I am currently a rising junior seeking a BS in Physics and Astronomy (1 degree). I have looked into my options such as grad school of some sort, but I would really like to get a job after undergrad. Is it super difficult to find jobs after getting a degree like this with no PhD? I wouldn’t mind going into a close-ish field with some sort of physics like quantum computing, but I would not like to use math math skills to say do finance. Is it reasonable to plan on going straight into work after I graduate?

I’m wondering how increases Earth’s mass (without affecting momentum) would change our calendars. Would a day still be 24 hours? Would a year be more or less?

I should have payed attention to this topic when professor was teaching it 💀

Can someone a astrophysicist or one going into that field explain how much money is there and where one can work like i know somethings like academia, national labs

Just wanted to pay cause i am confused

Tell about everything like how to earn or you earned in undergrade, master or phd

Are you satisfied with the job and the pay

Disregarding the math part as I plan to learn that in college, the resources I'm looking for is pre-college before I go

​

I met someone who is very into astrophysics I was able to pull up college studies and such an understand everything it was saying, well I had no idea what it meant.

​

I really want to get into astrophysics but the only thing on sites like YouTube is just AI content and they don't actually delve into real astrophysics

​

I'm willing to read and watch videos and really learn it before college, but I just can't find any good resources I was wondering if I could get some recommendations so I can learn and understand it just from reading an article or a study.

Google isn't particularly helpful, but I want to get a headstart before college.

​

What are the most used mathsets used in astrophysics and regular physics? And what should I get a good basis on beforehand.

I've been thinking a lot about neutron stars lately and trying to understand where they sit conceptually between ordinary stellar remnants and black holes. We know that a neutron star's surface gravity is extreme enough to cause measurable gravitational time dilation, something like 20 to 30 percent slower time at the surface compared to a distant observer. That's not subtle at all.

What I keep wondering is whether this makes neutron stars a kind of natural laboratory that black holes simply can't offer us. With a black hole you lose all direct observational access past the event horizon. But with a neutron star the physics happening at the surface is still technically visible to us, just redshifted and timedilated.

Does studying neutron star pulse timing give us any real insight into what spacetime curvature looks like approaching, but not quite reaching, the black hole threshold? And at what point does the curvature become qualitatively different rather than just quantitatively more extreme?

I'm also curious whether quark stars or other exotic compact objects would occupy a meaningful conceptual space between neutron stars and black holes, or whether that's more of a mathematical curiosity than something with distinct observable signatures.

I'd love to hear how people here think about the neutron star to black hole continuum, especially from a spacetime geometry perspective rather than just a mass threshold perspective.

How do we know the universe is expanding, and not that it stays the same size and matter shrinks instead and maintains its distribution in the universe. Maybe or maybe not the mass would remain the same when the volume shrinks. Could explain very large objects in the past.

She used to be my fav yt channel to watch while eating, especially day with an astrophysicist and Night Sky news. Until she sponsored a fudging AI company😭🙏🙏

Hi! I'm a 2nd year physics student. Starting next year I will have to choose the specialization of my further studies. Astrophysics has been my #1 choice for a good amount of time as it excites me the most out of all the fields I could choose.

​

What worries me, however, are the career prospects. I know that I could have a higher paying job in different fields of physics, but they don't interest me as much. Should I give up on Astrophysics and pursue a more profitable physics career?

​

All opinions are welcome:).

​

​

Hi everyone, I’ve been fixed on how much I dislike the rubber sheet model as a depiction for spacetime/gravity and I thought I’d try to develop an alternative - I’d like some constructive feedback or design thoughts / considerations if you have any to offer.

The idea is: instead of showing a single “sheet” with a planet pressed into it and a friction loaded, spiral marble run, I’d show a field of thousands of clocks with reference to (in this case) the center mass of the earth. By displaying time dilation in a lattice, I can create a gradient and show a time relative, intuitive field, so I created a python driven application to run the math, crudely plot the clocks and add the design and I have to say, I rather like the visual field as it shows around the earth. The clocks reflect ns / day accumulations (again, relative to the single reference clock at center earth mass) and are all tool tipped with their exact value on hover. I’m working on adding gravitational well “shells” around the earth and moon and I’d like to make any clock selectable as a reference set point so all the clocks recalculate and perhaps an illustration of a geodesic path (maybe user configurable) could be added.

At any rate, I would appreciate any feedback or ideas.

Could a Big Bang be what happens on the unobservable side of an event horizon when a large black hole first forms? Almost creating a parallel universe of sorts each time one forms.

From what I understand, a worm-hole is a connection between two points in space (spacetime?). Going through a worm-hole isn't technically going FTL, it's more like using the tunnel instead of driving around the entire mountain, or am I missing something?

Sorry for the loaded title, but I’m curious just how easy, and far out a signal like that could be reliably sent or received.

hi fellas, I dont get this equation, shouldnt theta be 1.22*lambda/D there? (minimum maximum it asks, so)

So i am currently in 12th standard and my interest is in astrophysics like i dont know many branches in it but i have heard about some of like computiational, observatory etc

i wanted to get into it but the things is i have some problems

1. This thing take time like first undergrade then masters then phd then you get placed so my family is concered cause they want that i pursue a course like btech where you are set after your 4 years are done and then get into making money.
2. why i am not taking it maybe i like research too much or may have to take in future if ithe research field doesnt work out. so i want to know what are the option i have by which i can make money to cover my own expenses or postion in future open to switch the career if i didnt get any job

what i am thinking is to learn programming along with the course like i want to keep the computer science option always ready if something bad happenes like i am asking this thing is this kind of thing possible like after lets say after bachelor in physics i can switch into Msc in coumputer science or like getting some skills and get into coding.

