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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
February 18, 2026 12:15 pm

Caltech/IPAC Lunch Seminar

IPAC 102 (Large Conference Room)
Mixing a (multi-phase) cocktail in the hot halo of Stephan's Quintet: How does the molecular gas survive?
Philip Appleton, IPAC/Caltech,
February 18, 2026 4:00 pm

Astronomy Colloquium

Cahill, Hameetman Auditorium
Magnetism and morphology in the interstellar medium
Susan Clark, Assistant Professor of Physics, Stanford University,
February 25, 2026 4:00 pm

Astronomy Colloquium

Cahill, Hameetman Auditorium
Supermassive Black Holes in the Early Universe: from Luminous Quasars to the Little Red Dots
Xiaohui Fan, Regents Professor of Astronomy, Astronomer, Steward Observatory, University of Arizona,
February 27, 2026 8:00 pm

Stargazing Lecture

Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics
Revealing the Primordial Universe Through Its Oldest Light
W. L. Kimmy Wu, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Caltech,
March 4, 2026 4:00 pm

Astronomy Colloquium

Cahill, Hameetman Auditorium
TBD
Josh Simon, Staff Scientist, Carnegie Science,
March 6, 2026 2:00 pm

TAPIR Seminar

Online and In-Person Event
The primary role of jets in exploding all core-collapse supernovae
Noam Soker, Professor, Department of Physics, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology,

Recent Publications

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