 5 stars

January 15, 2025

Allen Telescope Array at night

Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence Center awarded NASA grant

December 19, 2024

illustration of star with three planets

New planet in Kepler-51 system discovered using James Webb Space Telescope

December 03, 2024

Astrophysicist David Radice named Penn State Knerr Early Career Professor

November 18, 2024

Sipe, Radice, and Maulik

Three Penn State researchers awarded scientific grants from Kaufman Foundation

November 13, 2024

NASA grant to support free tool to improve astrophysical simulations

October 31, 2024

Penn State Scranton professor receives NSF grant to study white dwarf stars

October 30, 2024

Infrared image of the center of the Orion Nebula with insets showing proplyds

NASA telescopes discover brown dwarf protoplanetary disks in the Orion Nebula

October 28, 2024

Illustration of star with two orbiting planets communicating with radio waves

Are nearby planets sending radio signals to each other?

October 17, 2024

Artist's concept of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory

Rare, ultra-luminous nova spotted in the Small Magellanic Cloud

October 17, 2024

This is an illustration of two merging neutron stars.

ICDS co-hire contributes to gravitational wave research

October 09, 2024

Portrait of a person outside.

Statistics, astronomy and astrophysics professor retires after 39 years

September 10, 2024

PA Space Grant Consortium

NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant announces fellowship, scholarship winners for 2024

September 03, 2024

Artistic rendering of a large planet next to a bright star

Exoplanet caught in ‘hairpin turn’ signals how high-mass gas giants form

July 17, 2024

New faculty endowment in astronomy and astrophysics created by Keiko Miwa Ross

July 08, 2024

Volume rendering of simulation of two neutron stars merging.

What happens when neutron stars collide?

June 18, 2024

Eric Ford poses for a photo in front of clusters in the Penn State Data Center.

Using machine learning, modeling to detect Earth-like planets

June 12, 2024

Illustration of supermassive black hole with quasar wind, with inset spectra.

Astronomers find unexpected accelerating quasar winds around distant black hole

June 11, 2024

Combined X-ray and optical observations on left and simulated gas column density on right, with inset of artist's impression of active supermassive black hole

How do supermassive black holes get super massive?

June 11, 2024

Jake McCoy and Fabien Grisé

$4M NASA grants to support UV and X-ray astronomy

May 20, 2024

Head of Nittany Lion Shrine

Forty-three undergraduates receive Erickson Discovery Grants

May 14, 2024

President Joe Biden presents Jane Rigby with presidential medal

Q&A with Penn State alumna and NASA astrophysicist Jane Rigby

May 09, 2024

Scanning electron microscope image of a ‘strained’ photonic crystal

Making light ‘feel’ a magnetic field like an electron would

April 23, 2024

illustration of gamma ray burst

Brightest gamma-ray burst of all time aids search for origin of heavy elements

April 12, 2024

People wearing eclipse glasses pointing to sky

Photo gallery: Penn State campuses observe, celebrate rare solar eclipse

April 08, 2024

Centre County Report eclipse coverage

Students set to produce live newscast with coverage of solar eclipse April 8

April 02, 2024

Radio data and X-rays from the quasar H1821+643

NASA’s Chandra identifies a black hole with a bark worse than its bite

March 21, 2024

View of IceCube Neutrino Observatory at twilight

IceCube identifies seven astrophysical tau neutrino candidates

March 12, 2024

A map-like depiction of stars and galaxies

'Cosmic lighthouses' that cleared primordial fog identified with JWST

February 28, 2024

Penn State astronomer awarded New Initiative Grant from Kaufman Foundation

February 27, 2024

image of galaxy with long tail-like tendril spiraling of the edge

Hubble traces ‘string of pearls’ star clusters in galaxy collisions

February 08, 2024

SolarFest, Monday, April 8, 2024, Medlar Field at Lubrano Park

SolarFest offers April 8 eclipse viewing, science activities

January 16, 2024

Stylized "30" with text reading Ashtekar Frontiers of Science

30th anniversary Ashtekar Frontiers of Science Lectures to begin Jan. 27

January 10, 2024

NASA Webb Telescope image of central portion of the star cluster IC 348 showing three tiny brown dwarfs

NASA’s Webb telescope identifies tiniest free-floating brown dwarf

December 13, 2023

Artistic rendering of the possible view from LHS 3154b towards its low mass host star

Discovery of planet too big for its sun throws off solar system formation models

November 30, 2023

illustration of nebula with glare from a star

Earth-like planets could form even in the harshest environments, study reports

November 30, 2023

Wolszsczn stands in front of huge radio telescope

Penn State Astronomer Alexander Wolszczan named Atherton Professor

November 14, 2023

composite image of pandora's cluster, with two close-up inset images

Second-most distant galaxy discovered using James Webb Space Telescope

November 13, 2023

Artist's concept of Kepler-385 planetary system

Many planets beyond our solar system follow nearly circular orbital paths

November 03, 2023

Suvrath Mahadevan kneeling on boardwalk near water

Mahadevan named Verne M. Willaman Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics

