How did the universe evolve? How can we explain its objects? Does life exist elsewhere?
With remarkable new technologies, scientists are tracing the faintest of trails into the farthest reaches of space, allowing deeper exploration into the history of the universe and the panoply of objects within it, from exoplanets to supermassive black holes.
Astrophysics Programs
Search for Life in the Universe
Supporting interdisciplinary inquiry into the emergence of life and its place in the universe
Learn moreAstrophysics News
Explore the latest news, events, and discoveries from the field of astrophysics.
See All NewsAstrophysics Science Spotlights
New Kavli-Laukien Postdoctoral Fellowship Program and Inaugural Scholars Announced
Sep 05, 2023
Astrophysics Science Spotlights
Scialog: Signatures of life in the universe
Jul 14, 2023
Astrophysics Profile
Kavli astrophysics institute researchers have leveraged the might of JWST to see the previously unobservable dim galaxies that host bright quasars
Jul 10, 2023
Astrophysics Profile
Jia Liu, inaugural director of Kavli IPMU's new center, brings creativity and purpose to the looming challenge of big data
Jun 22, 2023
Astrophysics Research Highlights
Members of Kavli astrophysics institutes often appear together as coauthors on scientific papers
Jun 02, 2023
Astrophysics Research Highlights
The cosmic creatures astrophysicists study defy everyday reckoning
May 25, 2023
Astrophysics
The Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology opens its doors to the public
May 19, 2023
Astrophysics Profile
Thanks to an innovatively sensitive instrument, Kiyoshi Masui and colleagues at the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research are expanding our knowledge of the cosmos writ large
May 17, 2023
Astrophysics Q&A
Q&A with Abigail Vieregg, director of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics
May 17, 2023
Astrophysics Profile
Part 2 of our Signs of Life series examines how gases overwhelmingly produced by microorganisms that contain toxic metals might prove to be a powerful means of searching for extraterrestrial life
Apr 27, 2023
Kavli Astrophysics Institutes
- Kavli Institute for Astronomy and AstrophysicsPeking University-Beijing
- Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space ResearchMassachusetts Institute of Technology
- Kavli Institute for Cosmological PhysicsUniversity of Chicago
- Kavli Institute for CosmologyUniversity of Cambridge
- Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and CosmologyStanford University
- Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the UniverseUniversity of Tokyo
The Kavli Prize in Astrophysics
The Kavli Prize in Astrophysics is awarded for outstanding achievement in advancing our knowledge and understanding of the origin, evolution and properties of the universe, including the fields of cosmology, astrophysics, astronomy, planetary science, solar physics, space science, astrobiology, astronomical and astrophysical instrumentation, and particle astrophysics.
The heaven is the largest laboratory of all, so big and powerful it excites and astounds our imagination. Scientists are unlocking the secrets of the universe from the beginning into eternity, thanks to astrophysics.
- Fred Kavli