Astronomy can be generally defined as the study of space beyond the Earth's atmosphere, focusing on the location, size, distribution, motion, composition, and evolution of the sun, planets, stars and other celestial phenomena. Almost all astronomers have an undergraduate degree in astronomy or astrophysics, and many have graduate degrees. Astronomers usually specialize in one or more of the major sub-fields of astronomy; typical job titles include planetary astronomers, stellar astronomers, solar astronomers, galactic and extragalactic astronomers and cosmologists who study the origins and evolution of the universe. Planetary Astronomers Planetary astronomers study both the planets in our own solar system and extra-solar planets. The research of astronomers involves using telescopes and other instruments to measure the motion, dimensions and composition of planets and other planetary bodies such as moons and asteroids. Planetary astronomers also study the distribution and types of planets found in different solar systems. Radio Astronomers Radio astronomers specialize in the use of radio telescopes. Radio telescopes are basically huge radio wave receivers that detect naturally occurring radio emissions from stars, galaxies, quasars, and other celestial objects. Radio astronomers use radio telescopes to learn about extremely distant celestial objects, and have developed sophisticated software to help them separate the radio signals from these objects from background noise up to a million times greater. Solar and Stellar Astronomers Solar and stellar astronomers are related, but their jobs are quite different. Solar astronomers study our sun, and their research focuses on the composition of the sun, sunspots, solar flares, eclipses and other solar phenomena. Stellar astronomers study the suns of other solar systems. One of the main jobs of stellar astronomers is to identify the type and composition of the suns in distant solar systems. Some solar systems even have more than one sun. Galactic and Extra-Galactic Astronomers Galactic and extra-galactic astronomers study extremely distant objects. This requires the use of sophisticated tools such as radio telescopes and space telescopes as atmospheric interference limits the value of traditional ground-based telescopy. Their research typically involves identifying patterns in the distribution, composition and conditions of stars and gases that reveals information about the history of our galaxy or neighboring galaxies. Cosmologists Cosmologists are theoretical astronomers and their work often overlaps that of physicists. They are often defined as astronomers who study the evolution of the universe and the nature of space and time. Cosmology grew out of the historical discipline of celestial mechanics, and came into its own in the 1920s with Einstein's theory of general relativity and George Lemaitre's postulation of the big bang theory. Cosmologists tend to build their theories from the data of other astronomers rather than making the observations themselves.

The University of Toledo graduate programs in Physics and Astronomy develop a strong and broad foundation in fundamental physics, while simultaneously teaching mathematical and problem-solving skills necessary to advance knowledge of our physical world. Your coursework is tailored to your specific area of research concentration, with flexibility so that you acquire the skills necessary to complete an innovative, important, and original thesis research project. In the PhD program, you will take courses from the core curriculum during the first and second years. While some students may begin research immediately (oftentimes in addition to coursework and teaching assistant duties), you will typically join a research group starting the summer following the first year. Following your 2nd year, you will be primarily focused on your thesis research with your faculty advisor, ultimately defending your thesis once you have mastered a substantial body of innovative research. UT also offers Masters level programs, with possible concentrations on photovoltaics and materials science. Please visit our “Prospective Students” page for information about applying to our program. Contact Information: For Physics & Astronomy Graduate Program correspondence and information please contact: Professor Rupali Chandar Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, MS# 111 The University of Toledo 2801 W. Bancroft St. Toledo, OH 43606 Ph: 419.530.4957 Department of Physics & Astronomy: Main Campus McMaster Hall, MS 111 Dept. Office: 2nd Floor, Room 2017 The University of Toledo 2801 W. Bancroft St.

