ISTA Klosterneuburg

Star research is galactic in this country

Moon-sized white dwarf: stellar remnant has the same mass as the sun, but the size of our moon.(Bild: Giuseppe Parisi)

ISTA in Klosterneuburg is soon to become the leading center for astronomy in Europe thanks to researcher Ilaria Caiazzo. The astrophysicist has already made breathtaking discoveries. 

From white dwarfs to the star with two faces: Ilaria Caiazzo knows many of them and has tracked some of them down herself. The astrophysicist is known for her breathtaking discoveries. She is also a Knight of the Italian Order of Merit and a film producer - because Caiazzo is passionate about writing screenplays.

Ilaria Caiazzo joins the team of astrophysicists at ISTA(Bild: ISTA)

The white dwarf with two faces. "Janus" consists mainly of hydrogen (brighter blue) on one side and helium on the other.(Bild: K. Miller, Caltech-IPAC)

ISTA in Klosterneuburg becomes a center for astronomy(Bild: ISTA)

At the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) in Klosterneuburg, she and her research group are now focusing on the life and afterlife of stars.

We are working to make ISTA a center for astronomy in Europe, a center with great appeal.

Ilaria Caiazzo, Astrophysikerin am ISTA

"Astronomy is a strange kind of science that relies heavily on observations. Then we try to understand what we see. It feels like detective work: you collect valuable evidence without messing up the crime scene," says Caiazzo.

At the moment, she is particularly interested in neutron stars. "Their density is so high that a spoonful of them would weigh more than Mount Everest," she explains. In order to understand such celestial bodies, the scientist quite naturally draws on the laws of physics, the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics.

Center of attraction for astronomy
However, Caiazzo is also still interested in researching the remnants of stars known as white dwarfs. In 2023, she succeeded in discovering a two-sided specimen - the star with two faces.