Happy Fall Equinox! We'll spend this session talking a bit about what equinoxes and solstices actually are, and will then jump into some lunar targets.

In a year filled with previously unimagined news, this announcement might have been the most surprising: Scientists have identified signs of possible life, not far out in the galaxy, but right next door, on Venus. Or rather, over Venus, in its clouds. