Astrophysics studies the physical properties of objects in space including planets, stars and galaxies, and the structure, origin and evolution of the universe as a whole.

Astrophysicists ask questions like:

How do planets form and can we find planets around other stars? How did the universe begin, and how will it end? What holds galaxies together and how did they form?

Current areas of research at Auckland include testing the predictions of competing models of the primordial universe, searching for planets around other stars, understanding the evolution of binary star systems, and discovering the properties of the stars that were the progenitors of supernova explosions.