News
New observations regarding the composition of distant galaxies reveal insights into the earliest phases of the universe that confirm decades of scientific understanding of the elements and…
In a new study, a team of astronomers has identified wavelengths of light that could be useful for tracing the chemical evolution of the universe.
Using computational modeling to simulate…
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launches this week with a field of view large enough to unravel some of the universe’s most mysterious puzzles.
An international team of scientists has used machine learning to identify seven rare quasar candidates, according to a new study.
Quasars, distant cores of galaxies powered by supermassive…
The Heising-Simons Foundation is accepting applications for their 2027 51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellowship program in Planetary Astronomy. The fellowship provides an opportunity for…
Graduate student Miqaela Weller has been awarded an Obey Scholarship by the OSU College of Arts and Sciences. Established November 4, 2016, with an estate gift from Fred E. Obey (BS 1951); the…
Prof. Barbara Ryden has been recognized at the inaugural Written in Scarlet and Gray:Faculty Author Showcase on April 16 for her 2025 book Celestial and Stellar Dynamics.
Congratulations to Prof. Chris Kochanek, faculty member in the Department of Astronomy and Ohio Eminent Scholar at The Ohio State University, who has been elected to the National Academy of…
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees. 2,600 Fellowships were awarded this…
The Department of Astronomy is thrilled to announce a clean sweep of the Earth and Beyond category at the 31st Annual Richard J. and Martha D. Denman Undergraduate Research Forum. This is the…
The Graduate Associate Teaching Award is Ohio State’s highest recognition of the exceptional teaching provided by graduate students serving as Graduate Teaching Associates. GATA winners receive a…
In pursuit of understanding the role dark energy plays in complex physics, researchers have marked completion of a major milestone: successfully surveying the entire target area in the Dark Energy…
Department of Astronomy faculty members Marc Pinsonneault and Barbara Ryden have been awarded the 2026 Chambliss Astronomical Writing Award by the American Astronomical Society. The award is for…
Department of Astronomy faculty member Christopher Kochanek (Professor) has been named as a 2026 Fellow of the American Astronomical Society.
Prof. Kochanek has been…
Anusha Pai Asnodkar, a former OSU astronomy graduate student, has been awarded the 2026 Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin Doctoral Dissertation Award in Astrophysics from the American Physical Society. The…
The Department of Astronomy is proud to present the graduating undergraduate class for Autumn 2025!
This is our largest Autumn class ever, with 9 Astro majors, 2 Astro minors graduating on…
Professor Emeritus Gerald (Jerry) Newsom has been honored with a 2025 Ohio State University Distinguished Service Award. The Distinguished Service Award was established by the OSU Board of…
The Department of Astronomy congratulates Elvira Cruz-Cruz and Liam Dubay on being recipients of the 2025-26 distinguished Presidential Fellowship from The Ohio State University Graduate School…
The 2026 Edward A. Bouchet Award from the American Physical Society (APS) has been awareded to Prof. Laura Lopez. This award promotes the participation of underrepresented minorities in physics by…
The Ann S. Tuttle Citizenship, Engagement, and Outreach Prize recognizes the tremendous efforts of grad students to engage the public and community. This prize is given to a current graduate student…
Every year, OSU astronomy graduate students publish about 20 first author papers. The department awards the Ann S. Tuttle Paper Prize to one outstanding graduate student-led paper published during…
The David Will Prize recognizes a student or postdoctoral researcher in astrophysics who is conducting an exceptional research program in computational astronomy, survey astronomy, data science,…
The Markowitz Award is given to a graduate student who is conducting or developing a research program in areas of observational astronomy. The award is made possible by a generous gift from Ohio…
The 2025 Nancy Grace Roman Award from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) has been awareded to Dr. Laura Lopez. Named for an icon in the history of astronomy research and space…
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) collaboration has been awarded the 2026 Lancelot M. Berkeley – New York Community Trust Prize for Meritorious Work in Astronomy. This…
Stars die and vanish from sight all the time, but astronomers were puzzled when one that had been stable for more than a decade almost disappeared for eight months.
