Our eyes are poor instruments for studying the Universe. They detect only a single octave out of the 65 octaves of light waves the cosmos sends us. In particular, X-rays give us a completely different picture of the Universe than does the visible light our eyes can detect. Fifty years ago, the Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory was formed to open a window on that Universe. We have found that an entirely new set of “stars” appear (some blinking on and off in seconds). Vast clouds of glowing gas 10 times the size of the full Moon shine forth, and supermassive black holes beam radiation from the most distant regions of space. Using the X-ray eyes of telescopes orbiting several hundred miles above the Earth, Prof. Helfand will reveal how Superman sees the stars in this discussion.