Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · 32m

🚀@NorthwesternU postdoc George Paul Winstone and collaborators have been awarded a subcontract under NASA’s NIAC Phase II program for the TFINER project — a bold new concept to power deep-space missions using thin-film nuclear materials.
🔗 bit.ly/4nJ3gyq #NASA

Northwestern Joins Draper Lab’s NASA NIAC Phase II Project on Next-Generation Space Propulsion

Northwestern postdoctoral researcher George Paul Winstone and collaborators have been awarded a subcontract as part of a The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase II study led by Jim Bickford...

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CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · 5d

CIERA is Now Accepting Applications for 3 Prestigious Postdoctoral Opportunities! Join a vibrant, interdisciplinary research community working at the forefront of astrophysics. Learn more and apply: bit.ly/48W5PbL

#Postdoc #Astrophysics #AstronomyJobs

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CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · 5d

🚨 BREAKTHROUGH ASTRONOMY ALERT! CIERA's Charlie Kilpatrick and Aswin Suresh have used the James Webb Space Telescope to spot something never seen before: The reddest, dustiest red supergiant star ever caught right before it exploded. bit.ly/4o6nuBV

Webb Telescope unveils doomed star hidden in dust

A Northwestern University-led team of astronomers has captured the most detailed glimpse yet of a doomed star before it exploded. Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the international team...

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CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · 6d

A decades-old mystery may be solved—CIERA's Elena Murchikova & Mark Gorski found signs of a long-sought plasma wind from the Milky Way’s black hole using ALMA data. A major step in understanding our galaxy’s heart. 🖤🌌
Read more: bit.ly/4mPZ0fr
#CIERA #Astrophysics

Missing wind from Milky Way’s giant black hole finally found

Astronomers may have glimpsed a long-predicted wind of gas blowing out from Sagittarius A*

www.science.org

CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · 6d

Last month, @CIERA_NU hosted the first-ever POSYDON School—training 55 scientists from around the world in modeling binary stars & black hole mergers using the cutting-edge POSYDON software.
Read the story: bit.ly/46HDPHE
#GravitationalWaves #OpenScience #SkAIInstitute

CIERA Hosts First Posydon School, Training the Next Generation of Binary Star Modelers

Last month, an international group of astronomers gathered for the inaugural POSYDON School, an intensive training program dedicated to POSYDON, a groundbreaking software developed by the Center for I...

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CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · 7d

Congrats to Dr. Ore Gottlieb, former @NUCIERA postdoc & 2025 #BlavatnikAwards Finalist! Honored for paradigm-shifting work on neutron star mergers. Ore is a Flatiron Fellow & joins @MITPhysics in 2026. bit.ly/46W1eUC #Astrophysics #BlavatnikAwards #FlatironInstitute

Former CIERA Postdoctoral Researcher Ore Gottlieb honored as finalist of the 2025 Blavatnik Regional Awards for Young Scientists

Ore Gottlieb, PhD, a former CIERA postdoctoral researcher, will be honored today as a Finalist of the 2025 Blavatnik Regional Awards for Young Scientists. The Blavatnik Awards honor outstanding postdo...

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CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · 7d

Congratulations to CIERA graduate student Piramon Kumnurdmanee, who has been named one of just 37 The Quad Fellowship recipients — selected from nearly 2,000 applicants across Australia, Japan, Southeast Asia, and the U.S.! bit.ly/48SdwQd
#QuadFellowship #Astrophysics

Piramon Kumnurdmanee Awarded Quad Fellowship

On August 4, CIERA graduate student Piramon Kumnurdmanee was selected by the Institute of International Education (IIE) as one of 37 Quad Fellowship recipients out of nearly 2,000 applicants from Aust...

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CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · 11d

We're thrilled to host Harvard physicist Chris Stubbs for our SOLD OUT Annual Public Lecture tonight! 🌌 Catch the livestream: ciera.northwestern.edu/ciera-livest...
Stubbs helped shape the Rubin Observatory + leads cutting-edge gravity research! 🚀 #astronomy #cosmology #gravitation #particlephysics

CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · 12d

In November 1887, Northwestern’s astronomy journey began with the Dearborn Telescope.

135+ years later, @nuciera.bsky.social leads one of the top 10 astronomy programs in the nation.

🔭 Explore the rich history:
sites.northwestern.edu/highlightsof...

#CIERA #Northwestern #Astronomy #SpaceScience

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CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · 17d

TONIGHT at 9 PM at Dearborn Observatory: Divjyot Singh (graduate student) will talk about the solar eclipse and give a gravitational waves demo, followed by Ethan Ro (undergraduate) presenting on the Search for (extraterrestrial) Life. Stay for telescope viewing!

