Near Field Cosmology at UVic

Welcome to the UVic Near Field Cosmology webpage! Our group combines expertise in deep and wide imaging surveys, with spectroscopic analyses, and cosmological simulations to study stellar populations in the Milky Way and Local Group. We are particularly interested in searching for the faintest dwarf galaxies/star clusters from imaging surveys, analysing the chemical and dynamical properties of these systems to understand their formation and evolution, and to compare these observations with predictions from cosmological supercomputer simulations.

Our most recent work has used imaging data from UNIONS, astrometric and proper motion data from Gaia, spectroscopy from Gemini/GHOST, and simulations from the Virgo Consortium. We are also excited about new research opportunities that will soon begin in time domain astronomy using the Rubin telescope, new imaging from space telescopes (JWST, Euclid, CASTOR), and new spectroscopic surveys (WEAVE), and advances in machine learning data analysis being developed in our group.

Please follow these pages for our news and updates on our research in this exciting field of astronomy.