Education

Harvard University: Arts & Sciences: Astronomy

Category Art and Social Sciences, Astronomy, Harvard University, USA, Undergraduate
Tags Arts, Astronomy, Harvard University, Sciences

The Department of Astronomy offers a rich and varied program of theoretical, observational, and experimental graduate work leading to the PhD in astronomy. Students are not accepted for a separate master’s degree program. Research is carried out at the Harvard College Observatory, which shares buildings and general facilities with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO). Together, the two observatories constitute the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics: a large and diverse research setting that provides opportunities in nearly every branch of astrophysical work, from atomic physics to cosmology using the full range of techniques from gamma ray detectors through radio antennas.

Approximately 300 PhD scientists are engaged in work at the Center for Astrophysics (CfA), providing students with an unusually wide choice of dissertation topics and stimulating opportunities for both formal and informal learning through courses and seminars. Graduate students at Harvard benefit from this diverse environment, have access to extensive facilities, and pursue their work in a supportive and stimulating setting.

Facilities

Students who embark on research at optical and infrared wavelengths have access to high-performance, well-instrumented 6.5 meter telescopes in both hemispheres: the converted Multiple Mirror Telescope at the Whipple Observatory in Arizona and the Baade and Clay Telescopes at the Magellan Observatory in Chile. Students also have access to the Whipple Observatory’s 1.5, 1.3, and 1.2 meter telescopes equipped with high-performance spectrographs and imagers. An active instrument development program is aimed at maintaining state-of-the-art observing facilities, and students are welcome to participate in this development program. CfA scientists have also led the development of infrared array cameras for the Spitzer satellite, currently the world’s premier IR space observatory. Students will have the opportunity to work with this experienced team on Spitzer observations.

Radio astronomy students have direct access to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Sub-Millimeter Array (SMA) an eight element sub-millimeter-wave interferometer operating on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. A 1.2-m telescope is available in Cambridge for survey observations of CO at 3 mm. Students have also been active users of millimeter-wave interferometers in California and France and of the 30-m millimeter-wave telescope in Spain. In addition students frequently use the cm-wave facilities of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory including the Very Large Array, the Very Long Baseline Array and the 100-m telescope in Green Bank West Virginia. The Submillimeter Wavelength Development Laboratory offers opportunities for instrumentation work at sub-millimeter- wavelengths including the Terahertz band. Harvard is a member of the US consortium developing Square Kilometer Array.

High-energy astrophysics facilities and opportunities are especially strong. They include the Chandra X-ray Center (managed by SAO under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration), which operates the space-based Chandra X-ray Observatory; ready access to and local expertise with the entire Chandra data archive, as well as the Einstein and Rosat x-ray observatory databases; laboratory development of x-ray detectors and telescopes; solar x-ray telescope development and operation, and balloon-borne experiments for hard x-ray imaging of cosmic sources. Faculty and CfA staff members carry out major observational programs with the currently operating x-ray observatories (Chandra, XMM-Newton and others) as well as coordinated programs using ground- and space-based telescopes at other wavelengths; and participate in the design and study of next-generation x-ray facilities.

Solar and Stellar and Planetary Sciences facilities include the SOHO Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS/SOHO) which is currently being used to observe the extended solar corona between 1 and 10 heliocentric radii. It makes spectroscopic measurements leading to the determination of densities, velocities, temperatures, and elemental abundances in the solar wind, coronal holes, equatorial streamers, and coronal mass ejections. It has produced interesting results on observations of non-solar targets, such as near-ecliptic stars, planets, comets, and interplanetary hydrogen and helium.

Facilities for laboratory work are extremely complete, including an ion-beam facility to study electron impact excitation and dielectronic recombination; a spectrograph used to measure gas properties relevant to atmospheres of brown dwarf stars; facilities for research on atomic clocks and quantum optics; and millimeter-wave spectrometers for measuring spectra of gases found in the interstellar medium. In addition, department members and CfA staff are part of science teams for other future space missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope, the Constellation X and Generation X x-ray observatories, and the Planck surveyor CMB Satellite.

Students in theoretical astrophysics have access to a wide variety of talent at the CfA to carry out investigations ranging from atomic processes through exploding stars and black holes to the origin of the universe. Computational facilities include numerous networked work-stations, a Beowulf cluster, and a variety of output devices.

The John G. Wolbach Library and Information Center combines the collections of the Harvard College Observatory Library (1839) and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Library (1959), forming one of the world’s preeminent astronomical collections. The library holds print and online journals, books, videos, CD-ROMs, DVDs, slides, sky surveys and slides in astronomy, astrophysics and related fields.

The Minor Planet Center and the Central Bureau of Astronomical Telegrams also make their homes at the CfA.