Radio and Geoastronomy

The first moments after the Big Bang are literally hidden from us: the entire cosmos was too hot and dense for any light to pierce. However, signs of what happened then could be imprinted on the cosmic microwave background (CMB), a cold sea of light filling the modern universe. The BICEP Program is an international collaboration looking for those signs using telescopes at the South Pole. Researchers from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian play a leading role in this project, which could provide the first discovery of gravitational waves produced when the universe was just a fraction of a second old.

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Black holes are found in the centers of most galaxies, where they can influence star formation and the distribution of atoms in the environment surrounding them. However, direct observation of a black hole is difficult because it is so small relative to their masses. Founded by Shep Doeleman at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) captured the first image ever taken of a black hole: specifically, the ring of light produced by matter just as it falls into the black hole at the center of the nearby galaxy M87. The EHT is a virtual observatory consisting of telescopes spanning the planet, from Greenland to the South Pole. The international collaboration operating the EHT includes observatories affiliated with the Center for Astrophysics: the CfA’s Submillimeter Array (SMA) and the Greenland Telescope.

Visit the EHT Website

Earth’s atmosphere protects us from harmful radiation, but it also blocks a lot of light useful for astronomy. For that reason, NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) built the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) to fly aboard a modified commercial aircraft capable of flying above 99% of the light-blocking atmosphere. SOFIA is a powerful, general-purpose infrared observatory used to study the birth of new stars, planetary nebulas and supernova remnants, the atmospheres of Solar System objects, and many more. The American portion of SOFIA management is handled by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), a private educational corporation consisting of over 100 institutions, including the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.

Visit the SOFIA Website

The South Pole Telescope (SPT) is a submillimeter observatory in Antarctica that performs measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and the dark energy driving the acceleration of the expansion of the universe. The observatory is also part of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a globe-spanning multi-telescope project that captured the first image of a black hole at the center of a nearby galaxy. The SPT project is a collaboration between the University of Chicago, the University of California at Berkeley, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Illinois, and the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.

Visit the South Pole Telescope, Antarctica Website

Clues about the origin of the universe and of life are scattered across the sky. SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) is a NASA medium-class Explorer (MIDEx) designed to measure optical-to-infrared spectra of hundreds of millions of galaxies and millions of Milky Way stars. With its unprecedented galaxy catalog, SPHEREx will answer pressing questions about the history and origin of the universe. Its unique catalog of Milky Way stellar spectra will reveal the abundances of water and other molecules associated with life in the Milky Way in unprecedented detail. Researchers from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, including Gary Melnick, Matthew Ashby, Joseph Hora, and Volker Tolls, are involved in the SPHEREx investigation seeking to understand the distribution of these molecules throughout the Galaxy so as to better answer complex questions about their origins. SPHEREx is scheduled for launch from Vandenburg AFB no earlier than February 2025.Visit the SPHEREx Website

NASA’s Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) was a space observatory built to look for water and other molecules associated with life as we know it. During its seven years of operation, SWAS provided the first measure of the distribution of water in the Milky Way. Astronomers also used the observatory to make important discoveries about the interstellar clouds where new stars and planets are born, as well as observations of planets and comets within the Solar System. Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian scientists and engineers designed the telescope for SWAS, and the CfA hosted the operations center for the spacecraft. SWAS operated from 1998 through 2005, when it was put into hibernation mode.

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Molecular clouds are dark, dense nebulas that are both home to and the raw materials for new stars. The 1.2 Meter Millimeter-Wave Telescope (MWT) at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian is dedicated to mapping the locations of these clouds in the Milky Way, which reveals details about the structure of our home galaxy and its star-forming capabilities. This instrument and its twin in Chile revealed the existence of two spiral arms in the Milky Way, structures that were previously unknown.

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The polar regions are challenging environments for humans, but worthwhile for astronomy with their long nights and often-clear skies. The Greenland Telescope is the latest telescope to be placed in the Arctic, as part of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project to capture the first images of black holes. The telescope operates in the region of the spectrum where infrared and radio light meet, which is ideal for looking into the dense central region of the Milky Way, where our galaxy’s supermassive black hole resides. The Greenland Telescope is jointly operated by the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics (ASIAA) of Taiwan.

Visit the Greenland Telescope Website

Located near the summit of Maunakea on the Big Island of Hawaii, the Submillimeter Array (SMA) is one of the flagship observatories of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. The observatory consists of eight radio dishes working together as one telescope, giving astronomers a window on a wide range of astronomical objects and phenomena: planets and comets in our own Solar System; the birth of stars and planets; and the supermassive black holes hidden at the centers of the Milky Way and other galaxies. The SMA is operated jointly by the CfA and the Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

Visit the Submillimeter Array Website