Research

Exterior of the Palomar Dome at night.
Copyright © 2010 Rebecca Oppenheimer

Research in Astrophysics covers theory, observation, and instrumentation, with investigations focused on exoplanets, brown dwarfs, the formation of planets, stars, and galaxies, the evolution of stars and gas in the universe, and large-scale surveys.  

Studies include numerical simulations of planet, star, and galaxy formation; observational work on explosions and shells of novae, and cataclysmic variables in nearby galaxies and globular clusters; surveys for massive star pre-supernovae (Wolf-Rayet stars) throughout the Milky Way; and the development of new techniques to study the solar-system scale environs of nearby stars, including direct observations of exoplanets and nascent solar systems.

Article Project 1640 An instrument designed to simultaneously image and acquire low-resolution spectra of planets orbiting nearby stars. Research Star and Planet Formation Simulating how stars and planets form from clouds of interstellar gas. Article Stellar Populations Investigating stellar populations, novae, and Wolf Rayet stars in the Milky Way. Article The Lyot Project Construction and deployment of the world's first coronagraph optimized for the diffraction limit of a telescope. Research Gemini Planet Imager An adaptive optics instrument for imaging exoplanets using the Gemini Telescope.