The Institute of Astronomy (IoA) is the largest of the three
astronomy departments in the University of Cambridge, and one of the largest astronomy sites in the United Kingdom. Around 180 academics, postdocs, visitors and assistant staff work at the department.
Research at the department is made in a number of scientific areas, including
exoplanets,
star
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
s, star clusters,
cosmology
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount (lexicographer), Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in ...
,
gravitational-wave astronomy
Gravitational-wave astronomy is an emerging branch of observational astronomy which aims to use gravitational waves (minute distortions of spacetime predicted by Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity) to collect observational data about ...
, the high-
redshift
In physics, a redshift is an increase in the wavelength, and corresponding decrease in the frequency and photon energy, of electromagnetic radiation (such as light). The opposite change, a decrease in wavelength and simultaneous increase in f ...
universe,
AGN,
galaxies
A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. ...
and
galaxy clusters
A galaxy cluster, or a cluster of galaxies, is a structure that consists of anywhere from hundreds to thousands of galaxies that are bound together by gravity, with typical masses ranging from 1014 to 1015 solar masses. They are the second-la ...
. This is a mixture of observational astronomy, over the entire electromagnetic spectrum, computational theoretical astronomy, and analytic theoretical research.
The
Kavli Institute for Cosmology is also located on the department site. This institute has an emphasis on ''The Universe at High Redshifts''. The
Cavendish Astrophysics Group are based in the Battcock Centre, a building in the same grounds.
History
The institute was formed in 1972 from the amalgamation of earlier institutions:
* The University Observatory, founded in 1823. Its
Cambridge Observatory
Cambridge Observatory is an astronomical observatory at the University of Cambridge in the East of England. It was established in 1823 and is now part of the site of the Institute of Astronomy. The old Observatory building houses the Institute o ...
building now houses offices and the department library.
* The Solar Physics Observatory, which started in Cambridge in 1912. The building was partly demolished in 2008 to make way for the
Kavli Institute
The Kavli Foundation, based in Los Angeles, California, is a foundation that supports the advancement of science and the increase of public understanding and support for scientists and their work.
The Kavli Foundation was established in Decembe ...
for Cosmology.
* The Institute of Theoretical Astronomy, which was created by
Fred Hoyle in 1967. Its building is the main departmental site (the Hoyle Building), with a lecture theatre added in 1999, and a second two-storey wing built in 2002.
From 1990 to 1998, the
Royal Greenwich Observatory
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in G ...
was based in Cambridge, where it occupied ''Greenwich House'' on a site adjacent to the Institute of Astronomy.
Teaching
The department teaches 3rd and 4th year undergraduates as part of the
Natural Sciences Tripos
The Natural Sciences Tripos (NST) is the framework within which most of the science at the University of Cambridge is taught. The tripos includes a wide range of Natural Sciences from physics, astronomy, and geoscience, to chemistry and biology, ...
or
Mathematical Tripos
The Mathematical Tripos is the mathematics course that is taught in the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. It is the oldest Tripos examined at the University.
Origin
In its classical nineteenth-century form, the tripos was a ...
. Around 30 students normally study the masters which consists of a substantial research project (around 1/3 of the masters) and students have an opportunity to study courses such as General Relativity, Cosmology, Black Holes, Extrasolar Planets, Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics, Structure and Evolution of Stars & Formation of Galaxies. In addition, there are around 12 to 18 graduate
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
students at the department per year, mainly funded by the
STFC
The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is a United Kingdom government agency that carries out research in science and engineering, and funds UK research in areas including particle physics, nuclear physics, space science and astro ...
. The graduate programme is particularly unusual in the UK as the students are free to choose their own PhD supervisor or adviser from the staff at the department, and this choice is often made as late as the end of their first term.
Notable current staff
An incomplete list of notable current members of the department.
*
Cathie Clarke
*
Carolin Crawford
*
George Efstathiou
*
Andrew Fabian
*
Gerry Gilmore
*
Douglas Gough
* Paul Hewett
*
Nikku Madhusudhan
* Richard McMahon
*
Max Pettini
*
James E. Pringle
*
Martin Rees
* Christopher Reynolds (
Plumian Professor of Astronomy)
* Christopher Tout
*
Anna Zytkow
Notable past members and students
Here are some notable members of the department and its former institutes.
*
Suzanne Aigrain
*
George Airy
*
Robert Stawell Ball
Sir Robert Stawell Ball (1 July 1840 – 25 November 1913) was an Irish astronomer who founded the screw theory. He was Royal Astronomer of Ireland at Dunsink Observatory.
Life
He was the son of naturalist Robert Ball,
and Amelia Gresley Hel ...
