Institute of Astronomy
About this community
The Institute of Astronomy (IoA) came into being in 1972 by the amalgamation of three institutions which had developed on the site. These were the Cambridge University Observatory which was established in 1823, the Solar Physics Observatory (1912) and the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy (1967).
The IoA is a department of the University of Cambridge and is engaged in teaching and research in the fields of theoretical and observational Astronomy. A wide class of theoretical problems are studied, ranging from models of quasars and of the evolution of the universe, through theories of the formation and evolution of galaxies and stars, X-ray sources and black holes.
Much observational work centres around the use by staff of large telescopes abroad and in space to study quasars, galaxies and the chemical constitution of stars. A programme on the velocities of stars is conducted using the 36-inch telescope in Cambridge. Instrumentation development is also an important area of activity, involving charge coupled devices and detector arrays for rapid recording of very faint light and the design and construction of novel spectrographs.
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Recent Submissions
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Telescopes and Techniques for the High-Resolution Characterisation of Exoplanets
In this thesis I present two strands of research relating to the characterisation of exoplanets in high resolution. The first investigates high-resolution Doppler spectroscopy (HRDS) – a technique for detecting chemical ... -
Thermal and Radiative Properties of Exoplanet Atmospheres Across the Mass Range
Observations of exoplanet atmospheres have flourished in recent years, revealing a remarkable diversity of thermal, chemical and dynamical conditions. In particular, thermal emission observations of such atmospheres provide ... -
The creation and use of a chemical kinetics code to model and understand the atmospheres of hot Jupiters
Chemical compositions of exoplanets can provide key insights into their physical processes, and formation and evolutionary histories. Atmospheric spectroscopy provides a direct avenue to probe exoplanetary compositions. ... -
X-ray Spectroscopy of Cool Core Galaxy Clusters
In this thesis, I present the results of my PhD research on the cooling flow problem in galaxy clusters. The centre of relaxed galaxy clusters has a short radiative cooling time suggesting the presence of a massive cooling ...
