Submitted by jshaw-adm on October 31, 2013 - 3:43pm

Harvard University astronomers and Smithsonian Institution astronomers explore the cosmos together. The combination of the Harvard College Observatory (HCO) and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) is known as the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA).

News Releases

August 31, 2016
Crowdsourcing Can Help Create Better Science Tests Cheaper

When it comes to developing test questions, there's the ordinary way and the fancy way. The ordinary way is to just make up questions and put them on the test. However, this can lead to questions that are misleading, confusing, or simply don't test for the knowledge you're trying to measure.
August 29, 2016
Milky Way Had a Blowout Bash 6 Million Years Ago

The center of the Milky Way galaxy is currently a quiet place where a supermassive black hole slumbers, only occasionally slurping small sips of hydrogen gas. But it wasn't always this way.

Latest Science Update

August 12, 2016
Resolving the Planetesimal Belt around HR8799

Planets develop from the dusty placental disk of material that surrounds a star after it begins to shine. The dust in that disk, according to most models, starts to stick to itself until clumps develop large enough to attract other clumps gravitationally.

SI Specific Information

SI-specific information regarding the government shutdown may be found at alerts.si.edu. SAO staff are encouraged to review the website for updated information