María Teresa Ruiz González
Early Life
Maria was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1946. She fell in love with astronomy after attending a summer school about it. She went on to study astronomy in Chile and was the first person to graduate from this program in 1971. Ruiz earned her PhD in Astrophysics in 1975 and became the first woman to earn a PhD from Princeton.
Career highlights
Maria held a research post at the Trieste Observatory between 1975 and 1976 while doing her PhD. She also worked for two years at the Institute of Astronomy at UNAM in Mexico.
Year born: 1946
Research Areas: Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets
Constellations
Have you ever looked for pictures in the stars at night? Like the sky is a giant dot-to-dot puzzle?
We call groups of stars which form a picture in our imagination, a constellation.
Atmospheric Problems
The Earth's atmosphere is vital for life. But did you know it can cause problems for astronomers.
Stargazing Glossary
Welcome to our stargazing glossary!
Here, you'll find key terms that will help you better understand the wonders of the night sky.
Stargazing in the UK and Ireland
Sky Maps
Take a look at our sky maps, which are refreshed daily, to help you understand what you can see in the sky each night.
The main part of each image shows the objects' positions visible in the sky at that time. This includes stars, the Moon, and planets.
Finder-charts
A finder chart is a map of a small region of the sky. Astronomers use these charts to find particular stars within an image.
The charts are also useful for communicating which object on a map is being referred to.
Plan an observation
Stargazing is something that we can all do. You just need to look up at the night sky. But with a little planning, you can make the experience even better.
Mario Hamuy
Early Life
Mario was born in Chile. Although his dad was a politician Mario found a love for science. He got degrees in physics and astronomy from the University of Chile.
Year born: 1960
Research Areas: Observational Astronomy, Supernovae, Cosmic Distances