...where the Universe is our laboratory.
The Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics (WCA) looks to the cosmos to solve the greatest mysteries of the universe. Here, world-class researchers and students come together in an atmosphere of curiosity, creativity and collaboration; exploring our cosmic origin to truly understand the physical processes at work in the Universe. From black holes to cosmology, we aim to understand what lies beyond the Earth. The possibilities for new discovery are limitless.
News
WCA Public Outreach: 2023-24 Highlights
Take a look back at the best bits of the WCA's public outreach program across the 2023-24 academic year, from the Astro-Bubble to the solar eclipse!
Will Percival new co-spokesperson for DESI
WCA Director, Will Percival, has been elected as co-spokesperson for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). He took up the two-year term, along with co-spokesperson, Alexie Leauthaud (University of California Santa Cruz) at the beginning of September.
XRISM early science data release
The XRISM early science data release features early science data of WCA's Brian McNamara and co-workers. An x-ray spectrum of the Perseus Cluster core shows off the capabilities of the Resolve instrument onboard XRISM.
Events
Astroseminar - Naadiyah Jagga
Naadiyah Jagga is a Ph.D. candidate in Astronomy at York University. She did her undergraduate and master's degrees at Leiden Observatory. She is interested in the evolution of galaxies, with focus on the stellar mass of galaxies. Her research, under supervision of Dr. Adam Muzzin, involves creating and analysing spatially resolved maps of galaxies observed by JWST. She is a member of the Canadian NIRISS Unbiased Cluster Survey (CANUCS) program, the JWST Ultradeep Nirspec and NIRCam ObserVations before the Epoch of Reionization (UNCOVER) program and co-PI of the JWST Ultimate Medium-band Photometric Survey (JUMPS) program.
WCA-KPL Public Talk - The hunt for planets and life beyond Earth (Michael Balogh)
Astronomers have discovered thousands of planets orbiting other stars, opening a new chapter in our understanding of the Universe and our place in it. In this month’s KPL astronomy talk, Dr. Michael Balogh will discuss how scientists find and study these distant worlds, and how upcoming technology will help us search for life beyond our solar system.
Astroseminar - Steffani Grondin
Steffani Grondin is a final-year PhD candidate in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on the evolution of compact object binaries and the common envelope phase, using star clusters as laboratories to study binary evolution. Steffani is also the main developer of Corespray, a Python package that efficiently simulates dynamical interactions in star clusters. Her software has provided new insights into a variety of Milky Way science cases, including hypervelocity stars, stellar streams and the composition of the Galactic halo.