Can Agents Work?

Jobs / Science and research / 19-2011.00

Astronomers

Observe, research, and interpret astronomical phenomena to increase basic knowledge or apply such information to practical problems.

US jobs
2,120
Median wage
$128,820 a year
Job family
Science and research

Can agents do the work of astronomers?

We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Science and research:

  • Task levelPartialThin evidence. CORE-Bench asks agents to reproduce the results of published papers in computer science, social science, and medicine from the authors' code and data. Princeton's HAL team declared it solved in December 2025: Claude Code with Claude Opus 4.5 scored 95.5% after manual regrading. No benchmark in our collection tests new experiments or lab work.
  • Project levelNot yetThin evidence. On PaperBench, where agents replicate machine learning papers from scratch, the best official result is 26.0% (o1, April 2025). On a small subset, ML PhDs scored 41.4% against o1's 26.6%. No newer official results exist, and no benchmark tests research projects in other sciences.

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in science and research, not always this occupation's tasks.

  • CORE-Benchby Princeton UniversityTask level · CORE-Bench-Hard accuracy (public test set)
    95.5%Claude Code + Claude Opus 4.5 (after manual regrading) · 3 Dec 2025
    Solved
  • PaperBenchby OpenAIProject level · Average replication score
    26%IterativeAgent o1-high (36h limit) · 2 Apr 2025
    Emerging

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • Analyze research data to determine its significance, using computers.
  • Present research findings at scientific conferences and in papers written for scientific journals.
  • Study celestial phenomena, using a variety of ground-based and space-borne telescopes and scientific instruments.
  • Collaborate with other astronomers to carry out research projects.
  • Mentor graduate students and junior colleagues.
  • Supervise students' research on celestial and astronomical phenomena.
  • Teach astronomy or astrophysics.
  • Develop theories based on personal observations or on observations and theories of other astronomers.
  • Measure radio, infrared, gamma, and x-ray emissions from extraterrestrial sources.
  • Develop instrumentation and software for astronomical observation and analysis.
  • Review scientific proposals and research papers.
  • Raise funds for scientific research.
Other job titles for this occupation (19)

Astronomer · Astronomy Outreach Coordinator · Astrophysicist · Research Astrophysicist · Cosmologist · Extragalactic Astronomer · Galactic Astronomer · High-Energy Astrophysicist · Institute Scientist · Optical Astronomer · Planetary Astronomer · Postdoc Scientist (Postdoctoral Scientist) · Postdoctoral Associate (Postdoc Associate) · Postdoctoral Research Associate (Postdoc Research Associate) · Postdoctoral Scholar (Postdoc Scholar) · Radio Astronomer · Solar Astronomer · Stellar Astronomer · Theoretical Astronomer