Planet Formation, Planet Dynamics, Protoplanetary Disks
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle (SSC)
Since the discovery of the first exoplanet just over twenty years ago, the study of exoplanets has grown explosively. By now, astronomers have discovered thousands of exoplanets, with an incredibly diverse array of properties. This growth will undoubtedly continue into the future, as new kinds of planets are being observed with increasingly advanced telescopes. Faculty in CIERA study exoplanets theoretically and build instruments to directly image them.
Research at CIERA
The groups of Professors Rasio and Lithwick carry out theoretical work and simulations to study the long-term dynamics of planetary systems. Both groups study the chaotic dynamics of multi-planet systems as they evolve. Professor Rasio’s group also studies planet-planet interactions, star-planet interactions and tidal disruptions, and planets in binary star systems.
Professor Ulmer’s group is developing new infrared camera technology to advance our understanding of planetary systems by directly imaging planets around other stars.
Professor Wang’s group works on developing and using new instrumentation (high contrast imaging, high resolution spectroscopy, optical interferometry) to study directly imaged planetary systems and measure properties such as mass, orbital configuration, composition, and spin.
Professor Geller studies how gravitational interactions within star clusters can modify planetary systems over time, using numerical simulations, and how these simulated planets correspond with observations.
Professor Muñoz studies mechanisms like disk-driven and high-eccentricity migration, distorted protoplanetary disks, and few-body secular dynamics and stellar obliquities.
Professor Fragione uses numerical methods to investigate the origin and fate of planetary systems in binary and triple stars.
News
Gallery
Partial Solar Eclipse from Indiana
Partial Solar Eclipse from Indiana
The April 8, 2024 solar eclipse, photographed by CIERA Postdoctoral Associate Meng Sun. This image of the partial eclipse before totality was captured in New Castle, Indiana, USA. Sun spots can be seen just above the moon and on the upper left of the sun. New Castle was located close to the center of eclipse’s
Meng Sun/CIERA/Northwestern
- Science
Total Solar Eclipse from Indiana
Total Solar Eclipse from Indiana
The April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse, photographed by CIERA Postdoctoral Associate Meng Sun. This composite image of all phases of the eclipse was captured in New Castle, Indiana, USA. New Castle was located close to the center of eclipse’s path of totality, meaning that totality lasted longer than at the edges of the path
Meng Sun/CIERA/Northwestern
- Science
Flower Moon above Chicago photographed by Imran Sultan
Flower Moon above Chicago photographed by Imran Sultan
The May 2023 full moon, photographed by graduate student and CIERA member Imran Sultan. This image won runner-up in the 2023 Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition’s astronomy category. “The May full moon is known as the Flower Moon, a name originating from the Algonquin peoples that marks the blooming of flowers during spring. This year’s
Imran Sultan/Northwestern
- Interdisciplinary,
- Outreach,
- Achievement
17-year time-lapse of Beta Pictoris b orbiting its star
17-year time-lapse of Beta Pictoris b orbiting its star
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
- Science,
- Outreach,
- Education
Aaron Geller and Alex Gurvich showcase Firefly on AAS Journal Author Series
Aaron Geller and Alex Gurvich showcase Firefly on AAS Journal Author Series
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
- Event
Origin, Evolution and Habitability of Planet Earth: a CIERA Interdisciplinary Colloquium by David Bercovici
Origin, Evolution and Habitability of Planet Earth: a CIERA Interdisciplinary Colloquium by David Bercovici
Professor David Bercovici presents an Interdisciplinary Colloquium on March 30, 2023, organized by Northwestern University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics. Read the full CIERA News story here.
- Interdisciplinary,
- Event
People
Core Faculty
Associate Faculty
Suzan van der Lee
Sarah Rebecca Roland Professor, Director of Graduate Studies, Director of Computing
Affiliate Faculty
Neal Blair
Professor, Joint Appointment in Civil & Environmental Engineering
Magdalena Osburn
Associate Professor, Curriculum Chair, and Seminar Coordinator
External Faculty
Diego Muñoz
Visiting Scholar, Professor at University of Arizona
Postdocs
