Astronomy programs give high school students a chance to go beyond what’s covered in a typical science class. Depending on the program, you might be working with telescopes, analyzing real observational data, attending lectures from researchers, running computational simulations, or contributing to an active research project. Some programs are structured around a single focused topic, such as planetary science or stellar evolution, while others give you a broader survey of the field. Either way, you leave with a clear sense of what doing science actually looks like, which is harder to get from a textbook than people often assume.
So, why choose a program in Georgia?
Georgia has a handful of universities and institutions with meaningful ties to astronomy and space science. The state is home to programs ranging from university-based research opportunities to planetarium shows and public observatory visits. Georgia also sits within a reasonable distance of major NASA facilities, which creates some connections to space science education that you won’t find everywhere. The range of options in Georgia spans different formats and commitment levels, so whether you’re looking for a structured summer camp, a research internship or a public observing night, there’s likely something that fits.
We have put together a list of 15 astronomy programs for high school students in Georgia. If you’re also interested in research-focused opportunities beyond this list, check out our post on 18 Astronomy Research Programs for High School Students.
1. Summer Science Program (SSP) Astrophysics
Location: Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville, Georgia
Cost: Need-based financial aid available up to the full program fee
Dates: June 8–July 11
Application Deadline: January 29
Eligibility: Current high school juniors who are at least 15 and not yet 19 during the program; must have completed or be completing any level of high school physics and precalculus (or calculus if physics is unavailable) for credit and a grade by June
The Summer Science Program in Astrophysics is one of the longest-running residential STEM programs in the country. Over five weeks, you’ll work in teams of three on a single research project: Asteroid Orbit Determination. The goal is to locate, observe, and calculate the orbital path of a near-Earth asteroid using professional-grade telescopes, Python programming, and orbital physics. You’ll learn to read celestial coordinates and interpret an ephemeris to choose your asteroid. You’ll then write an observing proposal, the same kind a professional astronomer submits to an observatory, before beginning your observation runs.
Each night, your team will capture telescope images, locate the asteroid among background stars, and precisely measure its position. Once you have enough observations, you’ll write software in Python to calculate your asteroid’s position and velocity vectors, and use calculus to estimate the six orbital elements that define its path around the sun. Tools you’ll work with include JupyterLab, Matplotlib, and Astropy. By the end of the program, your data will be submitted to the NASA-funded Minor Planet Center of the International Astronomical Union, directly contributing to real asteroid-tracking efforts.
2. Summer Springboard’s Astrophysics Program
Location: Georgia Tech Campus, Atlanta, Georgia
Cost: Residential: $5,798 | Commuter: $3,298
Dates: Session 1: June 14–26
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Open to high school students
Summer Springboard’s Astrophysics program builds a foundation in astrophysics through hands-on projects, observational activities, and data analysis, taught by researchers affiliated with Georgia Tech. The coursework covers fundamental principles of how the universe works, along with exploration of real-world applications across space exploration, climate science, and advanced technologies. You’ll work collaboratively with peers on problem sets designed to sharpen your critical thinking and creativity, while also gaining exposure to potential career pathways across astrophysics, data science, research, and related fields. Beyond the classroom, the residential component enriches the experience with city excursions and evening activities on Georgia Tech’s campus.
3. Georgia Outreach Team for Space (GOT Space)
Location: Atlanta and the broader Georgia area
Cost: Free
Dates: Available year-round
Application Deadline: No deadline
Eligibility: Open to K–12 schools, camps, clubs, youth programs, and community groups, including high schoolers
GOT Space is a STEM outreach program managed through the Georgia Space Grant Consortium, with participation from Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State University. The team sends undergraduate and graduate students in physics, astronomy, and engineering directly to your classroom or program. For high school students, the program offers a full menu of presentations and activities covering topics such as supermassive black holes, exoplanets, galaxies viewed through different wavelengths of light, the science behind the first image of a black hole, and the International Space Station. Your activities include hands-on demonstrations, astronomy trivia games, virtual reality experiences, solar telescope sessions, and evening telescope viewings.
