Astrophysics Major
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About the Major
Astrophysics, the sibling science of astronomy, applies the laws of physics and computational modeling to seek an understanding of the universe. Among the many areas of research offered, students interpret the spectra of galaxies and black holes to understand their origins.
Jobs in Astrophysics
- Astronomy professor
- Software developer
- Research analyst
- Data scientist
- Planetarium director
Past Elon Astrophysics Internships
- California Institute of Technology
- Cornell University
- Penn State University
- Simons Foundation
- Uplift Aerospace
Related Majors
Elon mentors pushed student out of her comfort zone and into a newfound passion for astrophysics
As a first-year student at Elon University in 2021, Aubrey Spicola was “completely undecided” on what she wanted to pursue as a major. She ended up cobbling together a bunch of unrelated subjects — international relations, Italian, astronomy, “just a mishmash of classes” — to build out her first semester.
But not long into that semester, after an astronomy lab where the class looked through a telescope to observe the Orion Nebula, it hit her.
“I just fell in love with it,” she said, “and I was like, ‘I could see myself doing this for the rest of my life.’”
Spicola took to astronomy immediately, and that spring, she declared it as her major. She didn’t even consider jumping into the companion subject of astrophysics, though; after being discouraged in high school by a computer science class, she was worried about taking such a course at the college level. Plus, she said, she had zero experience with physics.
I think anyone’s capable of making a discovery and making a difference in astrophysics. They just have to be willing to put some heart and soul into it.
But as she continued to consume Elon’s astronomy courses, one of her professors, Anthony Crider, said she should consider trying astrophysics — that she’d be just fine and it could lead to graduate school opportunities that would allow her to continue exploring the subject after Elon.
“I took his word for it, and it’s been the best thing for me,” said Spicola, who would change her major to astrophysics and in the summer of 2024 earned an astrophysics research internship at Cornell University.
Set to graduate in 2025, Spicola has thoroughly immersed herself in astrophysics and astronomy during her time at Elon. Her passion for the subject is so contagious, she was able to get a job as a planetarium specialist at the Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, N.C. — a job that was advertised as requiring a bachelor’s degree — when she was just a rising sophomore.
“My boss was so excited that I was excited about astronomy that she was welcome to having me on the team,” said Spicola, who for two years facilitated events, organized science camps, participated in a science podcast, helped facilitate telescope nights, and created and led shows. She was even promoted to writing show scripts, with topics that ranged from backyard astronomy to deep-space objects. And in 2024, she helped lead a group of people through Oklahoma and Texas to view the solar eclipse.
“I’m really excited to teach people things,” she said. “It’s nice to know that I’ve brought that knowledge to someone. One of the coolest things about my job is I get to make people excited to learn about science.”
Having seen how invigorating it can be to share her love of astronomy with others, she is centering her two-year Honors Thesis on the concept. She and Crider, her research mentor, are creating a mixed-reality planetarium — an application where people, such as those who don’t have access to planetariums or telescopes, can stargaze at any time of day while interacting with those around them.
“The goal would be that a professor could be in the simulation with their students, they’d all be looking at the same sky, and they could discuss the placement of constellations and how to identify things,” she said, noting the sky in the app will be as seen from a spot in North Carolina. “Weather doesn’t always permit going outside with a telescope, and you can’t look at the night sky during the day. It would allow students to see the night sky anytime.”
Even beyond her job and her research, Spicola has found other ways to dig deep into astrophysics and astronomy. She has been an astronomy teaching assistant and an astronomy tutor, and during a study abroad trip to Italy in Winter Term 2022, she studied archeoastronomy, visiting historical sites and further piquing her interest in the subject.
The initial concerns Spicola had about studying astrophysics were eased thanks to Elon’s physics professors, she said. They were key when she took her first physics courses in the fall of her sophomore year and, having never studied it in high school, was intimidated by what her classmates already knew.
“I was just learning Newton’s laws. Before I came to college I didn’t know the phases of the moon, the order of the planets, nothing about physics,” she said. “But connecting with Dr. [Kyle] Altmann and the other physics faculty members and my peers made me feel like I was on the right path, and it justified why I was there. The faculty made a huge difference.”
Cramming in four prerequisite astronomy and physics courses into her sophomore year, she didn’t have the chance to take her first astrophysics course until the fall of her junior year. But she hit the ground running, earning an REU (research experience for undergraduates) in astrophysics at Cornell University in the summer before her senior year.
As someone who recently became interested in using instruments to study radio astronomy, she is excited to further explore the topic at Cornell, but from the data collection side. She is also currently interested in taking a deep dive into pulsars — compact objects that form after a large star dies.
“A massive star will go supernova and collapse in on itself, and you end up with these super dense objects made of mostly neutrons,” she explained. “They are so heavy and dense that a teaspoon weighs as much as Mount Everest. … By studying pulsars, we can gain insight into the extreme conditions of matter, nuclear physics and the behavior of gravity that cannot be replicated here on Earth. In particular, these amazing objects can help us map out our galaxy.
“I feel like there’s no end to the knowledge that we’re gaining by studying astrophysics,” said Spicola, who hopes to one day earn her PhD in the subject. “There will always be something to learn about, and that’s what keeps me going and keeps me interested in the field.”
Professors Altmann and Crider were instrumental in helping Spicola apply for and earn the Cornell undergraduate research experience, she said. In fact, her mentorships at Elon — including Crider, Altmann and physics lecturer Claudine Moreau — have been key to her education, she said. She recalled the astrophysics senior seminar with Crider where she had to create a presentation that would make viewers go through a whole arc of emotions in seven minutes. The experience, she said, made her better at presentations, talking in front of people, crafting stories and writing show scripts.
“Dr. Crider has been instrumental in helping me get over my fear of public speaking, of taking classes I never thought I could take,” she said. “He encouraged me to change my major. He’s definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone.”
She encourages future astrophysics majors to not be afraid to try new things — even if they’ve never taken a physics class and want to pursue a career in the field.
“The faculty at Elon are so amazing, and they’ll help you through whatever you need and get you where you need to go,” she said. “It’s a really wonderful field, and there’s just an infinite number of things to learn about. I think anyone’s capable of making a discovery and making a difference in astrophysics. They just have to be willing to put some heart and soul into it.”
Did You Know?
- The astrophysics degree is appropriate for students interested in graduate school or pursuing careers in fields that require strong computational and technological skills.
- Elon University is the first institution in North Carolina to offer a degree in astrophysics. The Bachelor of Science is tailored to students who want to continue their education in graduate school and seek a professional career in the field. Elon students have attended graduate school at institutions such as MIT, Tufts University and UNC-Chapel Hill.
- Astrophysics majors complete a semester of research, and many conduct research spanning several years, giving them the avenue to explore their own questions.