astronomy.williams.eduAstronomy

Go to Williams College Home Search Williams Search Box Type in your search terms and press enter or navigate down for suggested search results. Menu use tab and shift-tab to navigate once expanded Megamenu Global Academics Areas of Study Course Catalog Faculty Graduate Programs Pathways for Inclusive Excellence Study Away Tutorials Winter Study Admission & Aid Admission & Aid Affordability Apply Financial Aid Tours Alumni & Families Alumni Parents & Families Ways to Give Make a Gift Life on Campus Activities Bookstore Dining Health Services Housing Religion & Spirituality Megamenu Featured Diversity & Equity Experiential Learning & Community Engagement Sustainability Arts Athletics Career Exploration Center Libraries Quick Links Megamenu Social Facebook Instagram X (Twitter) YouTube Flickr LinkedIn Threads Feeds Williams » Welcome at Williams College spans the very old and the very new. The Hopkins Observatory is the oldest existing astronomical observatory in the United States and houses the earliest telescope by the famous maker Alvan Clark, whose company ultimately made the still-largest refracting telescope. At the same time, current astronomy faculty and students carry out research with some of the world’s most advanced telescopes. The Department offers courses for both majors and non-majors. Many astronomy courses take advantage of on-campus observing facilities that include a 24-inch computer-controlled telescope with CCD detectors for imaging and spectroscopy, along with our computer network for image processing. Specialized telescopes for observing the Sun are adjacent. Students interested in majoring may choose either to be an Astrophysics major , administered jointly with the Physics Department, or an major . The Department’s learning objectives and student achievement goals are stated here . Our students participate broadly in faculty research . In addition, Williams College is a member of the Keck Northeast Consortium , comprised of astronomy faculty and students from eight liberal arts colleges in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. Among KNAC’s activities are a summer exchange program for astronomy research students and a fall student research symposium. Williams College also participates in the educational aspects of the Zwicky Telescope Facility of Caltech’s Palomar Observatory, which links the 200″, 60″ and 48″ telescopes on Palomar Mountain for time-domain astronomy. After you have finished browsing our pages, you might want to explore some of these other astronomy sites . For more information on the department and its activities, please feel free to contact us directly at the address below or Email Prof. Anne Jaskot Email Dr. Kevin Flaherty Look for us on Instagram! ( @williamsastronomy ) Tasan-Smith Gandy ’24, Amy Steele ’08, Amina Diop ’21, and Valeria Lopez at the 243rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Hector Mendoza ’24, Anna Tosolini ’23, Prof. Jen Winters, Micaela Foreman ’23, Prof. Anne Jaskot, Achref Dhabi ’23, and Nicole Ford ’20 Nicole Ford ’20 at a study abroad program at CERN Kevin Flaherty studies the conditions of planet formation using radio antennas, such as this one in Hawaii. Prof. Pasachoff’s view of the December 4, 2021, total solar eclipse from a plane near Antarctica, with Peter Knowlton ’21 and Anna Tosolini ’23 also on board. Sequential views, alternately through a solar filter and through clouds, of the annular solar eclipse of December 26, 2019, from Kodaikanal, India Light curve observed by Dr. Steven Souza and his students showing the brightness variation of a pair of orbiting stars that regularly block each other’s light. Exploding stars, colliding galaxies, and you: Prof. Karen Kwitter, now Prof. Emerita, at TEDx.williams.edu Website developed by Profs. Karen Kwitter and Richard Henry (U. Oklahoma) with spectra, images and atlas information for more than 175 planetary nebulae they have observed in the Milky Way and M31. Tina Seeger ’16 with the POETS occultation/eclipse/transit camera system on the 24-inch telescope in our rooftop observatory, working with Prof. Jay Pasachoff. Prof. Jay Pasachoff with students and alumni/alumnae at the Williams College eclipse site in Salem, Oregon, in August 2017. Left to right – Back: Cielo Perez ’19, Charles Ide ’20, Marcus Freeman ’10, Duane Lee ’01, Muzhou Lu ’13, Allen Davis ’14, Dan Seaton ’01, Declan Daly ’20, Brendan Rosseau ‘ 19 Front: Erin Meadors ’20, Ross Yu ’19, Amy Steele ’08, Connor Marti ’20, Christian Lockwood ’20 (Not shown, at our alternative site in Salem, Tim Nagle-McNaughton ‘ 18 and Suranjit Tilakawardane ’07. Nearby: Johnny Inoue ’20.) The Zeiss Skymaster ZKP3/C projector in the Milham Planetarium, located in the Hopkins Observatory. Print this page SectionThe Majors Majoring Options The Astrophysics Major The Major Learning Objectives People Faculty & Staff Majors Graduates In Memory of Jay Pasachoff Courses Course List Winter Study Resources for Students at Williams after Williams Research Observing the Solar Corona Occultation Research Occultations Charon Haumea Ixion KBO 55636 MORIS Nix PICO Pluto POETS Triton Varuna Planetary Nebulae Planetary Nebulae Site Gallery of PN Spectra ELSA Emission-line Stars Cosmic Deuterium Solar Eclipse Expeditions Structure of Planet-Forming/Debris Disks Facilities Rooftop Observatory Hopkins Observatory 2024 Solar Eclipse FAQ Planetarium Shows Planetarium shows are available Friday evenings at 8PM. Shows are free and open to the public. Sign up online , or email Tasan Smith-Gandy at [email protected] for details. Want to book a private show? Email either Tasan or Dr. Kevin Flaherty (kmf4) with the subject line "Scheduling a Private Planetarium Show" and the relevant details. Department News May 9, 2024 Welcome new Astro majors from the class of 2026! Jan 22, 2024 Department Attends 243rd AAS meeting Dec 19, 2023 Open Visiting Assistant Professor of Position View All → Williamstown, MA 01267 USA Williams CollegePrivacy Policy Accessibility Comment Form Log...