Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics
![Volume rendering of simulation of two neutron stars merging.](https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/06/sfho_m140120_m0_v3_rho_188416.png?h=066667f8&itok=eUAr2l8O)
What happens when neutron stars collide?
June 18, 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](https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/06/brandt_zou_aas_figure.jpg?h=a6e6ef5b&itok=XqzhD00z)
How do supermassive black holes get super massive?
June 11, 2024
![image of galaxy with long tail-like tendril spiraling of the edge](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/02/stsci-stringofpearls_43.jpg?h=525359da&itok=sF7b7atM)
Hubble traces ‘string of pearls’ star clusters in galaxy collisions
February 08, 2024
![SolarFest, Monday, April 8, 2024, Medlar Field at Lubrano Park](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/01/solarfest-1200x900_2.png?h=6eb229a4&itok=tQ6ONWsL)
SolarFest offers April 8 eclipse viewing, science activities
January 16, 2024
![NASA Webb Telescope image of central portion of the star cluster IC 348 showing three tiny brown dwarfs](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/12/luhman_browndwarf_psnews.jpg?h=609875d6&itok=sGJ3Dpg3)
NASA’s Webb telescope identifies tiniest free-floating brown dwarf
December 13, 2023
![Wolszsczn stands in front of huge radio telescope](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/11/astro_wolszsczn_radio_telescope_0.jpg?h=fff89ad5&itok=bm2JQzqM)
Penn State Astronomer Alexander Wolszczan named Atherton Professor
November 14, 2023
![Williams smiles and crosses arms in front of rooftop observatory](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/03/maiawilliamsportrait_gammaburst_2023-1_lr_43.jpg?h=a61fd2e2&itok=ZrXklUiy)
Spotting the brightest gamma-ray burst ever recorded
March 28, 2023
![A graphic of the explosion caused by the collision of two stars](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/12/nsf_merger.png?h=19ad3fdd&itok=OxJOoRyy)
Rare cosmic explosion blasts hole in established science
December 07, 2022
![outline of telescope with many galaxies in its field of view](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/11/sGRB-Hosts-Catalog_small_LR43.jpg?h=08b866d1&itok=lVuqdxsc)
Tracing the origins of rare, cosmic explosions
November 21, 2022
![A sky full of starlight](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/11/bright_light_main_0.jpg?h=19ad3fdd&itok=7OaALXC6)
Bright light from early universe 'opens new chapter in astronomy'
November 17, 2022
![The Hobby-Eberly Telescope](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/het.jpg?h=623f249a&itok=NJLVwrNK)
The Hobby-Eberly Telescope reaches 25th anniversary milestone
October 20, 2022
![front-view of the International Space Station](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/09/ISS4-3_0.jpeg?h=3eeac4f9&itok=phtheDvt)
New space station experiment TIGERISS will probe origins of elements
September 08, 2022
![Illustration of STAR-X spacecraft in space, a black background filled with stars.](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/08/STARX_illustration_0.png?h=469c9c4c&itok=Zt8qW1kj)
NASA selects STAR-X for $3M mission concept study
August 29, 2022
![Media panel at the Penn State SETI Symposium](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/07/20220630-SETI-011.jpg?h=e5aec6c8&itok=pEBcvvck)
Heard on Campus: SETI Symposium media panel
July 08, 2022
![David Radice](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/radice.jpg?h=69e90c6d&itok=D3cD82mX)
Radice awarded 2022 Sloan Research Fellowship
February 15, 2022
![Artistic rendering of a large planet next to a bright star](https://sc-cms.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/07/noirlab2418a-main.jpg?h=19ad3fdd&itok=g0MKYcPy)
![Joel Leja](https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/07/joel-leja.jpg?h=901fc41f&itok=6-z88Qn4)
![Volume rendering of simulation of two neutron stars merging.](https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/06/sfho_m140120_m0_v3_rho_188416.png?h=066667f8&itok=eUAr2l8O)
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.](https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/06/20170222_161353_hdr.jpg?h=9886a93b&itok=AuJk6IgH)
![Illustration of supermassive black hole with quasar wind, with inset spectra.](https://sc-cms.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/06/main-figure-v3.png?h=34177dc1&itok=GlGg35_R)
![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](https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/06/brandt_zou_aas_figure.jpg?h=a6e6ef5b&itok=XqzhD00z)
How do supermassive black holes get super massive?