4. Bradley Observatory & Delafield Planetarium
Location: Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Georgia
Cost: Open House events are free; group tours are available at a fee of $2 / person
Dates: Open House Lecture Series runs during the academic year; group tours available September through April
Application Deadline: No application required; school groups should contact the observatory to arrange a visit
Eligibility: Open to all ages, including high school students
The Bradley Observatory on the Agnes Scott College campus in Decatur is an active astronomical teaching and research facility with a history of K–12 outreach. Group tours run one hour and include a planetarium show, a visit to the telescope, and a talk on the observatory plaza. The free Open House Lecture Series features presentations by Agnes Scott faculty, students and guest scientists, followed by a planetarium show and telescope viewing, weather permitting. Past topics have covered dark energy, black holes, star formation, and galactic evolution. You can find more details and tour request information here.
5. UGA Observatory’s Open Houses & School Group Tours
Location: Physics Building, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
Cost: Free
Dates: Monthly public open houses during the academic year; daytime tours for school groups by arrangement
Application Deadline: No application required; school groups should contact the department by email to arrange a daytime tour
Eligibility: Open to all ages, including high school students
The University of Georgia Observatory sits on top of the Physics Building on UGA’s main campus and houses one of the largest visible light telescopes in the state, a 24-inch primary mirror Cassegrain reflector. Monthly public open houses allow anyone, including high school students, to come and view the night sky through the telescope, and in the event of cloudy weather, a talk on an astronomy topic is held instead. In addition to the public open houses, the department offers daytime tours for organized school groups, making it a practical option for high school classes visiting Athens.
6. North Georgia Astronomical Observatory (NGAO)
Location: Dahlonega, Georgia
Cost: Free
Dates: Friday evenings, year-round
Application Deadline: No application required; school and group visits can be arranged by emailing [email protected]
Eligibility: Open to all students and community members; high school students welcome; school and group visits available by arrangement
The North Georgia Astronomical Observatory at the University of North Georgia (UNG) brings astronomy education to both UNG students and the broader public. The facility is open for free public telescope viewings every Friday evenings to midnight,and high school students are welcome to attend alongside community members. If you’re organizing a school or group visit outside of regular public nights, the observatory accepts visit requests by email. All observations are weather-dependent, and the observatory uses weather tools, including cloud condition forecasts and real-time satellite data to monitor sky conditions before each session.
7. AsTropaLooza’s The Astronomy of ATL Showcase
Location: Multiple Atlanta-area sites, including GSU’s Rooftop Observation Deck, Agnes Scott College’s Bradley Observatory and Delafield Planetarium, and GSU’s Hard Labor Creek Observatory
Cost: Free
Dates: June 12–15
Application Deadline: Check the event page for registration details
Eligibility: Open to K–12 students, including high school students
AsTropaLooza is a multi-day astronomy outreach event brought together by Georgia State University, GSU Perimeter College, Agnes Scott College, and the Georgia Outreach Team for Space (GOT Space). Spread across multiple sites in the Atlanta area over several days, the event gives high school students access to solar and nighttime telescope observations, STEM demonstrations, presentations by professional astrophysicists and hands-on activities.
The STEM demo lineup has included virtual and augmented reality tours of the solar system and galaxies, UV bead experiments exploring invisible light, a pocket solar system scale model activity, a Mars colony planning card ggame and astronomy-themed trivia. On the observation side, you’ll have access to solar telescopes on GSU’s rooftop observation deck in downtown Atlanta, an evening observing session and planetarium show at Agnes Scott’s Bradley Observatory with its 30-inch Beck telescope and 70-seat ZEISS planetarium. There is also an open house at Hard Labor Creek Observatory where both the McAlister and Miller telescopes operate alongside smaller telescopes fitted with smartphone adapters so you can photograph the night sky directly. Planetarium shows and scientist presentations are streamed live for virtual attendees. In the past, scientists have covered topics such as supermassive black holes and exoplanets.
