An international team of astrophysicists, led by Northwestern University and the University of Leicester in England, has uncovered a possible origin of fast X-ray transients (FXTs) — mysterious, fleeting bursts of X-rays that have long puzzled astronomers. Using a combination of telescopes around the globe and in space, the team studied the closest FXT associated
CIERA’s Tjitske Starkenburg, Northwestern Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Assistant Director for Research Operations at SkAI Institute, shares her excitement about Rubin Observatory’s First Light Watch Party and the new science that will result.
Credit: Lisa La Vallee, Director of Marketing and Events, CIERA
On Tuesday, May 13, 2025, the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) welcomed more than 260 astronomy enthusiasts to its 4th annual Astronomy Night Out—a celebration of science, community, and the night sky. Hosted on Northwestern University’s campus, the event featured a captivating public lecture, hands-on science activities, and stargazing through the historic Dearborn Observatory telescope. The evening’s
The blood moon was visible during a total lunar eclipse, when Earth cast its shadow over the moon. This photo was taken by CIERA graduate student Imran Sultan, amateur astrophotographer and member of Professor Claude-André Faucher-Giguère‘s research group. Sultan photographed the entire event, which lasted about four hours early Friday morning (12-4am), using a refractor
Imran Sultan/Northwestern/CIERA
The blood moon was visible during a total lunar eclipse, when Earth cast its shadow over the moon. This photo was taken by CIERA graduate student Imran Sultan, amateur astrophotographer and member of Professor Claude-André Faucher-Giguère‘s research group. Sultan photographed the entire event, which lasted about four hours early Friday morning (12-4am), using a refractor
Imran Sultan/Northwestern/CIERA
The blood moon was visible during a total lunar eclipse, when Earth cast its shadow over the moon. This photo was taken by CIERA graduate student Imran Sultan, amateur astrophotographer and member of Professor Claude-André Faucher-Giguère‘s research group. Sultan photographed the entire event, which lasted about four hours early Friday morning (12-4am), using a refractor
Imran Sultan/Northwestern/CIERA
The blood moon was visible during a total lunar eclipse, when Earth cast its shadow over the moon. This photo was taken by CIERA graduate student Imran Sultan, amateur astrophotographer and member of Professor Claude-André Faucher-Giguère‘s research group. Sultan photographed the entire event, which lasted about four hours early Friday morning (12-4am), using a refractor
Imran Sultan/Northwestern/CIERA
This is the largest photomosaic ever assembled from Hubble Space Telescope observations. It is a panoramic view of the neighboring Andromeda galaxy, located 2.5 million light-years away. It took over 10 years to make this vast and colorful portrait of the galaxy, requiring over 600 Hubble overlapping snapshots that were challenging to stitch together. The
NASA, ESA, Benjamin F. Williams (UWashington), Zhuo Chen (UWashington), L. Clifton Johnson (Northwestern)
In a study fit for Valentine’s Day, Northwestern University astrophysicists discovered that binary black holes — when formed in crowded clusters of stars — align their spins before merging together. As the black holes orbit one another, each object has its own spin. Previous research indicated these spins should be chaotic and random. However, in
Fulya Kıroğlu (Northwestern University)
In a study fit for Valentine’s Day, Northwestern University astrophysicists discovered that binary black holes — when formed in crowded clusters of stars — align their spins before merging together. As the black holes orbit one another, each object has its own spin. Previous research indicated these spins should be chaotic and random. However, in
Jamie Lombardi / Allegheny College
On November 14, over 300 people packed Northwestern University’s Lutkin Hall to join Professor Stephon Alexander in a celebration of The Jazz of Physics for CIERA’s 15th anniversary public lecture. Over 100 others joined the livestream for an evening that began with a live jazz performance from the Star Eyes Initiative, followed by Prof. Alexander’s public lecture, and concluded with a
Just days after comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas (C/2023 A3) peaked at a brilliant +2 magnitude on October 12, 2024, the Lake Forest College Astronomy Club hosted a campus-wide viewing event led by senior Dean Kousiounelos in collaboration with the Physics department. During this time, the comet’s tail was visible with a good pair of binoculars, drawing in
Dean Kousiounelos
Northwestern CIERA Postdoc Dino Hsu presents a talk as part of the Northwestern Research Communication Training Program (RCTP). The goals of the program are to increase awareness for the urgent need for excellent research communicators and to coach graduate and post doctoral researchers to improve their own presentation skills. The program focuses on three important
Northwestern's RCTP Program
NGC 261 blooms a brilliant ruby red against a myriad of stars in this new image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Discovered on Sept. 5, 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop, this nebula is located in one of the Milky Way’s closest galactic companions, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). The ionized gas blazing from within this
NASA, ESA, and L. C. Johnson (Northwestern University); Image Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
By studying nearby galaxy ESO320-G030, a team of international astronomers led by CIERA Postdoctoral Fellow Mark Gorski has discovered extremely dense and powerful rotating, magnetic winds help the galaxy’s central supermassive black hole grow. This image, created by CIERA Professor Aaron Geller, depicts this phenomenon. The process is strikingly similar to the birth of new
M. D. Gorski/Aaron M. Geller
On Friday, May 17, 2024, CIERA welcomed 170 in-person and 25 remote participants to its 3rd annual Astronomy Night Out, an evening dedicated to sharing astronomy with the community through a variety of formats. The keynote public lecture was presented by CIERA-Adler Postdoctoral Fellow Caitlin Witt and entitled, “Tuning into the Cosmic Symphony: Pulsar Timing, the Gravitational Wave
On May 22, 2024 an international team of researchers, including CIERA Professor Daniel Lecoanet, published a paper in Nature that brings scientists closer than ever before to solving a 400-year-old solar mystery that stumped even famed astronomer Galileo Galilei. Since first observing the sun’s magnetic activity, astronomers have struggled to pinpoint where the process originates.
NASA/SDO/AIA/LMSAL
Between May 10 – 14, 2024 a series of powerful solar storms led to the production of visible aurorae far further towards the equator than normal. This photo was taken by CIERA Postdoctoral Fellow Sharan Banagiri. Banagiri captured this photo between 9 and 10PM on May 10 at Hollywood Beach in Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois, featuring
Sharan Banagiri/CIERA/Northwestern
