Observational Astronomy

Wisconsin Astronomy includes a variety of observational components. These aim to extract quantitative information concerning fundamental properties of astrophysical systems.  This work is carried out via a combination of our Wisconsin facilities that are general purpose and specialized optical-infrared observatories, as well as through competitive access to other telescopes on Earth and in space. This approach supports the Wisconsin multi-wavelength research tradition. When combined with the energetic particle detection capabilities of the Wisconsin-led IceCube Antarctic observatory, our observational research also takes on a multi-messenger character.

Our observational programs routinely combine spectroscopic and imaging to derive basic data on astronomical objects. Images yield intensity maps. When obtained with broadband filters, these lead to fundamental measures of point source variability and spectral energy distributions, while for extended objects they yield density distributions and properties of baryonic matter.  These capabilities have been exploited, for example, over a range of scales, from properties of brown dwarf and low mass pre-main sequence stars to studies of galaxy structures and the evolution of their super-massive central black holes across cosmic time.

Research Groups

• WOCS The WIYN Open Cluster Survey
• Interacting Binaries
• WHAM Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper
• Local Universe The study of nearby galaxies
• Galaxy Kinematics The measurement of the motions of luminous gas and stars
• Distant Universe The study of the first galaxies and the formation of cosmic structure
• Ice Cube A cubic kilometer TeV neutrino telescope
• GALFA The Galactic Arecibo L-band Feed Array HI Survey