Isha Nayak

I am an astronomer at the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO). My current work focuses on observational work and mission support. Previously, I was a prize fellow in the NASA Postdoctoral Program at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

My research work focused on the formation of the most massive star clusters in the Universe. I discovered the super star cluster H72.97–69.39 in the N79 region of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a neighboring galaxy to the Milky Way. Super star clusters are extremely rare in the local Universe but were the dominant mode of star formation billions of years ago. At less than 100,000 years old, H72.97–69.39 is the youngest known super star cluster in the local neighborhood, making it a unique laboratory for studying how some of the first generations of stars may have formed.

You can download my CV and publication list here.

My work has been featured as an ESA/Webb Picture of the Month five times, including the January 2024 feature, A Massive Cluster Is Born, highlighting super star cluster H72.97–69.39.

I presented the discovery of this cluster at the press conference of the 245th American Astronomical Society Meeting.