Hertfordshire Astronomy 2021-24

The Centre for Astrophysics Research carries out observational programmes spanning the wavelength range from X-ray to radio -- supporting this by computer modelling and simulation.

Our research ranges from observations of the most distant and extreme galaxies in the universe through to novel statistical analyses of observations seeking to detect planets outside our Solar System.

In between these extremes, we seek to understand the properties of brown dwarfs and young stars, we carry out radio surveys of the Milky Way and of nearby galaxies, and we are pioneering wide-area surveys both of the northern radio sky and of the redshifts of the vast number of galaxies that the radio surveys will discover.

Our research makes use of observations from all of the main European and international astronomical observatories, including ground-based observatories at optical, radio and submillimetre wavelengths, and space observatories at wavelengths ranging from the far infrared to X-rays.

Computer simulations gives us a better understanding of the physical processes detected in our observations, and we need to apply advanced data-mining techniques to work with the very large datasets we are generating.