This group of K-3 graders challenged Illinois Physics Prof Nico Yunes with great questions at Staerkel Planetarium yesterday. What would happen if Earth fell into a black hole? How could a black hole be destroyed? What IS the sun, really?

The University of Illinois Observatory, led by AstroIllinois, has left many starstruck for 127 years. Join Bryan Dunne, UIUC professor of astronomy and director of the Observatory, as he explains the remarkable past of the building and its historical telescope. youtu.be/OFdrgQtmE28

First MUSES collaboration paper! 🎉We're excited to be part of this collaboration with Illinois Physics NCSAatIllinois and partner institutions around the world. Learn more about MUSES here: muses.physics.illinois.edu

ICYMI Illinois Physics PhD candidate Rohit Chandramouli was featured on astrobites. "The trouble with black hole wobbles" astrobites.org/2023/03/30/ur-…

#ILLINOIS has announced its $50 million commitment to support NCSAatIllinois services for campus researchers. This will fund the Illinois Computes pilot program, among many other technological resources and services across the three campuses. ▶️ bit.ly/40IWQE5

New Paper Day! arxiv.org/abs/2304.10419 I'm especially happy to see this one out in the world both scientifically (an idea I've been trying to implement for a long time) and because it involves contributions from my new research group at UIUC!

#ILLINOIS researchers found an exploded star can pose more risks to nearby planets than previously thought. This newly identified threat involves a phase of intense X-rays that can damage the atmospheres of planets up to 160 light-years away. ▶️ bit.ly/3AHLXal

Thank you to everyone who joined us for AstroFest 2023! ✨ This NCSA, CAPS and ICASU-sponsored event enabled researchers to showcase their work, encouraged cross-disciplinary collaboration and brought together the #ILLINOIS communities that drive these astrophysical efforts.

New paper day! Congrats PRATIK WAGLE on your paper appearing in Physical Review X this morning! "Perturbations of Spinning Black Holes beyond General Relativity: Modified Teukolsky Equation" Check it out: journals.aps.org/prx/abstract/1…

A mathematical formalism for studying quasinormal gravitational-wave modes from coalescing black holes provides a tool for testing modifications to general relativity. Read go.aps.org/3oniu2U #PRXjustpublished

So excited to watch the NANOGrav PFC announcement today!

Congratulations Débora Mroczek!

On October 28th, there will be a 30th anniversary celebration of Saturday Illinois Physics for Everyone at The Grainger College of Engineering's Loomis Lab, with a days worth of events that are free and open to the public. smilepolitely.com/splog/celebrat…

Come see the South Pole Telescope / cosmic microwave background table and display at #darkmatterday at AdlerPlanet on November 1! U.S. National Science Foundation

Researchers in Ikenberry Chair in Physics and in Astronomy Charles Gammie’s group at Illinois contributed to the latest Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration paper, which investigated resolved circularly polarized light measurements from M87*. 1/2

Thanks to all who joined us for this week's Saturday Physics for Everyone lecture from Professor Nico Yunes! Many things were asked and answered about our current knowledge of the universe, and refreshments and physics demonstrations were enjoyed by all! 😁💫

New from Event Horizon 'Scope today: image of M87*, one year later. Our own Michi Baubock says "This result is particularly exciting, because it’s unusual to be able to make predictions like this in astronomy—usually timescales are too slow for human lifetimes." physics.illinois.edu/news/EHT-one-y…

THIS THURSDAY! Astronomy on Tap is back with a talk from Professor Peter Adshead, and as always all are welcome to join in the discussion about our universe 💫 See you there! IL Center for Advanced Studies of the Universe Astronomy on Tap CU