Interested in becoming a published author in an astronomical research journal? Sign up for the Astronomy Research Seminar Honors Project at Grossmont College! (in collaboration with other organizations in San Diego County and California) Points of Contact: Dr. S. Cormier or Dr. P. Blanco, Department of Physics and Astronomy. Primarily for students of PHYC140/240/241, OR Astronomy with a "B" or higher in Precalculus (Math 176), but students in other disciplines are welcome to apply. Must have a minimum GPA of 3.2 unless waived by your Grossmont College instructor Students will be placed in a team to perform the research and co-author a research paper for submission to the Journal of Double Star Observations Total workload is equivalent to adding ~1 more unit to your course (i.e. additional 20% or 4-5 hours per week), in a combination of online self-paced learning units, video conferences, and in-person meetings with team members and mentors. Please note: An honors contract, once approved, may NOT be cancelled later on without withdrawing from the class. This means that if for any reason you do poorly in your honors work - even if you get an A in the regular class work - you could end up with a B or even a lower grade overall (with the corresponding grade points). In that case, "Honors" will still appear next to the course on your official transcript. Typically, honors contracts must be submitted by departments before the end of Week 4. Project Description iTelescope T11 (New Mexico) Apparent orbit of a double star system The Astronomy Research Seminar is a statewide team- and project-based learning experience where students conduct actual scientific research, supported by the Institute for Student Astronomical Research (InStAR) and the Boyce Research Initiatives and Educational Foundation (BRIEF). Students in this program will undertake double star research by requesting and obtaining CCD images of double star systems using the network, which has observatories in Australia, Spain and the US. You will learn about star classfications, double star systems, sky coordinates and astrometry, astronomical databases, telescopes, cameras, and creating meaningful charts and graphs. Building a research team, planning and leading parts of a research project, and presenting your findings by writing a first class research paper are important parts of the experience that can be applied to any field of research - and will help your college and job applications stand out from the crowd! Online video conferences and presentations are held with astronomers and other participants during the semester, in addition to local mentoring by the Physics department. We hope that there will also be opportunities to use telescope equipment at Grossmont College, or at the San Diego Astronomy Association dark sky site near Tierra Del Sol at the east end of San Diego County. Teams will use analysis software on a server hosted by the Boyce Research Initiatives and Educational Foundation. Each student team will write a co-authored paper to be submitted to the Journal of Double Star Observations for publication. See some earlier published team papers in this special issue of JDSO. Astronomy Research Seminar Honors Project Approximate Schedule: Weeks 1-3: Introduction to Double Star Research (individual, online study) Articulate the nature of scientific and astronomical research. Describe the scientific value of double star research. Explain the basic techniques used to observe and quantitatively measure double stars. By the end of week 4: signed Honors Contracts will be due to the college honors coordinator, Amy Ramos Weeks 4-6:Plan research projects Make a double star observing plan that can be completed by a student team within the semester. Write a brief team research proposal. Weeks 7-9: Observations and analysis Effectively manage a research project, keeping it on schedule. Obtain observational data as appropriate for the team's research project. Utilize established software tools to reduce each team's research observations. Apply basic statistical analyses to establish the accuracy and uncertainties of calculated quantities. Analyze reduced and calibrated data to draw conclusions about a specific double star system. Weeks 10-12: Write your team's research paper! Outline, write, and extensively revise your carefully-worded, concise, team scientific paper. Improve the paper by incorporating the suggestions made by an external expert peer reviewer. Submit team paper to the Journal of Double Star Observations for publication. Weeks 12-16: Present team's research Findings Prepare and present concise team scientific talks or posters (Powerpoint format) to be given to other teams on campus. Optionally, team leaders can prepare a poster for participation at the Honors Transfer Conference at UC Irvine in Spring 2017. Finally - reflect on what it meant to be a member of a team conducting original scientific research! Offsite instructional team: Dr. Russ Genet - Dr. Genet's astronomical career, which now extends over half a century, has included automation of telescopes and observatories, photometry of variable stars, and astrometry of double stars. He has written or edited some two dozen books, and authored or co-authored well over 100 scientific papers. He has appeared on a number of television programs, including The Perfect Stargazer, a PBS one-hour special that featured his development of automated telescopes and robotic observatories. Mr. Pat Boyce - founder of Boyce Research Initiatives and Educationa Foundation (BRIEF). With his son Grady, Pat provides logistical support for the seminar to make it possible. This includes Xoom videoconferencing, scheduling observing time on the iTelescope network (for which the Foundation pays on your behalf), and providing a dedicated server (BARC) which acts as a repository for the image data and analysis software used in this project. - Institute for Student Astronomical Research (InStAR), a subsidiary of the Collins Educational Foundation. - coordinated schedule (across many teams) and instructional materials for this project. - Journal of Double Star Observations (JDSO). Free online access to past papers under "Archives". Grossmont College on-campus mentors: The Grossmont College Honors program coordinator is Amy Ramos, Instructor in the Psychology Department. Philip Blanco, Grossmont College

