In a series of experiments devoted to the study of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons for astrophysical applications, the S-2<--S-0 transition of jet-cooled pyrene (C16H10) at 321 nm has been studied by an absorption technique for the first time. The spectra observed by cavity ring-down spectroscopy closely resemble the excitation spectra obtained earlier by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and show the same band clusters arising from the vibronic interaction of S-2 with S-1. We have also investigated pyrene when it was incorporated into 380 mK cold helium droplets. These spectra which were recorded employing LIF and molecular beam depletion spectroscopy are broadened and redshifted by 0.94 nm but retain the essential features of the gas phase spectra. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.