NMSU Astronomy

04/20/2026

Congratulations Dr. Shetye and team!

The National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) is the NSF’s most prestigious award. It recognizes the impact of junior faculty’s success in research and...

04/11/2026

A New Mexico State University astronomy student has been awarded a prestigious, highly competitive NASA grant to support research into the sun and its activity. https://bit.ly/4mpzeQs

03/05/2026

There are two proposals being considered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that have the potential to severely affect the night sky environment.

The two proposals are 1) Reflect Orbital’s plan to illuminate Earth at Night and 2) SpaceX’s proposal to launch one million satellites into low Earth orbit.

Several Organizations, including the American Astronomical Society as well as DarkSky International, are calling for people to understand these proposals, be informed, and submit comments.

Here are some articles on these two proposals that aim to make the public informed on these proposals and how they will potentially affect the night sky:

https://aas.org/action-alert-provide-input-fcc-proposed-satellite-systems

https://darksky.org/news/two-satellite-proposals-threaten-the-night-sky-the-window-to-act-is-now/

And a link to an Open Letter describing this issue: https://darksky.org/news/open-letter-to-spacex

In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the agency responsible for authorizing satellite launches and operations…

03/03/2026

Set your alarm clocks folks!! 🌕

https://skyandtelescope.org/press-releases/get-ready-for-the-march-3-2026-predawn-total-lunar-eclipse/?fbclid=IwRlRTSAQTLglleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEe3Uo7IUeVcmuONcqe9xuJOZo3NpEOcqdxGnOg6TIJVB4hwfrCFVT_2uj2fKE_aem_U_h20UAvjnrRbSnKPMjoTw

A total eclipse of the Moon will be visible before dawn this Tuesday, March 3rd, from western North America. The eclipse happens on Tuesday evening for Australia and East Asia.

02/20/2026

Join us TONIGHT (Feb 20th @ 7pm) for our Public Open house at Tombaugh Campus Observatory!

Public Night at Tombaugh Campus Observatory:
The NMSU Department of Astronomy will host an open house at 7 p.m. tonight at the Tombaugh Campus Observatory on NMSU's Las Cruces campus.

The observatory is located on Williams Street, adjacent to the track. Public parking is available in the large lot west of the track. The event will include a short presentation by Juie Shetye, followed by telescope observations with the assistance of graduate students and staff. Astronomical viewing is dependent on the weather. The event is expected to conclude around 8 p.m.

Visit https://astro.nmsu.edu/ one hour before the event to ensure it has not been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances such as weather.

Check out the night sky at this week’s Tombaugh Observatory Open House! The event begins at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb, 20 at the Tombaugh Campus Observatory. Hosted by New Mexico State University’s Department of Astronomy, the open house will feature a short presentation by astronomy assistant professor Juie Shetye, followed by telescope observations guided by astronomy graduate students.

Observations are dependent on weather. Visit https://astro.nmsu.edu/ one hour before the event to check it has not been cancelled. For more information, contact Zach Edwards at 575-646-6399 or [email protected].

02/11/2026

Congratulations to Kyle Uckert (NMSU PhD) for his continued successes as a Mars explorer!

01/30/2026

Join us TONIGHT! at 7pm for our Public Open House night at Tombaugh Campus Observatory on NMSU's main campus.

Looks to be clear skies!

The first Tombaugh Open House event of the semester is almost here! At 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30, enjoy a short presentation from Stephanie Ho, astronomy and astrophysics postdoctoral fellow, and get a closer look at the winter night sky with the help of graduate students and staff. This event is free and open to the public.

Tombaugh Observatory is located on Williams Street, adjacent to the track. Viewing is dependent on weather, so visit https://astro.nmsu.edu/ one hour before the event to make sure it has not been cancelled. For more information, contact Zach Edwards at 575-646-6399 or [email protected].

01/23/2026

Remember! Due to expected inclement weather, we have decided to cancel the public night scheduled for Jan 23rd tonight.

Don't fear! We have decided to move it to next week! Come join us Friday, Jan 30th @ 7pm next week for our Tombaugh Public Open House! (Hopefully its not raining!)

01/19/2026

Every quasar tells us stories. Stories of the lives of supermassive black holes. Stories of cosmic evolution of stars, planets, and galaxies. Stories of human discovery. Join NMSU's Dr. Christopher Churchill to watch this online public talk on how quasars changed astronomy and supercharged it as a modern science. You can register for the link per the directions on the flyer.

(if you are interested and are in the U.S. note that this is occuring live Saturday at 7 AM MST, which is 7:30 pm IST!).

01/15/2026

Congratulations, Aman!

01/06/2026

Notice Concerning Sunspot Solar Observatory: The Dunn Solar Telescope, Sunspot Visitor Center & Sunspot observatory grounds will be closed for necessary repairs until further notice.

Notice: The Dunn Solar Telescope, Sunspot Visitor Center & observatory grounds will be closed for necessary repairs until further notice.