Nasa is keeping track of asteroids that can destroy in a matter of minutes and also keeps track of all the eaths changes( like climate change.) And yes Nasa does screw up sometimes but who doesn't. So i say more money fore Nasa. Only four percent of americas budget went to NASA this year. For goodness sake more money went to buisness managment, student financial assistance, and homeland secuirty alone not together than NASA. Thats a bunch of crap. Considering that the budget of NASA is roughly $500 billion per year the impact on the budget from cutting this programs would do nothing to fix the deficit. Also considering that NASA has pushed science to all new heights and new frontiers for nearly 50 years the impact of cutting such an essential part of the science field would be profound. NASA has created many new inventions that help people around the world and should continue its endeavors to land a man on Mars and beyond. NASA is an organization that delves into science and technology for the well-being of the world. They focus their research on aerospace and the universe, but that is not just it. They do focus their portions on earth studies, as well as technology for the world to use. NASA research has been used to create over 30, 000 different applications, such as insulin pumps, fire fighting gear, weather satellites that prevent thousands because of forewarned hurricanes, and laser heart surgery. Right now, NASA receives about 13 billion dollars a year, less than .5% of the entire GDP. On the other hand, Churches are tax exempt, and save an average of 73 billion dollars a year. They could feed all of the homeless people in the entire United States each year, and have another 72 billion left over with that 73 billion. I understand that Church does charity and helps the needy sometimes, but if that's the case, then why isn't the Red Cross, whose basis is entirely devoted to helping people, tax exempt? NASA's developments are technological and scientific, helping the entire community, while Churches help those that only believe in them, and can even spew hate against certain people because they are being themselves. If you dare to bring up the argument of NASA's funds should be used somewhere else, then you are obviously oblivious of all the corruption and money spent and lost due to politicians who look into themselves as opposed to their people. Have you ever heard of corruption in NASA? I don't think so. Warp Drive! Faster than light space travel is mathematically possible! This is no longer just science fiction! Imagine a time were we can travel the stars and colonize other planets; the petty squabbles of humankind will seem trivial! If we do not invest in space exploration it will unquestionably become one of the greatest regrets of our era, a blemish on the history of mankind that will take hundreds of years to recover from.

Evanston, IL Northwestern University offers 3 Physics Degree programs. It's a large private university in a small city. In 2015, 11 students graduated in the study area of Physics with students earning 11 Bachelor's degrees. Champaign, IL University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offers 8 Physics Degree programs. It's a large public university in a small city. In 2015, 187 students graduated in the study area of Physics with students earning 132 Bachelor's degrees, 39 Doctoral degrees, and 16 Master's degrees. Chicago, IL Illinois Institute of Technology offers 9 Physics Degree programs. It's a medium sized private university in a large city. In 2015, 31 students graduated in the study area of Physics with students earning 16 Bachelor's degrees, 9 Doctoral degrees, and 6 Master's degrees. Loyola University Chicago offers 4 Physics Degree programs. It's a large private university in a large city. In 2015, 16 students graduated in the study area of Physics with students earning 16 Bachelor's degrees.

Many German universities have very attractive PhD astrophysics programmes. Currently there are a total of and most of them offer the possibility to pursue a doctorate. Among these various choices available in Germany, I would however single out the international programmes with a structured curriculum taught entirely in English, in particular the International Max Planck Research Schools. They combine scientific excellence with an infrastructure specifically designed to provide the best support for students coming from abroad to study and do research in Germany. A search on the pages of the turns up the Bonn-Cologne Graduate School of Physics and Astronomy, Astrophysics in Munich, Solar System Science in Göttingen, Astronomy and Cosmic Physics in Heidelberg, and Astrophysics in Potsdam, all of which I can indeed highly recommend for their quality of training and education. Although the names sound alike, these programmes are centred around different research areas (and have reputations for different specialisations), so I would always suggest to closely look into which advisor/research project combinations best match your own interests and skills before applying. In Bonn, for example, the interests of many faculty members are centred around radio astronomy, whereas you will find that the solar physics and solar system focus in Göttingen extends to extrasolar planetary systems and their host stars, amongst other things. (Disclaimer: The Solar System School in Göttingen happens to be where I am working - on asteroseismology and exoplanets -, although my host institution is probably best known these days for its heavy involvement in the Rosetta mission.) Since the structure of graduate eduction in the USA differs somewhat from that in Germany, one consideration in choosing a location may also be a candidate's current formal level of education - in the North American educational system, graduate school entrance usually requires a Bachelor's degree, whereas most German PhD programmes actually require a completed Master's degree, unless the programme has implemented a fast track option.

