First discovered in 2007, fast radio bursts are enigmatic, millisecond-long flashes of radio emission from the distant universe. Their origin remains

Northwestern University's Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics member Adam Miller, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has been named a 202...

Astronomers are searching exoplanet atmospheres and Venus's clouds for signs of life. Professor Sara Seager shares the latest discoveries!

CIERA's Aaron Geller has published a new astrophysics textbook, written together with collaborators Nathan Leigh and Taeho Ryu. The book, titled Dawn of the Stars, teaches undergraduate astrophysics t...

With students on summer break, four Chicago educators became the learners for the six-week Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program at the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research i...

New image of Helix Nebula reveals how dying stars return material to the galaxy

In a first, astronomers say they’ve detected a long ribbon of stars outside the Milky Way. The globular cluster stellar stream could reveal clues about dark matter.

Astronomers discover first globular cluster stellar stream outside the Milky Way

Every year, users and developers of an open-source library of coding tools and algorithms — known as Scientific Python — gather for a conference to showcase projects made with the programming toolkit ...

Black holes can form spiraling pairs in three different ways, the gravitational waves from hundreds of collisions suggest

The Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Exploration in Astrophysics (CIERA) Tech Council had its inaugural meeting April 13. The new 9-member group will build bridges between astronomy and indus...

Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) graduate students Alice Cai, Charles Gibson, Josh Harry, and Andy Marszewski are four of 28 total recipients to earn a $10...

Northwestern University is excited to be a host institution for the Heising-Simons Foundation’s 51 Pegasi b Fellowship. Fellows can collaborate on planetary astronomy research and can benefit from aff...

James Webb Space Telescope finds salt clouds surround one of the coldest objects ever studied Northwestern University-led astronomers have discovered salty skies surrounding the universe’s famous “Pi...

Former member of the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA), Francesca Valsecchi, Ph.D., as well as CIERA Tech Council Member, Angus Forbes, Ph.D., recently visi...

On June 22 The Graduate School (TGS) of Northwestern University announced CIERA Graduate Student Elena González Prieto as one of only six awarded the Presidential Fellowship for 2026. It is the most p...

On June 22 The Graduate School (TGS) of Northwestern University announced CIERA Graduate Student Elena González Prieto as one of only six awarded the Presidential Fellowship for 2026. It is the most p...

Martha Koch is managing partner of Remark LLC, a real estate management firm based in Evanston, Illinois. In addition to her professional work, she is an active board member of the Alumnae of Northwes...

The half-century-long search is finally over, opening a new window into the physics at play in the center of the galaxy The hunt is over. After more than 50 years of searching, astrophysicists at ...

The 2026 awardees of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) includes CIERA member Elizabeth Moné! The GRFP recognizes outstanding graduate students who are...

The Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) is proud to announce that William Balmer (they/them) has been named Northwestern University’s first Heising-Simons Fou...

We are delighted to announce that six CIERA Postdoctoral Fellows will be joining the CIERA community in Fall 2026. Please join us in extending a warm welcome to these outstanding researchers! William...

Learn about the LSST-DA Data Science Fellowship, which positions graduate students to master the challenges posed by large astronomy datasets.

Learn about the LSST-DA Data Science Fellowship, which positions graduate students to master the challenges posed by large astronomy datasets.