Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics

The Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile is part of the Faculty of Physics and it has as its primary mission both the performance of cutting-edge research in Astrophysics and  the education of graduate and undergraduate students. Members of our department engage in a wide variety of research topics, ranging from the closest stars to the most distant galaxies in the Universe.

The Department is engaged in both theoretical and observational Astronomy. Much of the latter makes use of the telescopes located in the north of our country in which Chilean astronomers have a guaranteed 10% share of observing time. We benefit thus from use of such world-class facilities such the four VLT telescopes in Paranal, Gemini South in Cerro Pachón, the two Magellan telescopes of the Las Campanas Observatory and, in the future, from the ALMA sub-mm interferometer being constructed in the Chajnantor plane.

The Department comprises 16 faculty, 13 postdoctoral researchers, over 20 graduate students and 9 support staff. We maintain close links with researchers at the Electrical Engineering Department and the Department of Physics, in which complimentary research on Astronomical instrumentation and General Relativity are carried out.

For a summary of department activities see our 2010 Annual Report.