Upcoming Dates
  • May 11: Spring Semester ends
  • May 27: Memorial Day
  • Jun 3: Summer Semester begins
  • Jun 19: Juneteenth
  • Jul 4: Independence Day
  • Jul 27: Summer Semester ends
  • Aug 19: Fall Semester begins
  • Sep 2: Labor Day
 
Peer Undergraduate Mentorship Program

Build connections within the physics and astronomy community at UNM

 

New Campus Observatory Proposed

Support our educational, research, and public outreach efforts

Chair: Richard Rand

An undergraduate education in physics provides a solid foundation for a lifetime of learning in a variety of disciplines, including science, engineering, math, finance, education, law, and medicine. Find out more.

Meet our Graduate Student Association and get their tips for prospective students

Alumni testimonials: Read success stories from alumni of our department and their reflections on the quality of our programs.

Free Eclipse Viewers

Eclipse glasses protect your eyes from the sun

The 2023 annular eclipse event was a great success.

See video highlights

Albuquerque will have its second solar eclipse event in six months with a partial eclipse occurring on Monday, April 8, 2024. Albuquerque will see 78% coverage for this event.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy will be giving away free eclipse viewers in the main lobby of the PAIS building during the following dates and times:

Dates Days Times
March 25-29 Monday - Friday 12-1 pm everyday, 10-11 am (Thursday only), and 2-3 pm (WF Only)
April 1-5 Monday - Friday 10-11 am, 12-1 pm and 2-3 pm

*Times subject to change

The number of glasses per person will be limited, and the giveaway will continue until supplies are gone. Visitor parking on campus is available in the Cornell Parking Structure for $1.75/half hour. Please do not park along Redondo Drive near PAÍS or in reserved parking spaces to pick up glasses.

For inquiries, please email observatory@unm.edu.

Donations to support planning for a new UNM Campus Observatory are encouraged and appreciated.

Why do you need special glasses to view the sun?

You can damage your eyes by simply looking up at a solar eclipse. You must wear special eclipse glasses to look at a solar eclipse. The American Optometric Association suggests using a handheld solar viewer, special-purpose solar filters, or other ISO-certified filters if you plan to view a solar eclipse for even a short period of time.

News from the Chair

Sleeping supermassive black holes awakened briefly by shredded stars

Supermassive black holes

Compact Symmetric Objects (CSOs) are active galaxies that host supermassive black holes at their cores. Out of these monstrous black holes spring two jets traveling in opposite directions at nearly the speed of light. But in comparison to other galaxies that boast fierce jets, these jets do not extend out to great distances -- they are much more compact. For many decades, astronomers suspected that CSOs were simply young and that their jets would eventually travel out to greater distances.

Read more in the UNM Newsroom article

News from the Chair

UNM Physics Day 2024

UNM Physics Day at PAÍS

UNM Physics Day 2024 will be held on Saturday, April 13 and will feature a variety of events including research presentations, poster sessions, and a plenary talk by Dr. Mousumi Roy.

Undergraduate Physics and Astronomy majors are invited to present research talks and/or posters. There will be awards for the best oral and poster presentations. Registration is free, sign up here.

News from the Chair

UNM OSE Program helped create optics 'terrarium' in NM

James Thomas and Hatem Babaa at PAÍS

The University of New Mexico's Optical Science and Engineering program recently celebrated 40 years of graduate education in optics with two days of lectures, lab tours, student poster presentations and more. The OSE Program is jointly administered by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Physics and Astronomy and offers master's degrees and Ph.D.s in optical science, with concentrations offered in optical science, photonics, quantum optics, and imaging.

See the UNM Newsroom article.

News from the Chair

Physics & Astronomy Outreach on Lobo Day

A visitor demonstrates the Van der Graaf Generator effect

On Lobo Day, February 28, 2024, Teaching Lab Supervisor Hatem Babaa, Professor David Dunlap, and Distinguished Professor Greg Taylor demonstrated the bike wheel gyro demo, the new semiconductor demo, and the Van der Graaf Generator from 11:45 - 1:00 pm at Cornell Plaza. The Lobo Day theme was Space and highlighted UNM's contributions to space exploration.

See the ABQ Journal article and photos from the event.

News from the Chair

Applications open for Qu-REACH summer quantum undergraduate research experience

Participants in the 2024 Qu-REACH poster session

Applications are open for the fourth-annual Qu-REACH program, during which students can gain hands-on experience in the competitive field of quantum technology. The program will take place from May 28 to Aug. 2, and participants will receive a $7,000 stipend.

A limited number of housing stipends are also available for students attending schools outside the Albuquerque metro area. Students studying STEM at any college or university in New Mexico are invited to apply. Applications are due Friday, March 1.

Find out more about this opportunity.

News from the Chair

The University of New Mexico launches The Quantum New Mexico Institute

Quantum New Mexico Institute

New Mexico scientists played a pioneering role in the development of Quantum Informational Science; now The University of New Mexico (UNM) is partnering with Sandia National Laboratories to launch the University's newest research center, the Quantum New Mexico Institute (QNM-I).

See the UNM Newsroom article for details.

News from the Chair

Towards a New Campus Observatory

Observatory Fundraising
We want to make sure our educational, outreach, and research activities are preserved, expanded, and able to continue for a long time to come

The UNM Campus Observatory has initiated a crowdfunding campaign in an effort to raise funds for the planning of a new Campus Observatory. The current Campus Observatory was built in the 1950s and is now outdated among other concerns.

Read the UNM Newsroom article about the planning for this new facility.

Find out how to donate to our goal.

News from the Chair

Join Our TeamJob Opportunities at UNM Physics & Astronomy

 

Upcoming Events


Colloquium:

Fri 4/5, 3:30PM in PAIS-1100, Dr. Manuel Endres (Caltech), TBA


Other Events:

Fri 3/29, 11:30AM in PAIS-2540, Birendra Dhanasingham, A New Effective Gravitational Lensing Approach to Constrain Dark Matter


Mon 4/1, 1:00PM in PAIS-2540, Easwar Narayanan, A Precise Measurement of the Lifetime of B-mesons, Measurement of CP-violation Parameters of Bs-mesons, the ATLAS Experiment at the LHC, and Development of Silicon Detectors for Future Particle Physics Experiments

 

Interactive Astronomy Apps

Javascript apps

9 Educational Apps

Written by Kevin Dilts for the Astro 101 Lab, these free interactive javascript apps illustrate common astronomy concepts. Enjoy!

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