Astronomy and Planetary Science

The universe is awaiting your exploration

The Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science at Northern Arizona University offers various bachelor’s degrees, and a doctoral degree.

The department has a small, family feeling. At NAU, your instructors will know you by name; they are easily accessible, and they genuinely care about student success. Lecture courses are taught almost exclusively by full-time faculty. Both undergraduate and graduate students are routinely and deeply involved in faculty research.

The sense of community I felt while at NAU is something I very much miss.

– graduate who is now a PhD

Our Classroom is the Cosmos!
Join us: we’re looking for a few good students!

NAU aims to be the nation’s preeminent engine of opportunity, vehicle of economic mobility, and driver of social impact by delivering equitable postsecondary value in Arizona and beyond.

The Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science strives to build a diverse and inclusive community at Northern Arizona University; more information on our EDI policies can be found here.

Northern Arizona University sits at the base of the San Francisco Peaks, on homelands sacred to Native Americans throughout the region.
We honor their past, present, and future generations, who have lived here for millennia and will forever call this place home.

Explore our degrees

Bachelor's Degrees

Doctoral Degrees

Research spotlight

Decorative image: Organic molecules floating in space

The future of space research? These two grad students.

Posted by Ed on August 23, 2023

Second-year Ph.D. student Ian Marrs and third-year Ph.D. student Lucas McClure received Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) awards, which provide funding for research projects designed and performed by graduate students. The projects must contribute to NASA’s science, technology and exploration goals. Read the full story at The NAU Review.

Asteroids, comets and meteors — oh my!

Posted by Author on Source on June 27, 2023

The ACM Conference is held every three years, and doing the math on that, the last iteration was—yep, you guessed it—canceled due to it being the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this year created a lot of excitement for those in the ACM community who had not attended this conference for six years and of course for those like me who would be able to attend, and present my own research in a non-virtual setting, for the first time.…

NAU’s Ice Lab mixes up exotic ices from Titan

Posted by Author on Source on June 19, 2023

KNAU's Melissa Sevigny reports on NAU's Astronomy & Planetary Science Ice Lab.

A role model in astronomy for students of color

Posted by Author on Source on May 17, 2023

From preschool to 8th grade, Malik Bossett attended an African-centered school in Oakland, California, where he was surrounded by people that looked like him. Then, he transferred to a predominately white high school where he was the only Black male in his graduating class. Read the full story by Carly Banks at The NAU Review.