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Astronomy

Astrophysics Center
Sciences Division

Researchers Discover Supermassive Black Hole in Neighboring Galaxy

A team of Harvard astrophysicists discovered a supermassive black hole at the center of the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Milky Way’s closest galactic neighbor.

Draper Laboratory Headquarters
Technology

Draper Labs Sets Sights on a Far-Side Moon Landing Next Year

Cambridge-based Draper Labs is set to launch their NASA-funded CP-12 mission in 2026, racing Texas-based Firefly Aerospace to complete the United States’ first landing on the far side of the moon.

STAHR Observatory
Student Groups

‘Share the Universe’: Harvard Astronomy Club Holds Rare Comet Viewing

Dozens of students gathered at Harvard’s Loomis-Michael Observatory on Thursday and Friday for a rare viewing of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, a “naked-eye visible comet” that researchers say is unlikely to return for at least 80,000 years.

BHI Lecture
Film

Kip Thorne, 2017 Nobel Laureate, Talks Black Holes During Inaugural Hawking Lecture

Hundreds packed Science Center Hall B to watch Kip S. Thorne, a professor of theoretical physics at Caltech and a 2017 Nobel Prize laureate, discuss black holes and wormholes during the inaugural Hawking Lecture on Friday.

Professor David Charbonneau
FAS

David Charbonneau, Professor in Search of Planets in Outer Space, Wins $1 Million Kavli Prize

Harvard Astrophysics professor David Charbonneau won the 2024 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics in June, sharing a $1 million prize with MIT professor Sara Seager for their discoveries of exoplanets — planets located outside Earth’s solar system.

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Research

Harvard Center for Astrophysics Facing Financial Strain Following NASA Budget Cuts

The Center for Astrophysics — a collaboration with the Smithsonian Museum and one of Harvard’s top research centers — is facing a declining budget following NASA’s proposal to reduce The Chandra X-ray Observatory’s fiscal year 2025 budget.

Harvard Students Watch the Solar Eclipse from Weeks Bridge
Student Life

‘More Important Than School’: Harvard Affiliates Skip Class and Town To View Solar Eclipse

Harvard students seemed to be everywhere but the classroom on Monday, as undergraduates admired the total solar eclipse. Some gathered on campus to view the rare celestial event, but others traveled further — to Vermont, Arkansas, and Texas — to enjoy the eclipse from the path of totality.

John G. Wolbach Library Closing Sign
Libraries

Harvard Center for Astrophysics to Close Wolbach Library Due to ‘Financial Considerations’

The John G. Wolbach Library — which carries one of the world’s largest astronomical collections — will shutter its doors on Friday, in a move that was “driven primarily by financial considerations,” according to an email from Harvard Center for Astrophysics Director Lisa Kewley.

Avi Loeb in the Pacific
Science

Harvard Astronomer Avi Loeb, Team Find Spherules of ‘Likely Extrasolar Composition’

Harvard Astronomy professor Abraham “Avi” Loeb and his research team have found metallic spherules of “likely extrasolar composition,” according to an Aug. 29 preprint posted to the online paper repository arXiv.

Owen Gingerich
Obituary

Astronomer Owen Gingerich, Defender of Pluto and Scientist With Spirituality, Dies at 93

Upon his retirement in 2000 after a 40 year-long career, Harvard professor Owen J. Gingerich had, with astronomer David W. Latham, taught the longest-running Harvard course under continuous leadership. He died on May 28, 2023 at the age of 93.

Loomis-Michael Observatory Cover
Science

In Photos: STAHR-Gazing at the Loomis-Michael Observatory

The Crimson Multimedia staff visit the Loomis-Michael Observatory on the 10th floor of the Science Center to take in the space and gaze at the stars.

Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Astronomy

Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Research

Harvard and MIT Researchers Find Limitations in Current Models of Exoplanet Atmospheres

A team of Harvard and MIT researchers have discovered accuracy limitations in climate models used to describe the properties of exoplanets — planets outside the solar system — given an influx of cosmic data from the newly launched James Webb Space Telescope.

Lisa J. Kewley
Research

Lisa Kewley to Serve as Director of Harvard's Center for Astrophysics

Lisa J. Kewley will serve as the next director of Harvard’s Center for Astrophysics, a collaboration between the Harvard College Observatory and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

Schlesinger Library
Radcliffe Institute

Radcliffe Institute Fellow Challenges Classical Model of Planet Formation

Joan R. Najita ’85, a fellow at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, challenged the widely-held understanding of how planets form at a virtual research presentation on Wednesday.

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