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Caltech
Department of Astronomy

Astronomy Homepage

The Astronomy Department at the California Institute of Technology is part of the Division of Physics, Math, and Astronomy. The primary mission of our department is twofold: the performance of cutting-edge research in astronomy and astrophysics, including theory, observation, and experiment, as well as the education of undergraduate and graduate students and training of postdoctoral research associates who will comprise the scientists and leaders of tomorrow. We are located in the Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics on the Caltech campus.

OVRO 40-meter radio telescope
Research Highlights
ZTF: Zwicky Transient Facility at Palomar COMAP: the CO Mapping Array Pathfinder at OVRO SPHEREx Mission
Keck Observatory telescope domes
Observatories
OVRO Palomar Observatory W. M. Keck Observatory LIGO

Upcoming Events

All Events
April 13, 2026 4:00 pm

Astronomy Tea Talk

Cahill 370
Study of Exotic Stellar Populations in Open Clusters and Galactic Fields
Anju Panthi, Postdoc at Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore,
April 15, 2026 12:15 pm

Caltech/IPAC Lunch Seminar

IPAC 102 (Large Conference Room)
The High Energy Radiation Environments of Sun-Like Stars with Directly Imageable Habitable Zones
Breanna Binder, Associate Professor, Cal Poly Pomona,
April 15, 2026 4:00 pm

Astronomy Colloquium

Cahill, Hameetman Auditorium
Do active galactic nuclei behave the way galaxy formation theorists need them to?
Michael Blanton, Observatories Director and Crawford M. Greenewalt Chair, Carnegie Science,
April 17, 2026 2:00 pm

TAPIR Seminar

Online and In-Person Event
Crystallization, Convection, and Magnetism in White Dwarf Stars
Matias Castro-Tapia, Graduate Student, Department of Physics, McGill University,
April 22, 2026 4:00 pm

Astronomy Colloquium

Cahill, Hameetman Auditorium
Resetting Cosmic Ray Propagation Theory
Ellen Zweibel, W. L. Kraushaar Professor of Astronomy and Physics, Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison,
April 24, 2026 2:00 pm

TAPIR Seminar

Online and In-Person Event
Gravitational-wave observables beyond timing: astrometry and weak lensing probes
Tal Adi, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Physics and Astronomy, USC,

Recent Publications

For a complete publications list, see feeds.library.caltech.edu