With the 800k€ grant Chisari and her group will investigate the physics of galaxy alignments. Galaxies are sensitive to tides across the Universe, like the ones that make the oceans on the Earth rise. In this striking phenomenon, there is a wealth of information hiding about how our Universe began, what it is made of, and how galaxies were formed. In this project, researchers will help uncover this wealth of information.

Earlier this year, Chisari received a Community Engaged Learning grant from Utrecht University for the project 'Turn on the stars', focussing on the issue of light pollution. Students develop public activities for visitors of Sonneborgh Museum and Observatory to raise awareness about the negative effects of light pollution on, among others, biodiversity in the city and its surroundings. The public activities will be developed further on the basis of questions from visitors.