October 04, 2023

Marker Lectures in Astronomy and Astrophysics scheduled for Sept. 19, 20 and 21

September 12, 2023

Nick Siegler speaksing at the second annual Penn State SETI Symposium

Heard on Campus: NASA’s Nick Siegler at the Penn State SETI symposium

July 12, 2023

Observatory on the roof of Davey Lab

AstroFest 2023 offers four evenings of astronomy activities and stargazing

July 05, 2023

NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant announces its 2023 fellowship, scholarship winners

June 29, 2023

OLLI at Penn State

From the cosmos to the community, explore with OLLI this summer

June 13, 2023

Five named Big Ten Academic Alliance Department Executive Officer Fellows

June 01, 2023

artist illustration of blazar

Testing a theory of supermassive black holes with 100 newly described 'blazars'

May 10, 2023

science alumni stand with dean Tracy Langkilde

Eberly College of Science honors three with Outstanding Science Alumni Award

April 10, 2023

Latest News

Penn State News RSS Feed

an illustration of a planet and a star

Newly discovered ‘super-Earth’ offers prime target in search for alien life

October 23, 2025

Students stand at their research posters with symposium attendees.

ICDS Symposium spotlights student, faculty research

October 22, 2025

simulated image of neutron star merger remnant

Mixing neutrinos of colliding neutron stars changes how merger unfolds

September 19, 2025

Guido Cervone, Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences director, stands at a podium to give welcome remarks at last year's ICDS Symposium.

Institute for Computational and Data Sciences Symposium scheduled for Oct. 6

September 15, 2025

Artist’s impression of a black hole star

Mysterious ‘red dots’ in early universe may be ‘black hole star’ atmospheres

September 12, 2025

Illustration with merging black holes at center, surrounded by swirling representation of gravitational waves

Black holes everywhere! Ten years of LIGO and gravitational waves

September 10, 2025

image of galaxy marked with location of XUE10, and its spectra inset

Abundant carbon dioxide in planet-forming disk challenges planet origin models

August 29, 2025

illustration of signals from Earth headed toward Mars, the Sun, and other planets

If aliens explore space like us, we should look for their calls to other planets

August 21, 2025

simulation of two neutron stars merging

New grants to support neutron star research and undergraduate exchange program

August 18, 2025

students pose behind Green Bank Observatory sign

Finding patterns through the noise: Penn State undergraduates search for pulsars

July 28, 2025

Four people sit around a wooden table over a white posterboard with colored post-its on it.

New program aims to help faculty build skills in AI, quantum sciences

June 23, 2025

Robin Tuluie holds microphone and gestures

Heard on Campus: PhysicsX founder on deep learning in physics and engineering

June 23, 2025

Vera Rubin Observatory underneath streaks of stars in night sky

Tune in to unveiling of first images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and LSST

June 17, 2025

A detector mounted on a crane over ice

Strange radio pulses detected coming from ice in Antarctica

June 13, 2025

illustration of nebula with glare from a star

Unveiling the secrets of planet formation in environments of high UV radiation

May 21, 2025

three panels of hypothetical planetary system

Combination of cosmic processes shapes the size and location of sub-Neptunes

March 17, 2025

Image of Kevin Luhman holding a U.S. stamp with his image from the James Webb Space Telescope

Q&A: The story behind the cosmic image on a new US stamp

March 11, 2025

illustration of a space craft approaching Earth

Could an Earth-like alien civilization detect us?

February 05, 2025

A play button overlaid on a Research at Penn State graphic showing a scene from the movie "Moana 2," an image of Penn State faculty member Christopher Palma with a raised hand, and the text "Is the way finding showing in 'Moana' realistic?"

WATCH: Astronomer gives wayfaring in ‘Moana’ 5 stars

January 15, 2025

Allen Telescope Array at night

Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence Center awarded NASA grant

December 19, 2024

illustration of star with three planets

New planet in Kepler-51 system discovered using James Webb Space Telescope

December 03, 2024

Astrophysicist David Radice named Penn State Knerr Early Career Professor

November 18, 2024

Sipe, Radice, and Maulik

Three Penn State researchers awarded scientific grants from Kaufman Foundation

November 13, 2024

NASA grant to support free tool to improve astrophysical simulations

October 31, 2024

Penn State Scranton professor receives NSF grant to study white dwarf stars

October 30, 2024

Infrared image of the center of the Orion Nebula with insets showing proplyds

NASA telescopes discover brown dwarf protoplanetary disks in the Orion Nebula

October 28, 2024

Illustration of star with two orbiting planets communicating with radio waves

Are nearby planets sending radio signals to each other?

October 17, 2024

Artist's concept of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory

Rare, ultra-luminous nova spotted in the Small Magellanic Cloud

October 17, 2024

This is an illustration of two merging neutron stars.

