Astronomy and Astrophysics

Overview

Astronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects such as planets, stars, galaxies, and the Universe as a whole. In practice, Astronomy is mostly about using remote observations of celestial objects to understand how those objects work.  

Students will use a combination of physics and astronomy classroom courses, along with hands-on laboratory courses, to understand and explore the Universe.

Embry-Riddle offers students significant advantages, including faculty connections to major resources, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, the Kepler Mission, Transiting Earth Survey Satellite, the James Webb Space Telescope, and other facilities sponsored by NASA and the National Science Foundation.

ERAU graduated more students in Astronomy and Astrophysics than 85% of other undergraduate astronomy programs in the U.S.,  according to the American Institute of Physics.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects a 7 percent increase in physics and astronomy jobs between 2019 and 2029. The current median annual wage for Ph.D. astronomers is $119,730. The American Astronomical Society provides additional resources and information. Learn more about careers enabled by an astronomy degree.

About Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Daytona Beach

The Astronomy and Astrophysics program from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has a strong fundamental basis in mathematics and physics. Housed in the Department of Physical Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, the program is a member of the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA) and has been appointed the consortium’s lead administrative institution by its Board of Directors.

The Department’s observatory facilities include an instrumented 1-meter telescope (the largest university research telescope in the southeastern U.S.). This and other high-caliber technologies are used in the laboratory components of the program. Two new spectrographs, fed by light from the 1-meter telescope, enable students to determine the temperatures, compositions, rotation rates, and speeds of stars, planets, nebulae and extragalactic objects.