UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL LANCASHIRE

Jeremiah Horrocks Institute

The Jeremiah Horrocks Institute (JHI) was originally established in 1993 as UCLan's Centre for Astrophysics.

It builds on a long tradition of astronomy in the Preston area dating back to the early 17th century with the pioneering work of the father of English astronomy, Jeremiah Horrocks, who was the first to predict, and then observe, a transit of Venus. The Institute now brings together over 40 academic staff, research fellows and PhD students from across the world in an intellectually vibrant atmosphere.

A steady stream of visitors and seminars links the JHI to the international community.

Our research projects cover:

• Solar physics: the solar research carried out at the JHI focuses on studying the Sun and how the Sun's activity affects the Earth. This is carried out using data from space-based observatories coupled with state-of-the-art modelling.
• Stellar astrophysics: investigating stellar structure, formation and evolution, the atmospheres and winds of stars, and asteroseismology, which probes the interiors of stars through the study of their oscillations; this area also encompasses star and planet formation
• Extragalactic astrophysics: a combination of computational, theoretical and observational studies of galaxy formation and evolution, tackling such diverse subjects as galactic nuclei and jets, galaxy structure, stellar populations, infrared properties and galactic archaeology, as well as the large-scale structure of the Universe and cosmology

All three broad areas are underpinned by a common interest in fundamental physical processes. The work of the JHI is advancing our knowledge and understanding of the Universe through research and education.

To find out more about research in Astronomy and Astrophysics, contact JHI Director, Derek Ward-Thompson.
[email protected]