在过去的几十年中，最古老的科学天文学一直是现代科学研究中最令人兴奋的领域之一。地面和太空望远镜仍在继续寻找有关太阳系，恒星，星系和宇宙起源的新发现。要理解和追求现代天文学，必须在物理学和数学以及天文学方面都有扎实的背景。由天文学系管理的天文学物理专业为大学生提供了一个机会，使他们能够在发展必要的物理和数学背景的同时，欣赏我们对天文学宇宙的当前理解。
Astronomy, the oldest of the sciences, originated in the human urge to understand the mysterious lights we see in the sky above us the Sun, the Moon, the planets, and the stars. Over the centuries, new tools have become available to study these cosmic icons telescopes that allow us to see further and fainter, detectors that are sensitive to electromagnetic signals at non-visible wavelengths, and satellites that can observe from outside the confines of the Earth's atmosphere.