Bally investigates the physics of the interstellar medium and star formation at visual, infrared, mm, and radio wavelengths. He studies star, planet, and cluster formation, and the jets and outflows young stars produce. He uses ground-based and space-based telescopes and interferometers to obtain the high resolution observations of star forming complexes. He uses observations and numerical methods to distinguish between theories of massive star and cluster formation, models of outflow production, and the self-regulation of star formation. He continues observational & theoretical work on UV induced planetesimal formation. He continues work on a the speculative model proposed by Lee Smolin that our Universe formed from a black hole in a previous Universe, that certain black holes create new Universes, and that cosmology may follow a form of 'Cosmic Natural Selection' similar to Darwinian biological evolution. He gives public lectures to popularize astronomy.
keywords
astrophysics, physics of the interstellar medium, star and planet formation, early stellar evolution, protostellar jets and outflows, observations at visual, near-infrared, sub-mm, and radio wavelengths, astronomical instrumentation, formation, evolution, and destruction of molecular clouds in the galaxy, large-scale astronomical surveys, advanced space instrumentation concepts for future missions, strategies for finding Earth-like planets, cosmology, public-outreach