Iowa Physics Competition The Physics Competition is a series of 5 competitive events for high school (Grades 9-12) students. The 2017 State Physics Competition will be held on with registration beginning at 8:30 am, events starting at 9:30 am, and the competition ending about noon. The bullets below will be links to the information provided when they become available. The events for the 2016 competition include the following: Catapult, Mouse trap car, Bridge building, Soda straw arm, and Challenge problem Students will use a variety of everyday, inexpensive materials such as mousetraps, compact discs, rubber bands, toothpicks, straws, etc. to build their devices to accomplish specific tasks (catapult, mouse trap car, toothpick bridge, and soda straw arm); and use existing physics laboratory equipment to determine the mass and uncertainty of an unknown object (challenge problem). The bridge tester is the testing device that will be used for the toothpick bridge at the state competition. Click on link for a photograph of the device. The state competition is hosted by the UNI Physics Department and coordinated by Dr. Larry Escalada (Lawrence.Escalada@uni.edu). Please feel free to contact Larry if you have any questions about the competition. Schools must qualify in their AEA regional competition in order to compete in the State Physics Competition. See the State Competition section of the Rules for details on the school team and event team regional winners who are eligible to compete in the State Competition. If there is no regional competition in your AEA, contact your AEA science consultant to let him/her know that you are interested in participating in the State Competition. You may also want to contact a neighboring AEA to determine if it is possible to compete in their regional competition. Coordinators for regional competitions must provide a list of their teams that qualify for the State Competition no later than Friday, April 7th, 2017 to Larry Escalada. AEA science consultants who do not have regional competitions in their AEA should also provide a list of teams who may participate in the State Competition. All teams that compete in the State Competition must complete and submit the above registration form to Larry Escalada by April 7th. Check payments and cash will be accepted on the day of the competition. See Registration form for details. The 2017 UNI/AEA 267 Regional Physics competition is scheduled to take place on with registration beginning at 8:00 am, events starting at 9:00 am, and the competition ending at about noon. The bullets below will be links to the information provided when they become available. All teams that compete in the UNI / AEA 267 Regional Competition must complete and submit the above registration form by Friday, March 24, 2017. Check payments and cash will be accepted on the day of the competition. See registration forms for details.

Astronomy is really titillating and physics very fascinating subject and they counted as one of the most intriguing and adorable subjects to study. Now this disciplines very important in developing new modern technologies. Many universities develop their own way of teaching them to give high quality of knowledge. Here is a slight overview about the top universities in different regions, countries of the world. Top Universities for studying Astronomy and Physics disciplines The greater amount are in United States of America: • University of Princeton • California University • Institute of Technology of California • Stanford • Harvard • Institute of Technology of Massachusetts There are also in UK: • Oxford • Cambridge In Switzerland: • ETH Zurich In Japan: • Tokyo University Canada and USA universities to study astronomy and physics A lot of pleasant universities you may look for in Canada. Their level of education considered to be the highest and there valuable reasons for that because it provides great technical side in education and assignments. In USA most of scientific and astronomic Universities are in the top 20 from all over the world and the best of them are: Yale, California University, University of Chicago and University of Columbia. Middle East and African universities to study astronomy and physics Amazing country Israel have something to offer for everyone who likes studying. University that in the top universities over the world. Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Turkey also possess universities with high quality classes and professors. Among African countries only South Africa has two universities with high quality of studying. New Zealand and Australian universities to study astronomy and physics New Zealand can offer you 3 best astronomy and physic universities that has unrepeatable education system that will be interesting for you. In general eleven Universities in Australia take the leading places and they differs from another by theirs special and interesting courses. Latin America universities to study astronomy and physics In this region of the world Brazil at the top position and has nine universities that have qualities to be considered as the best universities. There also four another countries that take high place in the ranking. They are: Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. Asian universities to study astronomy and physics In genera there are seven major countries in this area that may offer you the highest level of education in studying these subjects. Let’s start from Singapore. It has two wonderful universities that are in top 50 in which you spend few years in amazing atmosphere of real science. In nowadays China possess the lion’s share of all top universities. Every year a lot of universities develop themselves to improve and become better. They are using new methods in teaching and education. Fifteen more universities in the top the best are in South Korea. They provides also a practical assignment to improve your knowledge. Another powerful in education country is Japan with fifteen best places to study these disciplines. This y is one of the leaders in introducing new technologies in studying in this sphere of education. Greater part of these universities you may find in the top 200. Eight universities are the best in scientific sphere and you may find Taiwan. Their level of teaching as good as in United Kingdom and they need such wonderful students as you. European universities to study astronomy and physics In this part of our planet collected the best universities to provide you the highest level of knowledge and education. The highest rate in astronomy and physics universities is Germany with thirty-five universities that allows you have different variants to choose. The next also with one of the highest and best education system is UK. There are 32 of them. For a long period of time they are the best. Also warm Spain possess warm educational process and provides good technical base for studying. France and Italy possess universities that for year are in the top and well organized in teaching according to high standards of teaching. Finally, it is necessary to mention Hungary, Portugal, Chez Republic, Russia and Norway that may provide you at least two university in each country that ware worth your attention and yours studying. All mentioned above it is just a brief review of short information to represent the best universities to study such wonderful and amazing disciplines like astronomy and physics in the world. Everyone has its own peculiarities that may be suitable for you. You have just a huge list of variants and I hope we’ve done enough to help you make a right choice with our unique website.