8. Tellus Science Museum’s Bentley Planetarium & Observatory
Location: 100 Tellus Drive, Cartersville, Georgia
Cost: General admission: Adults $20, Students with ID $16, Children $16 | Planetarium shows: $5/show with paid admission; Group rate: $16/person for groups of 20 or more
Dates: Open daily; planetarium show times subject to availability
Application Deadline: No application required; group reservations should be made at least two weeks in advance by emailing
Eligibility: Open to all ages, including high school students; group visits welcome
The Tellus Science Museum houses both a digital planetarium and an observatory under one roof. The current shows at the planetarium include Space Explorers: The ISS Experience, a four-part immersive series filmed entirely aboard the International Space Station following eight astronauts on their missions; Live Tour of Tonight’s Sky, a live presentation of the constellations visible over Georgia during that season; and Extreme Planets, which explores extrasolar planets and what makes a world potentially habitable, covering water worlds, molten landscapes, and planets with multiple suns. The museum also houses an observatory with a 20-inch telescope for viewing the Moon and planets. School and group visits are welcome at a discounted rate, and planetarium seating can be reserved alongside a museum visit.
9. REACH Online
Location: Online
Cost: To be announced
Dates: To be announced
Application Deadline: To be announced
Eligibility: High school students
Georgia students looking to explore astronomy through a structured, research-driven online program should take a look at REACH Online, offered by the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics at Northwestern University. It’s a five-week course specifically meant for secondary school learners, with both self-paced and live elements so you can work around your schedule.
The course is built around REACHpy, a Python tutorial developed by CIERA that guides you through coding as it applies to real astronomical problems. You’ll watch recorded instruction videos, participate in online discussion boards, and collaborate with other students working through the same material. CIERA experts lead Astronomy 101 lectures throughout the course, and there are mini-projects woven in to help you test and apply your skills.
10. USA Astronomy and Astrophysics Organization (USAAAO)
Location: Online
Cost: $30
Dates: First Round Exam: February 9
Application Deadline: January 31
Eligibility: All high school students; US citizenship or permanent residency required for national team selection
USAAAO is a national competition program that identifies and trains the US team for the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics. The participation starts with a single online exam that any student can register for. You’ll take the first-round exam at your school, proctored by a teacher, within a set time window. If you score above the cutoff points, you’ll qualify for the National Astronomy Competition, viz. written exam covering theoretical and applied astronomy. From there, top performers are invited to a free online training program run by former IOAA competitors and professional astronomers. The five students with the strongest combined scores ultimately represent the US at the International Olympiad. The preparation process includes working through past exams, attending training sessions, and engaging with real astrophysics content, which is a substantial learning experience.
11. International Astronomy and Astrophysics Competition (IAAC)
Location: Online
Cost: Free for Qualification Round; 13 EUR registration fee for Pre-Final Round
Dates: Pre-Final Round: May 29-June 2
Application Deadline: April 17
Eligibility: Current high school students worldwide; divided into Junior: 10th grade and below, under 16, Youth: 11th–13th grade, under 19, and Senior: 1st year college and above, or 19+ age groups
The International Astronomy and Astrophysics Competition (IAAC) is a global astronomy and astrophysics competition. It runs in three online rounds, each progressively more demanding, and has grown to over 40,000 participants across more than 120 countries. You’ll start with the Qualification Round: five problems covering a broad range of astronomy topics, mixing conceptual questions with calculations. Clear the cutoff for your age group, and you move to the Pre-Final Round, which raises the stakes with six problems, including two research-based questions that ask you to work through actual scientific papers before answering. The final stage is a 20-question multiple-choice exam that wraps up the competition. If a teacher isn’t available to proctor it at your school, you can self-record while taking it and submit the video instead. Every student who completes the first round receives a certificate of participation, regardless of how far they advance.
