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What is Astronomy?

Astronomy is a branch of science that studies the universe ,celestial objects and celestial phenomena. It applies mathematics, physics, and chemistry in an effort to explain the origin of those objects and phenomena.
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Research

The department specialises in high speed photometry and spectroscopy of variable stars, in long period variable stars and Galactic Structure, neutral hydrogen and dark matter in nearby galaxies, star formation and galaxy evolution.
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Partnership

The department of Astronomy has strong ties and collaborate with various astronomical research facilities (e.g. SARAO, SAAO, SA SKA and MeerKAT) and universities local and abroad.
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Career Opportunities

Graduates in astronomy are equipped to conduct cutting edge research at various universities and astronomical research facilities as researchers, scientists or telescope operators, some venture out in software developers in various fields.

 

ASTRONOMY AT UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN

The Department of Astronomy at the University of Cape Town, established in 1970, is the only stand-alone Department of Astronomy in South Africa.

We are a research-intensive department exploring the evolving and transient Universe through scientific leadership in large international projects involving world-class facilities such as MeerKAT, SALT and a wide range of ground- and space-based telescopes.

The two broad research themes of the department include Extragalactic Astronomy and Stellar Astrophysics. We offer an undergraduate major in Astrophysics and are a host node of the National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme (NASSP) offering an Honours degree and Master’s degree in Astrophysics. Further postgraduate options include a Master’s by dissertation only, and PhD under supervision of faculty members in the department.

 

Press Release

 

IDaVIE

IDIA and the Department of Astronomy at the University of Cape Town (UCT) are proud to announce the first public release of the innovative iDaVIE software by the IDIA Vislab. This milestone marks a significant advancement in astronomy data visualisation and analysis, offering researchers a powerful tool to enhance their work using Virtual Reality, click here for further details