Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian How can we expand the limits of human knowledge further into the unknown? The Center for Astrophysics is a collaboration between the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Harvard College Observatory that’s designed to ask big questions about the universe, build the tools needed to answer them, and share the resulting discoveries with the world.

In the past decade, astronomers have identified more than one hundred planets orbiting stars other than the Sun and will soon have the tools to search for small, rocky, Earth-like planets. In the past five years, we have come to understand that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating owing to the presence of "dark energy" and we are on the cusp of technologies to explore this strange and ...

The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian is a collaboration between Harvard and Smithsonian designed to ask — and ultimately answer — humanity’s greatest unresolved questions about the nature of the universe.

The Center for Astrophysics combines the resources and research facilities of the Harvard College Observatory and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory under a single director to pursue studies of those basic physical processes that determine the nature and evolution of the universe. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) is a bureau of the Smithsonian Institution, founded in 1890 ...

The ionization of the neutral gas in an interstellar molecular cloud plays a key role in the cloud's evolution, helping to regulate the heating and cooling processes, the chemistry and molecule formation, and coupling the gas to magnetic fields.

In our continued pursuit to reveal the unknown in our Universe, the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian shares a commitment to strengthening scientific inquiry at every level. From fellow scientists to educators, students, and the public, the CfA provides resources that enhance learning and accelerate discovery.

The Center for Astrophysics (CfA) provides world-class opportunities for academic training and career development in astrophysics. It is home to the Harvard University Department of Astronomy, which features both graduate and undergraduate programs, as well as to the SAO pre-doctoral program, numerous undergraduate summer research programs, and superb opportunities for post-doctoral studies ...

Scientists and engineers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian collaborate across a broad variety of scientific disciplines, from astronomy and astrophysics to related areas of physics and geophysics, in advancing humanity’s understanding of the universe. Learn more about the full spectrum of research covered at the CfA.

The Science Research Mentoring Program (SRMP) at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) provides an opportunity for students from Cambridge Rindge & Latin School to work on a year-long independent research project in astrophysics under the guidance of a CfA astrophysicists. Students learn what it is actually like to conduct real, cutting-edge research and work closely with ...

The Center for Astrophysics (CfA) provides world-class opportunities for academic training and career development in astrophysics. It is home to the Harvard University Department of Astronomy, which features both graduate and undergraduate programs, as well as to the SAO pre-doctoral program, numerous undergraduate summer research programs, and superb opportunities for post-doctoral studies ...