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.
Professional astronomers don't make discoveries by looking through an eyepiece like you might with a backyard telescope. Instead, they collect digital images in massive cameras attached to large telescopes.
Astronomy
Jun 23, 2025
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GJ504b is an exoplanet orbiting a sun-like star GJ 504. It is estimated to be three to six times more massive than Jupiter, making it the lowest-mass planet ever directly imaged. This faint and cold planet, often referred ...
Astronomy
Jun 19, 2025
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For the first time, scientists have used Earth-based telescopes to look back over 13 billion years to see how the first stars in the universe affect light emitted from the Big Bang.
Astronomy
Jun 11, 2025
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Astronomers from the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) in India and elsewhere have employed the Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope (DFOT) to conduct long-term photometric observations of an open ...
The European Space Agency's (ESA) newest planetary defender has opened its "eye" to the cosmos for the first time. The Flyeye telescope's 'first light' marks the beginning of a new chapter in how we scan the skies for new ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 5, 2025
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A group of astronomers from across the globe, including a team from the University of Washington and led by Queen's University Belfast, have revealed new research showing that millions of new solar system objects will be ...
Astronomy
Jun 4, 2025
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An international team of astronomers has successfully demonstrated a new technique to observe especially faint black holes by correcting for atmospheric effects on Earth. The technique, called "frequency phase transfer (FPT)," ...
Astronomy
May 21, 2025
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The satellite population in low Earth orbit (LEO) is not an open book. While data on many satellites is public, others are shrouded in secrecy, and information is incomplete for others. New research shows how observers can ...
Astronomy
May 20, 2025
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How can you fairly compare one telescope to another? It's all in the (angular) resolution.
Astronomy
Apr 21, 2025
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High up on the top of Cerro Pachón in northern Chile, NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory is nearing completion. At the heart of the facility, a pivotal moment in the project's scientific adventure is unfolding. After more ...
Astronomy
Apr 14, 2025
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