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Research Areas

Celestial Mechanics

Research Staff:  Burns

Infrared and Optical Astronomy
Kuiper Airborne and Palomar Observatores, IRAS, and SIRTF: great observing facilities and past and future space missions are tools for Cornell infrared astronomers, who have been at the forefornt of state-of-the-art instrument and detector design for several decades.
Research Staff:  Weedman, Herter, Houck, Stacey, Lloyd

Planetary Atmospheres

Research Staff:  Gierasch

Planetary Sciences
From the Apollo era of the first manned missions to the Moon to the latest missions to the outer planets and asteroids, planetary astronomers at Cornell have had a leading role in conceiving, planning, and participating in most of these missions destined to explore the solar system.
Research Staff:  Conrath, Bell, III, Burns, Nicholson, Squyres, Veverka, Thomas, Banfield, Sullivan, Helfenstein, Tiscareno, Richardson, Jr.

Radio and Radar Astronomy
The great radio-radar telescope in Arecibo, designed by Cornell engineers and operated by Cornell, is at the focal point of the research activities of Cornell radio and radar astronomers, who have had a significant share of the important discoveries made by the instrument.
Research Staff:  Campbell, Cordes, Giovanelli, Goldsmith, Haynes, Terzian, Chatterjee, Salter

Theoretical Astrophysics
Theoretical astronomy at Cornell has a long-standing tradition rooted in pioneering research in theoretical physics. New frontiers have been opened by sophisticated numerical methods and graphics simulation made possible by the use of powerful computers, most notably those of the Cornell National Supercomputer Facility.
Research Staff:  Chernoff, Flanagan, Lai, Lovelace, Teukolsky, Wasserman, Romanova, Bean