12. Yale Summer Program in Astrophysics (YSPA)
Location: Online (self-study phase), then residential at Yale University
Cost: $7,800
Dates: Online phase: June 22 – July 3 | Residential phase: July 5 – August 2
Application Deadline: Applications typically open in late December
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors
YSPA begins with two weeks of online self-directed study, where you’ll be introduced to Python and basic observational astronomy before arriving on campus. The residential portion runs for four weeks at Yale’s Leitner Family Observatory and Planetarium. Mornings involve classroom instruction covering a dense and demanding curriculum including stellar astrophysics, photometry, radiative transfer modeling, statistics, scientific writing, and more. Afternoons shift to the computer lab, where you’ll work alongside your research team and apply those concepts using professional astronomy software and real datasets from telescopes. You’ll choose a unique research project, collect and analyze your own data, and produce a full scientific paper by the end of the session, which you’ll present at the program’s closing mini-conference.
13. GMU Young Scholars’ NASA Data Science Analysis and Research Paper Program
Location: Online
Cost: Not specified
Dates: June 13 – August 29
Application Deadline: Rolling; first-come, first-served basis
Eligibility: High school students
Young Scholars NASA Data Science program is a summer program that analyzes real TESS mission exoplanet candidates and JWST telescope data as part of an ongoing NASA research effort, guided by a faculty member who is a Principal Investigator on the NASA TESS Follow-Up Observing Program. You are assigned a unique exoplanet candidate for investigation. Using professional tools such as Python, Jupyter notebooks, AstroImageJ, FITS imaging files, and statistical methods including time-series analysis and Bayesian inference, you’ll work through the follow-up analysis needed to determine whether your assigned candidate is a genuine orbiting planet or an astrophysical false positive. Advanced students go on work with JWST spectroscopy data to probe the atmospheric properties of confirmed exoplanets. Throughout the program, you’ll attend Saturday sessions combining synchronous lectures and asynchronous learning, plus small-group nighttime observing sessions where you can control GMU’s 32-inch telescope remotely. The summer concludes with a conference day where you’ll present your research with up to $2,000 in scholarships and awards available for standout work, followed by a final paper refinement period.
14. Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP)
Location: Remote
Cost: $1,299
Dates: June 18 – August 12
Application Deadline: Check the website for the latest updates
Eligibility: High school students 15 and older; 16 and older for wet-lab placements
George Mason University’s Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program is an eight-week, full-time research internship that places high school and undergraduate students directly alongside faculty researchers, one-on-one, for the duration of the program. The research areas span a wide range of disciplines, and astronomy is one of them. The topics specifically listed include Exoplanet discovery, solar space weather, and planetary atmospheres and lifestyle. Your work will be original and research-driven, where you’ll be contributing to your mentor’s actual projects by using real methods and tools, and building the kind of scientific writing and communication skills that carry into college and beyond.
15. NSS Gerard K. O’Neill Space Settlement Contest
Location: Online
Cost: $15
Dates: Submissions open annually in December
Application Deadline: February 15
Eligibility: Students up to 12th grade
The NSS Gerard K. O’Neill Space Settlement Contest is an active area of research, policy, and engineering program. You’ll design a permanent human settlement in free space in orbit and present your work in a format that suits your approach. You can submit a technical design, a research paper, a short story, an essay, artwork, a model, or any other original work that explores the science, engineering, economics, or social dimensions of living in space. You can enter alone or with a team of up to 12 students, and judging takes place by grade level, so you’re evaluated against your peers. There are category prizes across all grade levels, as well as special $500 scholarships for the top Artistic Merit and Literary Merit entries.
One more option—Horizon Academic Research Program
If you are looking for a competitive mentored research program in astronomy, planetary sciences, and physics, you can consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs! It is a selective virtual research program that allows you to engage in advanced research and come up with a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1,000+ high school students so far, offering 600+ research specializations to choose from. You can find the application link here!
Image Source – University of Georgia