If you happen to find yourself in the Southern Hemisphere with binoculars and a good view of the night sky on a dark and clear summer night, you might just be able to spot the Sculptor galaxy. And…
Dr. Sultana Nahar, a research professor in the Department of Astronomy, has received the prestigious William Fowler Award for Distinguished Research in Physics from the American…
First-year MFA students Yeoleum Choi and Valeska Tan’s immersive full-dome film Ocean Cemetery was selected for screening at the 2025 Fulldome Festival Brno, held June 10–12, 2025 in the…
The Heising-Simons Foundation is accepting applications for their 2026 51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellowship program in Planetary Astronomy. The fellowship provides an opportunity for…
It might be hard to see the stars from Columbus, but they'll be bright at the Arne Slettebak Planetarium at Ohio State University this summer. The university’s astronomy department has a new…
On May 21, 2025, many Ohio State faculty members had a reason to celebrate as the Board of Trustees approved promotion and tenure recommendations for the Buckeyes listed below. Each has excelled…
Professor John Beacom has helped co-author National Academies report on “Elementary Particle Physics: The Higgs and Beyond” which presents a bold 40-year vision for particle physics.
Magnetar flares, colossal cosmic explosions, may be directly responsible for the creation and distribution of heavy elements across the universe, suggests a new study.
For decades,…
The Department of Astronomy within the College of Arts and Sciences at The Ohio State University seeks two Research Aides to work on the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN). ASAS-SN…
Hosted by the Dept. of Astronomy and the Dept. of Physics Undergraduate Studies Teams:
Dr. Annika Peter
Vice-Chair for Physics Undergraduate Studies
Dr. Wayne…
Caprice Phillips has always aimed for the stars through her research and outreach. Now, she will have the opportunity to continue those efforts on space science’s biggest stage.…
Caprice Phillips is a sixth-year Ph.D. candidate in Astronomy at The Ohio State University. As a founding member and vice-president of Black In Astro, Caprice has been instrumental in advancing…
Six student-led ventures were each awarded $50,000 in startup funding at the President’s Buckeye Accelerator Finale on April 3. The showcase marked the culmination of a yearlong program led by The…
Prof. John Beacom is one of nine OSU scientists who were elected to the 2024 class of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellows.
The AAAS Fellowship, recognizing…
A fresh look at past data reveals that exoplanets with masses similar to Jupiter formed much sooner than previously thought, according to new research.
Prof. Ji Wang has been awarded a 2025 Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award from the Office of Undergraduate Research & Creative Inquiry. This award honors research mentors who…
Prof. Laura Lopez has been awarded a 2025 College of Arts & Sciences Mid-Career Faculty Excellence Award. These awards recognize outstanding performance in all three areas of research, teaching,…
Adam Leroy has been named the recipient of the 2025 Henry Draper Medal. The Henry Draper Medal celebrates those who have made “a recent, original investigation in astronomical physics, of…
Department of Astronomy faculty members Laura Lopez (Associate Professor) and David Weinberg (Distinguished University Professor) have been named as 2025 Fellows of the American Astronomical…
The Department of Astronomy congratulates Sebastian Lopez on being a recipient of the 2024-25 distinguished Presidential Fellowship from The Ohio State University Graduate School. Sebastian is a…
New study details stellar evolution during the early universe
The David Will Prize recognizes a student or postdoctoral researcher in astrophysics who is conducting an exceptional research program in computational astronomy, survey astronomy, data science,…
On April 8, 2024, millions of people across the United States shared an experience that only comes to this part of the world every few decades: a total solar eclipse. From large watch parties at…
The computational research of Sultana Nahar, a research professor in the Department of Astronomy, has been highlighted by the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC).
The AAS has published an obituary for Mark Wagner this month. Mark did his PhD at Ohio State and then joined our department as a staff member and Research Scientist. In 1998, Mark joined the group…
The Markowitz Award is given to a graduate student who is conducting or developing a research program in areas of observational astronomy. The award is made possible by a generous gift from Ohio…
Our field and Department benefit tremendously from the efforts of our graduate students to engage the public and contribute to our diverse community. The Ann S. Tuttle Citizenship, Engagement, and…
Jointly led by Ohio State and The University of Notre Dame, the iLocater team was recently awarded a pair of grants that will significantly bolster iLocater’s planned scientific capabilities: a $2…