ICDS co-hire contributes to gravitational wave research

October 09, 2024

Portrait of a person outside.

Statistics, astronomy and astrophysics professor retires after 39 years

September 10, 2024

PA Space Grant Consortium

NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant announces fellowship, scholarship winners for 2024

September 03, 2024

Artistic rendering of a large planet next to a bright star

Exoplanet caught in ‘hairpin turn’ signals how high-mass gas giants form

July 17, 2024

New faculty endowment in astronomy and astrophysics created by Keiko Miwa Ross

July 08, 2024

Volume rendering of simulation of two neutron stars merging.

What happens when neutron stars collide?

June 18, 2024

Eric Ford poses for a photo in front of clusters in the Penn State Data Center.

Using machine learning, modeling to detect Earth-like planets

June 12, 2024

Illustration of supermassive black hole with quasar wind, with inset spectra.

Astronomers find unexpected accelerating quasar winds around distant black hole

June 11, 2024

Combined X-ray and optical observations on left and simulated gas column density on right, with inset of artist's impression of active supermassive black hole

How do supermassive black holes get super massive?

June 11, 2024

Jake McCoy and Fabien Grisé

$4M NASA grants to support UV and X-ray astronomy

May 20, 2024

Head of Nittany Lion Shrine

Forty-three undergraduates receive Erickson Discovery Grants

May 14, 2024

President Joe Biden presents Jane Rigby with presidential medal

Q&A with Penn State alumna and NASA astrophysicist Jane Rigby

May 09, 2024

Scanning electron microscope image of a ‘strained’ photonic crystal

Making light ‘feel’ a magnetic field like an electron would

April 23, 2024

illustration of gamma ray burst

Brightest gamma-ray burst of all time aids search for origin of heavy elements

April 12, 2024

People wearing eclipse glasses pointing to sky

Photo gallery: Penn State campuses observe, celebrate rare solar eclipse

April 08, 2024

Centre County Report eclipse coverage

Students set to produce live newscast with coverage of solar eclipse April 8

April 02, 2024

Radio data and X-rays from the quasar H1821+643

NASA’s Chandra identifies a black hole with a bark worse than its bite

March 21, 2024

View of IceCube Neutrino Observatory at twilight

IceCube identifies seven astrophysical tau neutrino candidates

March 12, 2024

A map-like depiction of stars and galaxies

'Cosmic lighthouses' that cleared primordial fog identified with JWST

February 28, 2024

Penn State astronomer awarded New Initiative Grant from Kaufman Foundation

February 27, 2024

image of galaxy with long tail-like tendril spiraling of the edge

Hubble traces ‘string of pearls’ star clusters in galaxy collisions

February 08, 2024

SolarFest, Monday, April 8, 2024, Medlar Field at Lubrano Park

SolarFest offers April 8 eclipse viewing, science activities

January 16, 2024

Stylized "30" with text reading Ashtekar Frontiers of Science

30th anniversary Ashtekar Frontiers of Science Lectures to begin Jan. 27

January 10, 2024

NASA Webb Telescope image of central portion of the star cluster IC 348 showing three tiny brown dwarfs

NASA’s Webb telescope identifies tiniest free-floating brown dwarf

December 13, 2023

Artistic rendering of the possible view from LHS 3154b towards its low mass host star

Discovery of planet too big for its sun throws off solar system formation models

November 30, 2023

illustration of nebula with glare from a star

Earth-like planets could form even in the harshest environments, study reports

November 30, 2023

Wolszsczn stands in front of huge radio telescope

Penn State Astronomer Alexander Wolszczan named Atherton Professor

November 14, 2023

composite image of pandora's cluster, with two close-up inset images

Second-most distant galaxy discovered using James Webb Space Telescope

November 13, 2023

Artist's concept of Kepler-385 planetary system

Many planets beyond our solar system follow nearly circular orbital paths

November 03, 2023

Suvrath Mahadevan kneeling on boardwalk near water

Mahadevan named Verne M. Willaman Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics

October 04, 2023

Marker Lectures in Astronomy and Astrophysics scheduled for Sept. 19, 20 and 21

September 12, 2023

Nick Siegler speaksing at the second annual Penn State SETI Symposium

Heard on Campus: NASA’s Nick Siegler at the Penn State SETI symposium

July 12, 2023

Observatory on the roof of Davey Lab

AstroFest 2023 offers four evenings of astronomy activities and stargazing

July 05, 2023

NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant announces its 2023 fellowship, scholarship winners

June 29, 2023

OLLI at Penn State

From the cosmos to the community, explore with OLLI this summer

June 13, 2023

Five named Big Ten Academic Alliance Department Executive Officer Fellows

June 01, 2023

artist illustration of blazar

Testing a theory of supermassive black holes with 100 newly described 'blazars'

May 10, 2023

science alumni stand with dean Tracy Langkilde

Eberly College of Science honors three with Outstanding Science Alumni Award

April 10, 2023

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