There's something amazing about outer space. As an astrophysics major, you'll study the stars, galaxies, planets, and the dust in the sky - one of the most mysterious and alluring scientific fields. Majoring in astrophysics is challenging and you'll need a strong foundation in physics and math, but once you get started the excitement will never end. High school students can prepare for a major in astrophysics by taking all the math, physics, and sciences classes available to them in high school. This will make your freshman year of college easier and prepare you for your undergraduate degree. But it's not all calculations - as research is a part of this major, astrophysics majors should also have a background in writing to ensure their reports are well written. Your college studies will be divided into three areas: classroom lecture, field work, and lab work. Many of the topics you will encounter at the beginning will be familiar to you because you studied them in high school. As you progress, you'll tackle more advanced topics such as quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, and the interstellar medium. You will also spend time in the lab doing experiments and computational work. Many students say their favorite part of their degree is the research opportunities that allow them to study the origin of a star or the universe. Many schools offer research programs to give students as opportunity to perform research before graduation. Students who pursue a master's or doctorate degree will have the opportunity to specialize in area of specific interest to them. With a bachelor's or master's degree, you could find work in the private sector, government, or for a laboratory, but if you wish to teach, you'll most likely need to pursue a doctorate degree.

Matters of the heart can be puzzling and mysterious - so too with unusual astronomical objects called heartbeat stars. Heartbeat stars, discovered in large numbers by NASA's Kepler space telescope, are binary stars (systems of two stars orbiting each other) that got their name because if you were to map out their brightness over time, the result would look like an electrocardiogram, a graph of the electrical activity of the heart. Scientists are interested in them because they are binary systems in elongated elliptical orbits. This makes them natural laboratories for studying the gravitational effects of stars on each other. In a heartbeat star system, the distance between the two stars varies drastically as they orbit each other. Heartbeat stars can get as close as a few stellar radii to each other, and as far as 10 times that distance during the course of one orbit. At the point of their closest encounter, the stars' mutual gravitational pull causes them to become slightly ellipsoidal in shape, which is one of the reasons their light is so variable. This is the same type of "tidal force" that causes ocean tides on Earth. By studying heartbeat stars, astronomers can gain a better understanding of how this phenomenon works for different kinds of stars. Tidal forces also cause heartbeat stars to vibrate or "ring" - in other words, the diameters of the stars rapidly fluctuate as they orbit each other. This effect is most noticeable at the point of closest approach. "You can think about the stars as bells, and once every orbital revolution, when the stars reach their closest approach, it's as if they hit each other with a hammer, " said Avi Shporer, NASA Sagan postdoctoral fellow at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, and lead author of a recent study on heartbeat stars. "One or both stars vibrate throughout their orbits, and when they get nearer to each other, it's as though they are ringing very loudly." Kepler, now in its K2 Mission, discovered large numbers of heartbeat stars just in the last several years. A 2011 study discussed a star called KOI-54 that shows an increase in brightness every 41.8 days. In 2012, a subsequent study characterized 17 additional objects in the Kepler data and dubbed them "heartbeat stars." To characterize these unique systems, further data and research were required. News Media Contact Elizabeth Landau Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-354-6425