Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge

Around 30 students normally study the masters which consists of a substantial research project (around 1/3 of the masters) and students have an opportunity to study courses such as General Relativity, Cosmology, Black Holes, Extrasolar Planets, Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics, Structure and Evolution of Stars & Formation of Galaxies.

The graduate programme is particularly unusual in the UK as the students are free to choose their own PhD supervisor or adviser from the staff at the department, and this choice is often made as late as the end of their first term.

The telescopes on the site include: The institute's former 24" Schmidt Camera was donated to the Spaceguard Centre in Knighton, Powys in Wales in June 2009.

The library also has a collection of rare astronomical books, many of which belonged to John Couch Adams.

[19] Among the significant contributions to astronomy made by the institute, the now decommissioned Automatic Plate Measuring (APM) machine was used to create a major catalogue of astronomical objects in the northern sky.

Institute of Astronomy Observatory Building, housing the library
Institute of Astronomy Hoyle Building in the evening
Observatory buildings containing the Northumberland Telescope (left) and Thorrowgood Telescope (right) at the Institute of Astronomy of the University of Cambridge. Covered structures in the foreground are mounts for portable telescopes.
The 36-inch telescope being used for the 2011 Cambridge Astronomy Association Introduction to Astronomy course. [ 14 ]