Support what you 💛 about Astronomy!

ASTRONOMY STRATEGIC FUND - 308219

“The best thing about this department is getting to work with world-class researchers doing cutting-edge science.” – U-M Astronomy Undergraduate Student

The quote above summarizes one of the best features of our undergraduate program: critical thinking, valuable skills-building, and creative research are deeply embedded in our curriculum. One example of this is our ASTRO 461 course, held in Arizona every other year on Kitt Peak, which houses the MDM Observatory (where Michigan is the first “M”). Learn more about this incredible experience as well as MDM as a working scientific research facility.

This investment in research infrastructure began in the 1850s when the first U-M President, Henry Tappan, invested in the Detroit Observatory (the third largest refracting telescope in the world at the time). We have continued this tradition with MDM, the Magellan telescopes, and other facilities, including our recent partnerships to build instruments for the 39-meter ELT. It will be the world’s largest optical/infrared telescope when it comes online in 2029. This new facility will enable U-M Astronomy to continue as “leaders and best” in the field, giving our faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates a powerful tool to investigate the prospects for life in the universe, how black holes form and evolve, as well as understanding the first sources of light in the early universe within a few hundred million years of the Big Bang.

We need your help to continue our research and maintain our department as a leader in the field of astronomy. Your help can keep us searching if we’re alone in the universe, allow us to make revolutionary breakthroughs in research, and provide our students with the absolute best resources and opportunities needed to excel in the field. Studying the stars, planets, and galaxies beyond what is observable with the naked eye can be hugely consequential in understanding our place in the Universe.

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