Anna Frebel

Anna Frebel (born 1980 in Berlin) is a German astronomer and author working on discovering the oldest stars in the universe.

Career Anna Frebel grew up in Göttingen, Germany.

From 2009 to 2011, she was a Clay Postdoctoral Fellow at the Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) in Cambridge (MA).

In 2012, she moved to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, achieving promotion to full professor in 2022. Since 2023, she has been Head of the Astrophysics Division.

Discoveries In 2005, Frebel discovered the star HE 1327-2326, which is one of the most iron-deficient stars, stemming from a time very shortly after the Big Bang. In 2007, she also discovered the red giant star HE 1523-0901, which is about 13.2 billion years old.

Awards and honors 2007: Charlene Heisler Prize for the best astronomy PhD in 2006 in Australia 2009: Opening presentation XLAB Science Festival, Göttingen 2009: Ludwig Biermann Award (Young Astronomer Award) of the German Astronomical Society 2010: Annie J. Cannon Award of the American Astronomical Society and Innsbruck 2011: Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow, National Academy of Sciences 2022: Fellow of the American Physical Society

Publications (selection)