Dying Stars’ Cocoons Might Explain Fast Blue Optical Transients
Ever since they were discovered in 2018, fast blue optical transients (FBOTs) have utterly surprised and completely confounded both observational and theoretical astrophysicists. So...
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CIERA Astronomers Travel to Mexico to Install TolTEC Camera
Last November, the Chicagoland area prepared for a cold winter as CIERA astronomers Dennis Lee, Giles Novak and Marc Berthoud traveled off to warmer...
Kilonova afterglow potentially spotted for first time
Strange ‘sonic boom’ accompanied unprecedented event For the first time, Northwestern University-led astronomers may have detected an afterglow from a kilonova. A kilonova occurs...
Conference in snowy Aspen brings astrophysicists together
Aspen Winter Conference 2022 Exploring the wonders that lie beyond our planet requires a beautifully collaborative effort; a creative process undertaken by communities of...
High School Student and CIERA Postdoctoral Fellow Mentor Publish Star Formation Simulation Research
CIERA Postdoctoral Fellow Mike Grudić (2019-2021) and Associate Prof. Claude-André Faucher-Giguère help Philadelphia High Schooler publish their first professional research paper. Henry Lane never imagined he’d be...
Nearly 1,000 mysterious strands revealed in Milky Way’s center
Image Credit: Northwestern University/SARAO/Oxford University ‘A watershed in furthering our understanding of these structures,’ researcher says An unprecedented new telescope image of the Milky...
Astronomers capture red supergiant’s death throes
‘For the first time, we watched a red supergiant star explode,’ researcher says Astronomers previously believed that red supergiant stars fell dormant at the...
Looking forward to a huge leap in space exploration
Northwestern astronomer Farhad Yusef-Zadeh discusses his fortune in having time on the James Webb Space Telescope, which will be launched into space this month...
Black holes of ‘all shapes and sizes’ in new gravitational-wave catalog
Largest catalog ever assembled, detailing 35 events, released today An international team of researchers, including Northwestern University astrophysicists, has released the largest-ever catalog of...
CIERA Research Assistant Professor Giacomo Fragione Receives NASA Grant for LISA Preparatory Science Program
Image Credit: NASA CIERA Research Assistant Professor Giacomo Fragione was selected as one of 6 recipients for a highly-competitive NASA grant to design and...
Did a black hole eating a star generate a neutrino? Unlikely, new study shows
In October 2019, a high-energy neutrino slammed into Antarctica. The neutrino, which was remarkably hard to detect, piqued astronomers’ interest: what could generate such...
New simulation shows how galaxies feed their supermassive black holes
Credit: Anglés-Alcázar et al. 2021, ApJ, 917, 53. Galaxies’ spiral arms are responsible for scooping up gas to feed to their central supermassive black...