Sloan Digital Sky Survey–IV
Penn State is an institutional partner in a major new research effort to investigate the structure of our galaxy, the evolution of nearby galaxies, and the nature of dark energy. The effort is the newest phase of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV), an international collaboration of more than 200 astronomers at over 40 institutions. The SDSS-IV survey has three primary scientific programs. The first, APOGEE-2, is to explore the compositions and motions of stars across the entire Milky Way in unprecedented detail. SDSS-IV will use an instrument that is sensitive to infrared light to peer through the dust in our galaxy to investigate the properties of over 100,000 stars in our own galaxy. “The unique capabilities of the infrared instrument will help us to understand the dynamics and compositions of stellar populations in our galaxy, binary stars, and the properties of planet-hosting stars discovered by the Kepler mission,” said Assistant Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics Suvrath Mahadevan.
Read more in the Penn State press release.
Faculty Contacts
- Suvrath Mahadevan
- Donald Schneider
- Jason Wright
- Eric Ford