June 11, 2024
![Jake McCoy and Fabien Grisé](https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/05/jake_fabien-8_psn.jpg?h=19ad3fdd&itok=aapDX7ea)
![Head of Nittany Lion Shrine](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/02/IMG_7337.jpeg?h=b306346d&itok=R-1m92ha)
![President Joe Biden presents Jane Rigby with presidential medal](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/05/janerigby_creditwhitehouse_43.jpg?h=4f4bfbed&itok=TTHrwx4E)
![Scanning electron microscope image of a ‘strained’ photonic crystal](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/04/rechtsman_strained-photonic-crystal_psn.jpg?h=e4ab74fb&itok=xdRd0Ock)
![illustration of gamma ray burst](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/04/amgeller_bh_disk_sne_grb_nebula_43lr.jpg?h=d08f423e&itok=N4_al8ry)
![People wearing eclipse glasses pointing to sky](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/04/altoona-eclipse-2.jpg?h=c9c3a0b5&itok=pLmb3VyU)
![Centre County Report eclipse coverage](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/04/cc-reclipsecoverage.jpg?h=7646b9cb&itok=sZTOcN-l)
![Radio data and X-rays from the quasar H1821+643](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/03/h1821.jpg?h=97102f31&itok=E2PNkpne)
![View of IceCube Neutrino Observatory at twilight](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/03/icltwilight_ngc1068_psn.jpg?h=1090211e&itok=EJc-7GQD)
![A map-like depiction of stars and galaxies](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/02/webb-reionization-fig1.png?h=19ad3fdd&itok=eoG_T9Wl)
![Eric Ford](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/03/EricFordPortrait_LR.jpg?h=92380221&itok=ozGfCrWK)
![image of galaxy with long tail-like tendril spiraling of the edge](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/02/stsci-stringofpearls_43.jpg?h=525359da&itok=sF7b7atM)
Hubble traces ‘string of pearls’ star clusters in galaxy collisions
February 08, 2024
![SolarFest, Monday, April 8, 2024, Medlar Field at Lubrano Park](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/01/solarfest-1200x900_2.png?h=6eb229a4&itok=tQ6ONWsL)
SolarFest offers April 8 eclipse viewing, science activities
January 16, 2024
![Stylized "30" with text reading Ashtekar Frontiers of Science](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2024/01/afos_press.jpg?h=e4fe0964&itok=Ye8UnEVU)
![NASA Webb Telescope image of central portion of the star cluster IC 348 showing three tiny brown dwarfs](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/12/luhman_browndwarf_psnews.jpg?h=609875d6&itok=sGJ3Dpg3)
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](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/11/lhs3154b-view_0.jpg?h=84071268&itok=nlwCDq8v)
![illustration of nebula with glare from a star](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/11/xue_fortuna_ramirez_tannus_2023_lr.jpg?h=4d7fc99e&itok=VJaEeqU8)
![Wolszsczn stands in front of huge radio telescope](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/11/astro_wolszsczn_radio_telescope_0.jpg?h=fff89ad5&itok=bm2JQzqM)
Penn State Astronomer Alexander Wolszczan named Atherton Professor
November 14, 2023
![composite image of pandora's cluster, with two close-up inset images](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/11/pandorasclusterz12z13_lr_0.jpg?h=398ab54e&itok=eN9NrMcl)
![Artist's concept of Kepler-385 planetary system](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/11/kepler_koi_2433_02_v03_psn.jpg?h=fbefab50&itok=1mt26cNu)
![Suvrath Mahadevan kneeling on boardwalk near water](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/10/suvrath2_white.jpg?h=90e84119&itok=tT5wDLT7)
![Marcia Rieke](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/09/rieke_43_lr.jpg?h=84071268&itok=ffxdNKVq)
![Nick Siegler speaksing at the second annual Penn State SETI Symposium](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/07/nasa-seti-nick-seigler-3.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&itok=COJ816Wf)
![Observatory on the roof of Davey Lab](https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/4_3_1000w/public/DaveyLabRoof.jpg?h=b3071024&itok=_xtnMRE4)
![PA Space Grant](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/06/nasa-space-grant.jpg?h=342db57d&itok=UXfCYD-2)
![OLLI at Penn State](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/06/cosmos_0.jpeg?h=a7397d51&itok=jpa03AVM)
![placeholder image](/news/static/fallback-8980cf856bdab01efc8dcf95c2158b37.jpg)
![artist illustration of blazar](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/05/jpegpia20912.jpeg?h=f72e9c07&itok=siaBwai0)
![science alumni stand with dean Tracy Langkilde](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/04/outstandingalumniawards-35_lr43.jpg?h=a61fd2e2&itok=Fknk0-sZ)
![Williams smiles and crosses arms in front of rooftop observatory](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/03/maiawilliamsportrait_gammaburst_2023-1_lr_43.jpg?h=a61fd2e2&itok=ZrXklUiy)
Spotting the brightest gamma-ray burst ever recorded
March 28, 2023
![rings of red particles radiate outward from a bright yellow center](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/11/102122_lg_BOAT_feat_43.jpg?h=a9575592&itok=r8KitU5F)