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CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · 21d

Astrophysicists worldwide are gathering at the first POSYDON School at SkAI to dive into POSYDON v2—a cutting-edge binary population synthesis code. This 4-day workshop helps researchers integrate POSYDON into their work. Learn more: posydon.org

#astrophysics #astronomy #CIERA #SkAI #POSYDON

CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · 21d

New CIERA PhD student Dean Kousiounelos was the focus of a story by his alma mater Lake Forest College. Dean blends art & science to explore binary stars + gravitational waves. Read the story: bit.ly/4pHsUoS
#NSFGRFP #CIERA #Astrophysics

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CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · 27d

Where are all the black holes?
CIERA’s Dr. Lena Murchikova is featured in the Sept. issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine for her work on detecting isolated black holes in our galaxy.
Read more 👉 bit.ly/4nV7sen
#Astrophysics #BlackHoles #CIERA

CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · 28d

Gravitational-wave scientists — including
@NorthwesternU
astrophysicists — have verified Stephen Hawking’s black hole area theorem for the first time! A decade after the first detection, LIGO captured its clearest signal yet. bit.ly/4nwWStt
#BlackHoles #Hawking #LIGO

Gravitational-wave detection verifies Stephen Hawking’s theorem

Nearly a decade has passed since an international team of scientists, including Northwestern University astrophysicists, first detected gravitational waves — a historic discovery that confirmed Albert...

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CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · 29d

Congrats to CIERA PhD students Gideon McFarland and Nathalie Jones who have been awarded the 2025–2026 Board of Visitors Graduate Research Fellowships! 🎉We can’t wait to see how they continue shaping the future of astrophysics. bit.ly/3VieEVC

CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · Sep 11

🪐 Astronomy fans: In 3 weeks, Harvard’s Dr. Chris Stubbs headlines CIERA’s 2025 Public Lecture! Learn how Rubin Observatory’s massive data stream will unlock dark matter, dark energy & more. Don’t miss it! 🌌 Register: bit.ly/46vQw8J
#astronomy #darkmatter

CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · Sep 10

Over 80 leading researchers reunited at @NorthwesternU to celebrate 15 years of CIERA at the #Fellows15 Conference!

Gravitational waves, black holes, exoplanets & more — plus a community that continues to shape the future of astrophysics.
🔗 bit.ly/4pmzwsA
#CIERA15 #Astrophysics #GravitationalWaves

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CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · Aug 29

Astronomer Evenings tonight at 9 PM! Join us at Dearborn Observatory for a talk on “Simulating and Photographing the Universe” by graduate student Imran Sultan, followed by telescope viewing.

CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · Aug 28

🚀 Day 1 of CIERA Fellows @ 15 kicks off today at @NorthwesternU!
We’re celebrating 15 years of CIERA with alumni, postdocs & friends from across the U.S. & Canada. Talks, connections & inspiration await!

#CIERAat15 #CIERAFellows15 #AstronomyCommunity

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CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · Aug 27

CIERA’s 2025 REU program welcomed 13 incredible undergrads this summer to Northwestern for 9 weeks of immersive astrophysics research—gravitational waves, dark matter, planetary science & more.
They leave with skills, friendships & inspiration that’ll last a lifetime. bit.ly/4mBMVuX

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CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · Aug 27

🚨 Our discovery of the brightest fast radio burst ever, RBFLOAT, made headlines at CNN! 📰✨ See how CIERA scientists helped trace this cosmic flash with extraordinary precision.
🔗https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/26/science/brightest-fast-radio-burst
#FRB #Astronomy #CIERA

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CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · Aug 26

Yesterday we celebrated Kari A. Frank as she begins a new chapter. For 8 years, Kari has shaped CIERA with her leadership, kindness, and vision. We're deeply grateful—and excited for the lucky organization that gets her next. Thank you, Kari! 💜 #Leadership #Farewell

CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · Aug 25

What’s inside a dying star? 🌟
CIERA’s Steve Schulze joined Science Friday to talk about supernova 2021yfj — a star stripped down to its silicon & sulfur-rich core.
Published in Nature, featured on NPR.
🎧 Listen here: bit.ly/4mzzHyQ
#Supernova #CIERA #Astronomy

What Lies Beneath The Outer Layers Of A Star?

Astronomers found a supernova whose lighter outer layers had been stripped away, revealing an inner shell rich in silicon and sulfur.

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CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · Aug 21

CIERA scientists have precisely traced one of the brightest fast radio bursts (FRBs) ever — “Root Beer FLOAT” to a spiral arm just 130M light-years away, accurate within 42 light-years! A huge leap in solving the FRB mystery. 🌌✨ #Astronomy #CHIME

🔗 bit.ly/4lI9Fbx

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CIERA @nuciera.bsky.social · Aug 20

A cosmic first! CIERA researchers discovered a never-before-seen supernova, SN2021yfj — stripped to its core and rich in silicon, sulfur & argon. A rare find that reshapes how we understand stellar death. 🌟

bit.ly/3JpVYQQ

#Supernova #Astrophysics #SN2021yfj #CIERA

First-of-its-kind supernova reveals inner workings of a dying star

An international team of scientists, led by Northwestern University astrophysicists, has detected a never-before-seen type of exploding star, or supernova, that is rich with silicon, sulfur and argon....

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