NEWS:

Education Workshop Series (2/5/07)
Local Astrophysicists Pasachoff, Babcock, Souza in Australia and New Zealand (6/8/06)
Williams College Scientists Travel to View Solar Eclipse (3/17/06)
Kwitter Receives Grant for Space Telescope Study of Planetary Nebulae (3/6/06)
Rare Observation of Pluto's Moon Charon (7/17/05)


Gallery of Planetary Nebula Spectra, with Images and Zoomable Spectra!


Why is the sky dark at night? What are those mysterious twinkling lights that dot the nighttime sky? What is Earth's place in the universe? Astronomy is the science that asks and tries to answer questions like these. We have come a long way toward understanding what makes the sky appear as it does and how the universe is fashioned. The Astronomy Department offers courses for anyone who is interested in learning about the universe, and who would like to be able to follow new astronomical discoveries as they are made. All courses in Astronomy satisfy the Division III requirement. You may choose either to be an Astrophysics major, administered jointly with the Physics Department, or an Astronomy major.

The beginning astronomy courses are offered on two levels. Astronomy 101, 102, 104, and 330-type courses are intended primarily for non-science students, and have no prerequisite other than a willingness to use high school algebra occasionally. Astronomy 111 is designed for students with some exposure to physics. It has a prerequisite of one year of high school physics or permission of the instructor, and a corequisite of Mathematics 103 or equivalent background in calculus.

Most of the astronomy courses take advantage of our observing facilities that include a 24-inch computer-controlled telescope with a sensitive electronic detector and computer workstations for image processing.

After you have finished browsing our pages, you might want to visit other interesting related sites on the web.

For more information on the department and its activities, please feel free to contact us directly at:

Department of Astronomy
33 Lab Campus Drive
Williams College
Williamstown, MA 01267
(413) 597-2482

E-mail Prof. Karen B. Kwitter
E-mail Prof. Jay M. Pasachoff
E-mail Dr. Steven P. Souza


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