Ground-based astronomy is a research area focused on observing celestial objects and phenomena using instruments located on Earth’s surface, typically at high-altitude, low-humidity sites optimized for atmospheric transparency and stability. It encompasses optical, infrared, submillimeter, and radio observations employing telescopes, interferometers, and advanced detector arrays. Research addresses topics such as stellar and galactic structure, exoplanets, cosmology, and transient events, while contending with atmospheric turbulence, absorption, and light pollution. Adaptive optics, interferometric techniques, and sophisticated data reduction pipelines are central to mitigating atmospheric effects and enhancing spatial and spectral resolution, making ground-based facilities critical complements to space-based observatories.
On October 18, 2025, the 4-meter Multi-Object Spectroscopic Telescope (4MOST) facility, installed on the VISTA telescope at the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Paranal Observatory in Chile, obtained its first light. ...
Astronomy
Oct 26, 2025
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A novel imaging technique used for the first time on a ground-based telescope has helped a UCLA-led team of astronomers to achieve the sharpest-ever measurement of a star's surrounding disk, revealing previously unseen structure.
Astronomy
Oct 22, 2025
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A powerful new telescope has captured its first glimpse of the cosmos, and could transform our understanding of how stars, galaxies and black holes evolve.
Astronomy
Oct 21, 2025
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Researchers from the Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a hybrid deep learning model that can accurately predict atmospheric delay, a key source of error in astronomical observations ...
Astronomy
Oct 17, 2025
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An instrument is set to improve the detection and direct imaging of planets outside our solar system by harnessing the power of liquid crystals. The Programmable Liquid-crystal Active Coronagraphic Imager for the DAG telescope ...
Astronomy
Oct 6, 2025
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Johns Hopkins applied mathematicians and astronomers have developed a new method to render images from ground-based telescopes as clear as those taken from space, a process that stands to expand the benefits of Earth-based ...
Astronomy
Sep 29, 2025
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The SOAR Telescope, located on Cerro Pachón in Chile, has received a major upgrade with the installation of the SOAR Telescope Echelle Spectrograph (STELES). The long-awaited instrument achieved first light in August with ...
Astronomy
Sep 29, 2025
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Interference from human activity has always been a sticking point in astronomical observations. Radio astronomy is notoriously sensitive to unintentional interference—hence why there are "radio silent" zones near telescopes ...
Astronomy
Sep 25, 2025
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When the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) Observatory goes online later this decade, it will create one of science's biggest data challenges. The SKA Observatory is a global radio telescope project built in the Southern Hemisphere. ...
Astronomy
Sep 15, 2025
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A new systematic study of the atmospheric conditions at the Muztagh Station in western China has revealed the site's unique suitability for optical observations. Researchers from the Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory of the ...
Astronomy
Sep 4, 2025
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