In April 2019, scientists released the first image of a black hole in the galaxy M87 using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). However, that remarkable achievement was just the beginning of the science story to be…

The Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA) and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) awarded the J.S Plaskett Medal for 2021 to Ziggy Pleunis for the best doctoral thesis in astrophysics in Canada. Dr. Pleunis completed his…

Using the powerful instrument SITELLE on the Canada-Hawaii-France Telescope (CFHT) in Mauna Kea, Hawaii, astronomers have mapped the iconic supernova remnant, the Crab Nebula, in unprecedented detail and have created a realistic three-dimensional reconstruction. These data…

McGill astrophysicist Vicky Kaspi is among 31 people to have been named new Fellows of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), the major organization of professional astronomers in North America. Kaspi was honoured for her “innovative work in the…

Simon Blouin was awarded the 2021 Governor General’s Academic Gold Medal for excellence in his record during his graduate studies at the Université de Montréal. Simon completed his MSc and PhD studies under the supervision of…

An UdeM-led team of astronomers discovers that the core mass of exoplanet WASP-107b is much lower than previously thought possible for a gas-giant planet. The core mass of the giant exoplanet WASP-107b is much lower than what was…

Their work is part of one of three articles published in Nature reporting the detection of a phenomenon called a fast radio burst (FRB) coming from a source in our Galaxy. Intriguingly, the FRB was accompanied…

The Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) is pleased to announce that the 2020 CAP Medal for Excellence in Teaching Undergraduate Physics is awarded to Kenneth Ragan, McGill University, for his overall accomplishments in teaching, and the…

Close proximity of high energy pulse suggests magnetars may be at the origin of some fast radio bursts New data from a Canadian-led team of astronomers, including researchers from the McGill Space Institute and McGill University Department of Physics, strongly…

Laurence Perreault Levasseur and Yashar Hezaveh, both members of the Center for Research in Astrophysics of Quebec (CRAQ) and professors at the Université de Montréal, were awarded a $ 4 million grant by the Schmidt Futures…

An international team of astronomers using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and retired Spitzer Space Telescope has reported what may be the first intact planet found closely orbiting a white dwarf, the dense leftover of a Sun-like star, only…

The iREx is very pleased to announce that our Director, René Doyon, is now a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in the Academy of Sciences. The 2020 cohort of new members includes 87 individuals…

Astronomers have discovered what can happen when a giant black hole does not intervene in the life of a galaxy cluster. Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes they have shown that passive black hole…

Jonathan Gagné, a former Banting and Trottier postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Research on Exoplanets at the Université de Montréal, became a Scientific Advisor at Space for Life in May 2020, where he leads a…

Jonathan Gagné, collaborator of the Center for Research in Astrophysics of Quebec (CRAQ), former iREx Banting postdoctoral researcher and now Science Advisor at Planétarium Rio Tinto Alcan, was involved in the discovery of a planet the…

Simon Blouin, who recently completed a doctoral thesis under the supervision of Professor Patrick Dufour, was awarded a PhD Prize from the “Stars and Stellar Physics” division of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) for the year…

A nova, or stella nova the Latin word for “new star,” is an explosion which occurs on the surface of a star. The explosion produces an incredible amount of energy resulting in an increase in the…

The Center for Research in Astrophysics of Quebec (CRAQ) congratulates René Doyon of the Université de Montréal, member of the CRAQ and director of the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic (OMM) and the Institute for Research on Exoplanets…

The Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA) and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) awarded the J.S Plaskett Medal for 2020 to Simon Blouin for the best doctoral thesis in astrophysics in Canada. Simon Blouin completed his…

CRAQ member Julie Bolduc-Duval is the recipient of the CASCA Qilak Award in 2020. Julie Bolduc-Duval has worked in the field of education and public outreach of astronomy for almost 20 years. Her love for scientific…