Institute for Student Astronomical Research
Seminars
The fundamental goals of all Seminar courses are to expose researchers to a rigorous, in-depth, team-led research experience that leads to scientific publications.
Students
Students work together with instructors, research supervisors, subject-matter experts and others, all working towards the goal of useful published research.
InStAR Team
By combining shared expertise, structured guidance, and professional standards, our team supports member growth.
Events
InStAR hosts collaborative events that bring students, mentors, and researchers together to learn and share results.
Partners
InStAR works with a growing network of partners that share a commitment to education, collaboration, and high-quality astronomical research.
Communities of Practice
Astronomy Research Seminar’s succeed by immersing student research teams in the astronomical research community.
WELCOME!
Over the past decade, research during the confines of a single school semester or summer camp by undergraduate and high school student teams in various Astronomy Research Seminars has produced 150+ published papers by more than 500 coauthors.
Teams plan their own project, submit a proposal, gather and analyze data, present results in a published paper, and give a public presentation. Publication advances science and benefit students through school admissions, often with a scholarship.
The nonprofit Institute for Student Astronomical Research (InStAR) supports the many different versions of the Astronomy Research Seminars by maintaining a supportive community of practice, organizing conferences and workshops, publishing the Small Telescope Astronomical Research Handbook and other helpful books, providing open-source training material, and maintaining this supportive website.
Research Areas
Double Star Astrometry
In this Institute for Student Astronomical Research (InStAR) Seminar, Double Star Astrometry, researchers will use a remote robotic telescope to obtain observations of a close double star that might be gravitationally bound
Partners
Several institutions and organizations have been instrumental in fostering the Astronomy Research Seminar. Please contact us if you would like to get involved and bring more students authentic research experiences.
Kitt Peak Observing Runs
During observing runs at the 2.1-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, astronomers and students collaborate to obtain high-resolution measurements of close binary stars using speckle interferometry.
President
Dr. Rachel Freed
Phone
707-326-8310
Copyright 2026 - InStaR