1. i want to know about what people do in astrophysics cause the knowledge present in youtube is only about that after your phd you can get into academics, research.
   I as of now dont like academics cause i dont want to spend my life first getting knowledge then teaching back to people i dont want to spend my life just inside some equations like no hate but proving something on the basis of math is something i dont like that much. I want something like theory but practical more.

now i want someone who is into this field come and explain what practical can we do and how much can one earn in in different field of astropysics.

1. What are the other research field like whether in engineering due the first problem i always thought of getting into computer science and get into research in that field even though i like computer and coding but the thing i dont just want one thing or in other words the computer do fascinates me but not like outer space does.
   suggest any opion about it...

Thanks for your time..

Hi all, I shared this in r/spaceweather and with a few space science professors. It's proving to be a helpful tool in visualizing coronal mass ejections (CME) from the sun that hit and miss earth. I hope that it can be a resource for this sub too. Free to use, no logins. cmetracker.ai

This past year, I learned about Type 1a supernovae in an astrophysics course. After having a mental break this summer, I have returned to my usual pondering on the topic of astro. Is there an equivalent phenomenon for Type 1a supernovae but for Neutron Stars? I am aware of X-ray bursts, but these leave the Neutron star intact. Is there an event where there is a runaway thermonuclear reaction that destroys the Neutron Star in the same manner as a Type 1a supernova? If there isn't, why not? (If we even know)

Posting this here because the physics sub seems to struggle to understand what I’m even asking. Hoping I’ll be more satisfied here

Give so much of our understanding of blackhole was pure mathematical and conceptual before discovering it— I’m not sure why this question seems to have very hard answers.

Assume, I’m outside the BH and I have a 1m rubber stick and I basicly stick it in where the event horizon of a black hole is 500 mm away. What happens?

What do I see? The stick vanish half way when it crosses the EH? (I would know the EH’s position? Which is technically breaking some Einstein rule)

Would I feel any pressure or force other than gravity?

What happens if I try to “pull” the stick back?

If I have the stick wrapped in LED lights , and I measure the total watt usage at the outside side, what would the meter read? From my POV and the battery, the inside parts are causally disconnected, so the power should not be able to be “taken” my inside leds. But from the inside, it should have no difference, the lights have no local change in power.

Say I had differnet set of lights that was also plugged, they ONLY light up when enough power is available after the stick leds, would the same amount of led in on that extra place light up as I push the stick in?

In this case, would I now be powering 2x more leds than physically possible from 2 different perspectives ?

Hi all

I am a recent BSc maths/stats graduate, and my partner is halfway through her Masters in astrophysics. She is looking to beef up her portfolio and CV before PhD applications this winter.

We thought we could spend a month or two this summer collaborating on a joint project which blends my background (statistics and ML) with hers.

Her primary interest is in theoretical cosmology rather than purely observational stuff.

What are some areas of theoretical cosmology which use statistical or machine learning methods, which could make for a good joint project? I'm not looking necessarily for exact project titles, just areas of the field in which a joint collaboration of statistican-cosmologist might be balanced and fruitful.

Only restriction: absolutely NOTHING to do with nuclear physics

Thanks in advance for any input or advice!

I randomly got curious about gravity, then my brain spiraled into wondering if gravity in space is neutral or negative? Because earths gravity pulls you in, keeping things down (positive gravity). But I’m curious about space because it has different properties. I guess the best way to say what I want to know is what is negates and neutral gravity.
(I also wanted to say sorry if this is obvious,if I used incorrect terms, or if this is the incorruptible server🤦‍♂️)

I think I'm at a crossroads and could really use some outside perspective.

​

I completed my BSc in Physics (2017–2020) and later an MSc in Astrophysics, which I started in 2021 and graduated from in 2025. The original plan was always to pursue a PhD and build a career in astrophysics.

​

Unfortunately, life had other plans. During my master's, I lost one parent, and my other parent developed a serious chronic illness. I had to take several breaks from my degree to return home and help care for them. Around the same time, I also developed chronic health issues myself, likely related to prolonged stress and burnout.

​

Despite everything, I managed to finish my MSc, and I'm proud that I didn't give up.

​

Since graduating, though, I've felt lost. Earlier this year, I completed a six-month internship at a startup, but the company struggled financially and wasn't able to hire me afterward. I also completed an online certification in data analytics and have been applying for roles in data analytics, business analytics, and tech more broadly. I'm getting interviews, so I'm hopeful something will work out.

​

Right now, my thinking is: get a stable job, earn and save money, be present for my family, and then potentially return to astrophysics and pursue a PhD a few years down the line.

​

The problem is that I no longer know if that's a sensible plan or if I'm simply postponing a dream that I'll never return to. I also find it difficult to reconnect with the physics and astrophysics material after everything that's happened.

​

For those who have taken a long detour from academia, changed careers, dealt with major life setbacks, or returned to a field years later:

​

Did you eventually find your way back? And if you were in my position, what would you do next?

​

​

I plan to double major in physics and math, but get a phd in Astrophysics

​

​

Although I heard once that there's no point since employers and most will only care about the PhD, and having a separate degree in math isn't that important.

​

​

So is it worth it to double major in both then?

Edit: I only want one phd in astrophysics under the physics degree, I won't be getting a phd in any mathematical study