Giving in Action: Astrophysical & Planetary Sciences

APS听is one of the few programs nationwide that combines both astrophysics and planetary science, providing a unified view of space sciences, the solar system and comparative planetology, stellar and galactic astronomy听and cosmology. We have the largest undergraduate astronomy major in the country. Fiske Planetarium, the largest, highest resolution full-dome on any U.S. campus, creates innovative, immersive听and inclusive experiences to engage and inspire communities by connecting science, technology听and the arts. APS and Fiske are committed to excel in our scientific, educational听and outreach missions with your invaluable support.

David Brain, Department Chair, and John Keller, Fiske Planetarium Director

In the last year, Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences awarded...

24

Scholarships

3

Fellowships

My time at CU not only shaped my career but built my joy and passion for the field. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to take advantage of all that the APS department has to offer including receiving support through the Susan E. Wesley Scholarship.

Maya Yanez ('19), Susan E. Wesley Undergraduate Scholarship recipient.

Supporting Emerging Faculty and Student Research

Thanks to generous donor support, the faculty and students in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, such as the three professors highlighted below, are able to work with international collaboratiors to help design, build, test and use听instruments utilized by听world-class observing facilities, and conduct cutting-edge research.

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Research Highlights

Apache Point 3.5 meter telescope

Through the University of Colorado's membership in the Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC) via APS, our 鈪� donor-supported share of the Apache Point 3.5 meter telescope is available for use by any University of Colorado faculty member, researcher, or student for the purposes of scientific research, training, and education.

Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)

APS is also proud to be a partner in the SDSS, an international collaboration that has created one of the most-influential and successful surveys in the history of astronomy, creating the most-detailed three-dimensional maps of the universe ever made. The next generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-V) is moving forward to map the entire sky.

Highlighted Faculty

Julie Comerford joined the APS faculty in 2013. Her research focuses on multi-wavelength observational studies of galaxy evolution. She is a pioneer in the study of supermassive black holes in galactic centers, and she developed the new field of identifying and studying dual black hole systems that are associated with galaxy mergers, increasing the number of known dual black hole systems manifold. She has leveraged her expertise to study galaxy mergers and evolution, and plans to use her observations in combination with future gravitational wave measurements to provide a detailed understanding of black hole merging timescales. She was recently awarded a Provost鈥檚 Faculty Achievement Award. The award citation notes the importance of her set of four papers entitled The Origin of Double-Peaked Narrow Lines in Active Galactic Nuclei: I 鈥� IV published from 2015 to 2018 in the top journals Astrophysical Journal and Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society that describe a breakthrough in the methods used to identify galaxies that contain 鈥渄ual鈥� black holes.

Zachory Berta-Thompson

Zachory Berta-Thompson joined the APS faculty in 2016. He and his group discover extrasolar planets, study the atmospheres of these weird worlds, and characterize the stars around which they orbit. His team makes extensive use of large optical telescopes both in space like the Hubble Space Telescope and on the ground like the 3.5 telescope at Apache Point Observatory, to observe exoplanets in new ways and to train new generations of astronomers. They gather new observations to confirm and refine the fundamental properties of new exoplanets, to measure the composition of exoplanet atmospheres by observing the color of their sunsets, and to map the panchromatic spectra of the complicated stars that illuminate known exoplanets. Berta-Thompson鈥檚 future plans include work to significantly improve the precision of differential spectrophotometry through Earth鈥檚 atmosphere and using telescopes like those at Apache Point to observe the atmospheres of cooler and smaller exoplanets than ever before, complementing what can be done from space with Hubble or even with the new James Webb Space Telescope.

