News & Announcements
Congratulations to our 2021 graduates!
Thank you for your hard work and commitment. It’s been a great pleasure teaching and working with you.
We hope you will always remember your time here fondly and with satisfaction. We wish you the very best.
Visit our Physics and Astronomy Awards page to see a short video of your classmates and friends accepting awards and scholarships.
Congrats to all!
Observatory status: Due to COVID-19 precautions, we have canceled all in-person star
parties and outreach activities until further notice. Please continue to follow us
on Facebook and YouTube for online astronomy content.
COVID-19 Updates for U of U Campus and Community
Department Main Office Hours (JFB 201)
Monday-Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Accounting Office (JFB 203)
Mondays and Thursdays only, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.; other times by appointment.
These hours are subject to change at any time.
New Effort to Map the Universe, Unravel Mysteries of "Dark Energy"
New Effort to Map the Universe, Unravel Mysteries of "Dark Energy"A five-year quest to map the universe and unravel the mysteries of dark energy began officially on May 17, 2021, at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona. The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) will capture and study the light from more than 30 million galaxies and other distant objects, allowing scientists to construct a 3-D map of the universe with unprecedented detail.
Celebrating IceCube's First Decade of Discovery
It was the beginning of a grand experiment unlike anything the world had ever seen. Ten years ago today, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory fully opened its eyes for the first time. Dozens of intrepid technicians, engineers, and scientists had traveled to the South Pole to build the biggest, strangest telescope in the world. The purpose of the unconventional telescope was to detect signals from passing astrophysical neutrinos: mysterious, tiny, extremely lightweight particles created by some of the most energetic and distant phenomena in the cosmos. IceCube’s founders believed that studying these astrophysical neutrinos would reveal hidden parts of the universe. Over the course of the next decade, they would be proven right.
Alumni Snapshots: Perry Hacking
Alumni Snapshots: Perry HackingDr. Perry Hacking has always loved astronomy, so there was nothing for him to do but pursue and follow that passion throughout his life. “I had a one-track mind, and learning about astronomy drove most of my thoughts during my little free time and all of my energy behind my academic and professional life,” he said. “I never wanted some position or title—I just wanted to learn more about astronomy or contribute to the world learning more about it. I’m grateful I’ve been able to devote my life to something I love.”