Astronomy and Cosmology

flag

Our Own Eyes on the Skies

Las Campanas Observatory in Chile provides our scientists with access to first-in-class telescopes with views
of the Magellanic clouds and the entire southern sky.

emoji_events

More than a century of experience

Our telescopes and instruments are designed on campus, so our astronomers and theorists can work closely with our engineers and machinists to create the optical designs of the future.

Astronomy represents humanity’s scientific quest to discover the origins and evolution of the universe and life itself. Carnegie astronomers revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos.

Today, new capabilities in telescopes, advanced imaging, and computation make ours the first generation of scientists who will have the tools to answer vital questions about the forces that shaped our cosmos, including:

How can the evolution of stars and galaxies advance our understanding of the physical rules governing the cosmos? What more can supernovae and massive stellar collisions teach us about the fundamental building blocks of life? What are the conditions for star formation and evolution that produce habitable planets?