Adam Kowalski

Adam Kowalski joined the APS faculty in 2016. He is an internationally recognized expert in solar and stellar astrophysics, and his work is addressing important high-level questions such as 鈥淗ow do solar flares affect human life and technology on Earth?鈥� and 鈥淗ow do stellar flares affect the chances of life existing on distant exoplanets?鈥� He uses both observations (optical and ultraviolet spectroscopy, from both ground-based and space-based telescopes) and computer simulations to improve our understanding of how the magnetized plasma in a star鈥檚 atmosphere responds to the explosive release of energy during a flare. His expertise in flares has also made him a sought-after collaborator in studies of space weather (the potentially hazardous effects of the Sun on human society and technology) and exoplanet habitability.

I entered CU 葫芦娃视频's Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences (APS) in 2017, intent on promoting scientific outreach and communication. To that aim, I quickly joined Fiske Planetarium鈥檚 Science Under the Dome (鈥淪ciDome鈥�) program, which provides a venue for CU graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to present engaging science talks. Since becoming a member, our organization has relied upon funding from Fiske and APS to reach thousands of members from the broader CU community and the general public! As a result, we have been able to show that science can, in fact, be engaging, informative, and accessible

James Negus, current APS graduate student, Chance Irick Cooke Graduate Scholarship recipient

Building Community and Culture

APS sees outreach efforts as essential to building community and culture, whether reaching vibrant, diverse and sustainable communities within and beyond our campus, or offering members of our department鈥攆rom undergraduate students to faculty鈥攁n avenue to share their innate passion for astrophysical and planetary sciences with broader audiences.

Fiske Planetarium

Fiske Planetarium was founded in 1975 with a generous donation from Wallace Franz Fiske, CU alumnus, and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025. We need your support to continue our legacy of creating innovative, immersive听and inclusive experiences to engage and inspire all communities by connecting science, technology听and the arts. Our planetarium facility is a recognized center for science, arts and cultural events that supports and creates programs for communities across the northern Front Range and our state and produces fulldome films for the international planetarium community. Your support inspires the next generation through K鈥�12 programming, enhances professional development opportunities for students, spurs innovation and creativity in digital dome environments, advances scientific literacy and STEM education, builds inclusivity and space for everyone to explore their world, continues our legacy of inspiring curious minds听and expands our universe of possibilities.

CU-STARs

CU-STARs (Science, Technology and Astronomy Recruits) is a University of Colorado program that seeks to support students from all backgrounds with a passion for space science, and an interest in sharing that passion. We offer advising, mentoring听and tutoring to the next generation of astronomy educators as they become invaluable astronomy ambassadors. We hold events on campus, as well as hands-on opportunities in underserved schools in our state鈥攚here we bring portable telescopes and our inflatable planetarium. So far, over 100 CU students have participated in our program, and we have reached almost 10,000 K鈥�12 students all over Colorado. Your contributions support teaching and community outreach, as well as new invaluable assets for our programs.

Sommers-Bausch Observatory

The Sommers-Bausch Observatory听is operated by APS to provide observational experience for all undergraduate students, and hands-on training in astronomical observations and instrumentation for departmental majors and graduate students. Furthermore, it becomes an invaluable resource to our larger community during public nights and special events. With your support we will be able to expand our community efforts, and invite everyone to enjoy the wonders of the cosmos through the lens of our telescopes.

Receiving the Susan E. Wesley Undergraduate Scholarship in Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences was instrumental in allowing me to successfully complete my undergraduate degree and my honors thesis at CU 葫芦娃视频. With less financial worry, I had more time to focus on academics, research, and extracurricular involvement. I was an organizer and mentor for the CU-Prime Physics mentorship program and, as a current graduate student in the APS department, am continuing my involvement with other diversity, equity, inclusion, and mentorship efforts. I have also had many positive experiences working with the telescopes at SBO, both as an undergraduate student and as a graduate student leader of the public open house sessions. The APS scholarship ultimately played a large role in allowing my confident pursuit of a career in astrophysics

Anna Estes, current graduate student, undergraduate student, graduated 2021, Susan E. Wesley Undergraduate Scholarship recipient

Support APS听听Support Fiske Planetarium听

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