NMSU Astronomy

08/18/2026

A popular myth about black holes is that they act like giant cosmic vacuum cleaners sucking in everything around them, but Wladimir Lyra’s research found a new mechanism around supermassive black...

08/17/2026

If you didn't know, we have a meteor camera on top of the Astronomy building! And last week, during the Perseids Meteor Shower, NASA was able to spot a few meteors on our camera during their live stream!

You can rewatch the live stream here:

Grab a blanket, a snack - maybe some caffeine - and stay up late wi...

08/10/2026

We were SUPER excited to have some of our department faculty, staff, and students invited out to the Space Port of America with the Astronomical Society of Las Cruces for a tour of the Space Port and fantastic discussions!

04/20/2026

Congratulations Dr. Shetye and team!

The National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) is the NSF’s most prestigious award. It recognizes the impact of junior faculty’s success in research and...

04/11/2026

A New Mexico State University astronomy student has been awarded a prestigious, highly competitive NASA grant to support research into the sun and its activity. https://bit.ly/4mpzeQs

03/05/2026

There are two proposals being considered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that have the potential to severely affect the night sky environment.

The two proposals are 1) Reflect Orbital’s plan to illuminate Earth at Night and 2) SpaceX’s proposal to launch one million satellites into low Earth orbit.

Several Organizations, including the American Astronomical Society as well as DarkSky International, are calling for people to understand these proposals, be informed, and submit comments.

Here are some articles on these two proposals that aim to make the public informed on these proposals and how they will potentially affect the night sky:

https://aas.org/action-alert-provide-input-fcc-proposed-satellite-systems

https://darksky.org/news/two-satellite-proposals-threaten-the-night-sky-the-window-to-act-is-now/

And a link to an Open Letter describing this issue: https://darksky.org/news/open-letter-to-spacex

In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the agency responsible for authorizing satellite launches and operations…

03/03/2026

Set your alarm clocks folks!! 🌕

https://skyandtelescope.org/press-releases/get-ready-for-the-march-3-2026-predawn-total-lunar-eclipse/?fbclid=IwRlRTSAQTLglleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEe3Uo7IUeVcmuONcqe9xuJOZo3NpEOcqdxGnOg6TIJVB4hwfrCFVT_2uj2fKE_aem_U_h20UAvjnrRbSnKPMjoTw

A total eclipse of the Moon will be visible before dawn this Tuesday, March 3rd, from western North America. The eclipse happens on Tuesday evening for Australia and East Asia.

02/20/2026

Join us TONIGHT (Feb 20th @ 7pm) for our Public Open house at Tombaugh Campus Observatory!

Public Night at Tombaugh Campus Observatory:
The NMSU Department of Astronomy will host an open house at 7 p.m. tonight at the Tombaugh Campus Observatory on NMSU's Las Cruces campus.

The observatory is located on Williams Street, adjacent to the track. Public parking is available in the large lot west of the track. The event will include a short presentation by Juie Shetye, followed by telescope observations with the assistance of graduate students and staff. Astronomical viewing is dependent on the weather. The event is expected to conclude around 8 p.m.

Visit https://astro.nmsu.edu/ one hour before the event to ensure it has not been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances such as weather.

Check out the night sky at this week’s Tombaugh Observatory Open House! The event begins at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb, 20 at the Tombaugh Campus Observatory. Hosted by New Mexico State University’s Department of Astronomy, the open house will feature a short presentation by astronomy assistant professor Juie Shetye, followed by telescope observations guided by astronomy graduate students.

Observations are dependent on weather. Visit https://astro.nmsu.edu/ one hour before the event to check it has not been cancelled. For more information, contact Zach Edwards at 575-646-6399 or [email protected].

02/11/2026

Congratulations to Kyle Uckert (NMSU PhD) for his continued successes as a Mars explorer!