Center for Astrophysics l Harvard & Smithsonian

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Center for Astrophysics l Harvard & Smithsonian

Asking and answering humanity’s greatest questions about the nature of the universe. We hope you will engage with us and each other through active discussion.

The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian is a collaboration between the Harvard College Observatory and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian combines the resources and research facilities of the Harvard College Observatory (HCO) and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) under a single director to pursue studies of those

basic physical processes that determine the nature and evolution of the universe. Content is expected to be relevant to the subject matter in general and individual posts in particular. Be aware that Facebook is a third-party website with its own terms of use and privacy policy. The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian does not control Facebook's collection, use, or dissemination of information. To protect your privacy and the privacy of others, do not include any personally identifiable information that you do not wish to be made available to the general public. In addition, the Smithsonian may archive materials posted on this website pursuant to its document retention policies. By posting content, you are giving the Smithsonian and those authorized by the Smithsonian permission to use or modify it for any educational, promotional, or other standard museum purpose, in media of any kinds whether now known or later developed. Any data that users post on this site or that the Smithsonian collects from this site is subject to our terms of use and privacy policies which can be found at http://www.si.edu/termsofuse/ and http://www.si.edu/privacy/. We monitor comments and posts on this page consistent with the Smithsonian terms of use, as described at http://si.edu/termsofuse, and we reserve the right to remove content in accordance with these terms.

09/02/2026

Our inaugural Center for Astrophysics l Harvard & Smithsonian Science Meeting was a big success! More than 100 talks and posters and 240 registered participants, all from the CfA! Topics ranged from innovative science, to engineering space telescopes, to world-renowned science databases and impactful public outreach.

Huge thanks to the organizing committees and the collaborative support from both our constituent organizations, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Harvard College Observatory! Our power is in our people.

📸 Aidan Lillienfeld/Christine Buckley

09/01/2026

✨ Day 1 of the inaugural Science Meeting of the largest group of astrophysics in the world. 🪐😎 Smithsonian

08/28/2026

"Roman is an imaging telescope, like Hubble, and it has a similar spatial resolution. But what took Hubble years to record will take Roman around 100 hours." - astronomer Christina Lindberg

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launches on Aug. 30, 2026 with a wide field of view that is unprecedented in astronomy. Named for NASA’s first chief astronomer, the telescope will give astronomers new ways to study dark energy, search for exoplanets, and understand the physics of distant stars.

To learn more, we talked with astronomer Christina Lindberg, a JC Ryan Post-doctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory who will be working with data from the telescope. Check out her Q&A here! https://s.si.edu/4qK5gJ6 📸 NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

08/12/2026

✨Today’s solar eclipse will chart a path of totality across Greenland and Northern Europe. Using our Cosmic Data Stories web app, you can watch the projected path for your town and even map weather conditions. This view shows the path in the northern Spanish town of Gijón.

Access the app at our link in bio 🕶️☀️ eclipse

08/11/2026

✨ We've launched a new interactive web app for use during the solar eclipse!

The interface, called a Cosmic Data Story, is built on WorldWide Telescope and works on both phones and computers. It lets anyone, from anywhere on Earth, see exactly what the eclipse will look like from their location at any given time.

“We're making it easy for anybody to understand what a total eclipse looks like and how long the eclipse will last along different locations in the path of totality," said Patricia Udomprasert, project director and research associate in the CfA’s Science Education Department.

Access the app here! https://s.si.edu/4g6uufRLearn

Learn more on our CfA web page: https://s.si.edu/4woG1xf

📸 NASA/GRC/Jordan Salkin

08/07/2026

✨ Join Dr. Suze Kundu on a trip to explore the London Starstruck experience!

Smithsonian Starstruck: An Immersive Experience is a 3D interactive, virtual reality experience that begins at Earth’s observatories and launches visitors into the universe—aboard the world's most powerful space telescopes. Our Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory collaborated with the group at Fever to translate our real astronomical data into a breathtaking journey through space.

08/06/2026

✨ Thank you Abi Tripathi, Senior Advisor to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, and NASA Astrophysics Division Director Shawn Domagal-Goldman for visiting our Control Center today to discuss our growing partnership in exploring the universe!

07/31/2026

A founding gift from longtime Smithsonian supporter Laura Peebles and the Barbara Hebner Charitable Fund at Vanguard Charitable will launch the Smithsonian Scientists Taking Astronomy to Rural Schools (STARS) program to serve rural communities across Delaware.

The gift honors the memory of Peebles’s mother, Unitarian Universalist minister Reverend Barbara Louise Hebner.

“Reverend Barbara Hebner loved visiting schools to talk about being a ‘computer,’---doing the math required to calculate data and create curves and graphs to understand flight data for experimental aircraft,” said Peebles’s sister, Heather Petit, on behalf of the family.

With the funding, each rural public school in the state will receive a telescope, lesson plans, and access to stargazing parties with family members.

Read more: https://s.si.edu/4xePcRG

07/16/2026

✨ In a major astronomy milestone, scientists have detected the first atmosphere on a habitable-zone rocky world. It's the strongest evidence yet for other planets that could support life.

Collin Cherubim, who just earned his Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Harvard University and is affiliated with the Center for Astrophysics l Harvard & Smithsonian, let the study.

The atmosphere was predicted in orbit of a red dwarf star about 48 light-years away from Earth by astronomer Collin Cherubim's statistical model, and were confirmed by observations from the Magellan Telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory.

This first success validates his models and tells us that at least some rocky planets can keep their air for billions of years.

The next step, the authors say, is to find more of them.

Learn more: https://s.si.edu/4pqnSxb

📸 Melissa Weiss/CfA

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