*
James Challis
James Challis FRS (12 December 1803 – 3 December 1882) was an English clergyman, physicist and astronomer. Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy and the director of the Cambridge Observatory, he investigated a wide ra ...
*
John Couch Adams
John Couch Adams (; 5 June 1819 – 21 January 1892) was a British mathematician and astronomer. He was born in Laneast, near Launceston, Cornwall, and died in Cambridge.
His most famous achievement was predicting the existence and position of ...
*
Donald Clayton
*
Arthur Eddington
Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington (28 December 1882 – 22 November 1944) was an English astronomer, physicist, and mathematician. He was also a philosopher of science and a populariser of science. The Eddington limit, the natural limit to the lumin ...
*
Richard Ellis
*
Roger Griffin
Roger David Griffin (born 31 January 1948) is a British professor of modern history and political theorist at Oxford Brookes University, England. His principal interest is the socio-historical and ideological dynamics of fascism, as well as va ...
*
Stephen Hawking
*
Fred Hoyle
*
Jamal Nazrul Islam
Jamal Nazrul Islam (24 February 1939 – 16 March 2013) was a Bangladeshi mathematical physicist and cosmologist. He was a professor at University of Chittagong, served as a member of the advisory board at Shahjalal University of Science and Te ...
*
Harold Jeffreys
*
Donald Lynden-Bell
Donald Lynden-Bell CBE FRS (5 April 1935 – 6 February 2018) was a British theoretical astrophysicist. He was the first to determine that galaxies contain supermassive black holes at their centres, and that such black holes power quasars. Ly ...
*
Jayant Narlikar
*
Jeremiah Ostriker
*
Robert Woodhouse
Robert Woodhouse (28 April 177323 December 1827) was a British mathematician and astronomer.
Biography Early life and education
Robert Woodhouse was born on 28 April 1773 in Norwich, Norfolk, the son of Robert Woodhouse, linen draper, and Judi ...
Telescopes
The Institute houses several telescopes on its site. Although some scientific work is done with the telescopes, they are mostly used for public observing and astronomical societies. The poor weather and light-pollution in Cambridge makes most modern astronomy difficult. The telescopes on the site include:
* Th
Northumberland Telescopedonated by the Duke of Northumberland in 1833. This is a diameter refractor on an English mount.
* The smalle
Thorrowgood Telescope on extended loan from the
Royal Astronomical Society
(Whatever shines should be observed)
, predecessor =
, successor =
, formation =
, founder =
, extinction =
, merger =
, merged =
, type = NGO ...
. The telescope is an refractor.
* Th
36-inch Telescope built in 1951.
* Th
Three-Mirror Telescope which is a prototype telescope with a unique design to have wide field of view, sharp images and all-reflection optics.
The institute's former 24" Schmidt Camera was donated to the
Spaceguard Centre in
Knighton, Powys in Wales in June 2009.
The Cambridge University Astronomical Society (CUAS) and Cambridge Astronomical Association (CAA) both regularly observe. The nstitute holds public observing evenings on Wednesdays from October to March.
Public activities
The department holds a number of events involving the general public in astronomy. These include or have included:
* Open evenings on Wednesdays during the winter, with a talk given by a member of the institute followed by observing in clear weather
* Hosting the Astroblast conference
* Annual sculpture exhibition showing work of
Anglia Ruskin University
* Annual open day during the
Cambridge Science Festival
* A monthly podcast, the
Astropod, aimed at the general public (the Astropod originally ran from 2009 to 2011, and was relaunched in 2020)
* Extra observing nights for special events such a
IYA Moonwatchan
BBC stargazing live
Library
The institute library is housed in the old
Cambridge Observatory
Cambridge Observatory is an astronomical observatory at the University of Cambridge in the East of England. It was established in 1823 and is now part of the site of the Institute of Astronomy. The old Observatory building houses the Institute o ...
building. It is a specialist library concentrating on the subjects of astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology. The collection has approximately 17,000 books and subscribes to about 80 current journals. The library also has a collection of rare astronomical books, many of which belonged to
John Couch Adams
John Couch Adams (; 5 June 1819 – 21 January 1892) was a British mathematician and astronomer. He was born in Laneast, near Launceston, Cornwall, and died in Cambridge.
His most famous achievement was predicting the existence and position of ...
.
Achievements
Among the significant contributions to astronomy made by the institute, the now decommissioned Automatic Plate Measuring (APM) machine was used to create a major catalogue of astronomical objects in the northern sky.
References
External links
Institute of Astronomy at the University of CambridgeKavli Institute of Cosmology, CambridgeImages from the Institute of Astronomy Library
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Astronomy institutes and departments
Astronomy, Institute of
Research institutes in the United Kingdom
Astronomy in the United Kingdom
Educational institutions established in 1972