Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA)

Astronomer Evenings at Dearborn Observatory

Join us the last Friday of each month for conversations with Astronomers

CIERA Fifteenth Annual Public Lecture

October 5 | 5:30 PM | Cahn Auditorium | Presented by Marcia Bartusiak

Black holes eat faster than previously expected

New finding might explain why quasars flare and fade so quickly

CIERA Postdoctoral Fellowship Positions in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Postdoctoral Associate Positions in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Observational and Theoretical

Northwestern – U Chicago Brinson Postdoctoral Fellowship in Astrophysics

Research at CIERA

Researchers at CIERA study a wide variety of topics, all with the aim of advancing the field of astrophysics and expanding our understanding of the Universe.

Black Holes & Dead Stars

Learn More

Black Holes & Dead Stars

Supermassive, Intermediate & Stellar Mass Black Holes, White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars . . .

Learn More

Exoplanets & The Solar System

Learn More

Exoplanets & The Solar System

Planet Formation, Planet Dynamics, Protoplanetary Disks . . .

Learn More

Galaxies & Cosmology

Learn More

Galaxies & Cosmology

Galaxy Formation, Intergalactic Medium, Galaxy Clusters, Early Universe . . .

Learn More

Gravitational Waves & Multi-Messenger Astronomy

Learn More

Gravitational Waves & Multi-Messenger Astronomy

Black Hole & Neutron Star Mergers, Gravitational Wave Sources & Their Electromagnetic Counterparts . . .

Learn More

Life & Death of Stars

Learn More

Life & Death of Stars

Interstellar Medium, Star Formation & Evolution, Supernovae & Their Remnants . . .

Learn More

Stellar Dynamics & Stellar Populations

Learn More

Stellar Dynamics & Stellar Populations

Star Clusters, Galactic Nuclei, Stellar Collisions & Mergers, Interacting Binaries . . .

Learn More

Our Faculty

There are many different methods used to study the cosmos. CIERA researchers use observations and data science to make new discoveries, use theory and computation to explain and predict what we see, and build innovative new instruments to see farther and in more detail than ever before.