![The Pan-STARRS telescopes on Haleakalā in Hawaii](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/03/manoa-ifa-pan-starrs_psn.jpg?h=9535118e&itok=YBLj94q4)
![Portraits of Abhay Ashtekar and George Andrews](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/02/Ashtekar_Andrews_0.jpg?h=78cca142&itok=h9ej0PxX)
![images of distant starlight taken by the James Webb Telescope](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/02/massive-galaxies-main.png?h=19ad3fdd&itok=Tf8eneM3)
![Niel Brandt](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/02/Brandt_PSN.jpg?h=a3ba2e73&itok=7C_EKe8B)
![Eric Ford](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/03/EricFordPortrait_LR.jpg?h=92380221&itok=ozGfCrWK)
![Radovic looks through eyepiece of telescope](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/02/IamStem-Tasha-1_LR43.jpg?h=a61fd2e2&itok=gIVeX00U)
![Composite image of Pandora's Cluster with stars and galaxies](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/02/STScI-Pandora_LR.jpg?h=a55bce3b&itok=t8TvsG2C)
![Katie Mack in business suit](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2023/01/JKe-lXFN.jpeg?h=d1cb525d&itok=ojhEcxyv)
![Junyu Zhang in front of Old Main steps](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/12/Junyu%20Zhang.jpg?h=dab30fcb&itok=CUPm_iGr)
![A graphic of the explosion caused by the collision of two stars](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/12/nsf_merger.png?h=19ad3fdd&itok=OxJOoRyy)
Rare cosmic explosion blasts hole in established science
December 07, 2022
![outline of telescope with many galaxies in its field of view](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/11/sGRB-Hosts-Catalog_small_LR43.jpg?h=08b866d1&itok=lVuqdxsc)
Tracing the origins of rare, cosmic explosions
November 21, 2022
![A sky full of starlight](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/11/bright_light_main_0.jpg?h=19ad3fdd&itok=7OaALXC6)
Bright light from early universe 'opens new chapter in astronomy'
November 17, 2022
![Hubble image of the spiral galaxy NGC 1068.](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/11/galaxy_NGC1068.jpg.jpeg?h=70c8bc7d&itok=zFY5IVhc)
![three headshots: Nelson, Mostafa, and Zarzar](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/10/mentoringawards-43.jpg?h=90538247&itok=8qUTNt9J)
![The Hobby-Eberly Telescope](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/het.jpg?h=623f249a&itok=NJLVwrNK)
The Hobby-Eberly Telescope reaches 25th anniversary milestone
October 20, 2022
![Randall McEntaffer working on flight electronics](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/07/a22%207%2028-Source%20X-ray%20Spectroscope-0010.jpg?h=5aef8dbd&itok=NoNola8U)
![front-view of the International Space Station](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/09/ISS4-3_0.jpeg?h=3eeac4f9&itok=phtheDvt)
New space station experiment TIGERISS will probe origins of elements
September 08, 2022
![Illustration of STAR-X spacecraft in space, a black background filled with stars.](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/08/STARX_illustration_0.png?h=469c9c4c&itok=Zt8qW1kj)
NASA selects STAR-X for $3M mission concept study
August 29, 2022
![](https://psu-gatsby-files-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/4_3_1000w/public/video_thumbnails/hglMOUcN2Z4.jpg?h=c673cd1c&itok=ounLQwdu)
![Windsor “Tony” Morgan listens as a student speaks in a first-year seminar course at Dickinson College.](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/07/Tony%20Morgan%20in%20First-Year%20Seminar_0.png?h=6e02d8c8&itok=bEMi3Nde)
![Protective domes cover the telescopes at Davey Lab’s rooftop observatory, Penn State University Park.](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/07/davey_lab_observatory.jpeg?h=10d202d3&itok=sGIC6tn8)
![Media panel at the Penn State SETI Symposium](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/07/20220630-SETI-011.jpg?h=e5aec6c8&itok=pEBcvvck)
Heard on Campus: SETI Symposium media panel
July 08, 2022
![illustration of signals from satellite passing through Einstein ring around Sun and becoming parallel](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/06/GravLensing_DaniZembaPennState_43.jpg?h=592ed914&itok=2ijYxX9U)
![NASA PA Space Grant](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/06/nasa%20space%20grant.jpg?h=707772c7&itok=HJRkbt4F)
![Illustration of a black hole drifting through our Milky Way galaxy](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/06/Bond_BlackHole.jpg?h=6378357c&itok=cAlXwMyM)
![11 images of suns with varying amounts of sunspots](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/03/524990main_FAQ10_full.jpeg?h=08b866d1&itok=jnRmbB8o)
![Logo of the 2021 Assembly of the Order of the Octopus](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/03/OotO2021_2Color_0.png?h=ce4461e8&itok=4MefY6A7)
![illustration of kilonova](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/2022/03/h-871-GW170817_kilonova_illT_lrg_LR.jpeg?h=c9a55663&itok=spDWPr1f)
![David Radice](https://sc-api.psu.edu/s3/files/styles/4_3_1000w/public/radice.jpg?h=69e90c6d&itok=D3cD82mX)
Radice awarded 2022 Sloan Research Fellowship
February 15, 2022
Get the news by email
Subscribe