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Last year, Northwestern University researchers uncovered new observational evidence that long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) can result from the merger of a neutron star with another compact object (either another neutron star or black hole) — a finding that was previously believed to be impossible. Now, another Northwestern team offers a potential explanation for what generated

A Northwestern University-led team of researchers, including postdoctoral fellow Evan Anders, developed the first 3D simulations of energy rippling from a massive star’s core to its outer surface. Using these new models, the researchers determined, for the first time, how much stars should innately twinkle. Depending on how large or bright a massive star is,

A Northwestern University-led team of researchers, including postdoctoral fellow Evan Anders, developed the first 3D simulations of energy rippling from a massive star’s core to its outer surface. Using these new models, the researchers determined, for the first time, how much stars should innately twinkle. Depending on how large or bright a massive star is,

This is the longest time-lapse footage of an exoplanet to date, all made with real data. Beta Pictoris b is a 12 Jupiter mass planet orbiting its star at a distance of 10 AU (10x Earth-Sun distance) on a near-edge on orbit. The first image of the planet was obtained in 2003. However, the planet’s

A Northwestern University-led team of researchers developed the first 3D simulations of energy rippling from a massive star’s core to its outer surface. Using these new models, the researchers determined, for the first time, how much stars should innately twinkle. The team converted these rippling waves of gas into sound waves, enabling listeners to hear

When massive stars collapse into black holes, they may create powerful outflows (or jets) of particles traveling close to the speed of light. New simulations model this process — from the time the star collapses into a black hole until the jet escapes. For the first time, the simulations show that the cocoon of stellar

On May 27, 2023, CIERA Research Assistant Professor Aaron Geller and former NSF Graduate Fellow Alex Gurvich were featured on the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Journal Author Series to showcase Firefly, their new browser-based interactive tool for visualizing 3D particle data sets. Geller and Gurvich were interviewed by the AAS’s Frank Timmes. Read the full news story

On Friday, May 19, 2023, Northwestern Professor Allison Strom presented CIERA’s 2nd annual Astronomy Night Out to a crowd of 165 community members. Prof Strom’s lecture “Sequencing the DNA of Galaxies with JWST“, detailed how she and her team are using NASA’s Webb Space Telescope and its powerful infrared instruments to uncover the mysteries behind some of our

New 3D computer simulations created by graduate student Fulya Kıroğlu show the eating habits of intermediate-mass black holes, which have yet to be discovered in observations. When a star approaches an intermediate-mass black hole, it initially gets caught in the black hole’s orbit. Every time the star makes a lap, the black hole takes a

Dr. Tyson Littenburg presents an Interdisciplinary Colloquium on April 13, 2023, organized by Northwestern University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics. Read the full CIERA News story here.

“Dance of the Black Holes” is an original composition by CIERA Post-Baccalaureate Research Fellow Darsan Swaroop Bellie (on drums) and the debut performance of the Star Eyes Initiative. The performance took place during the CIERA-hosted LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration meeting networking event on March 15, 2023. Composer’s Notes below: Focusing on a binary black hole system, the

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