...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
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.
WCA Outreach 2023: By the numbers
2023 was a big year for outreach in the WCA!
In the last year the WCA's outreach program has expanded into several new areas. Find out what we've been up to!
Events
Astroseminar - Yuba Amoura - IN PERSON
Hailing from Algeria, I have a background in High Energy Physics, in which I hold Master's from Sorbonne University in Paris. I spent four years at the Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics where I did my PhD,
working with James Taylor, on trying to leverage Galaxy Cluster structural properties for Cosmology. I am now an Analyst in Economics and Investment Research at the Alberta Investment Management Corporation
(AIMCo).
WCA-KPL Public Talk - Adventures on the Horizon: What Happens at the Point of no Return and Why we Care (Avery Broderick)
In the past few years, we have seen for the first time an image of the “event horizon” around a supermassive black hole – the mysterious and powerful object lying at the heart of a nearby galaxy. In this month’s KPL astronomy talk, Dr. Avery Broderick will talk about what we can learn about fundamental physics from these images, and how we go from a fuzzy image to sharp conclusions about the nature of gravity.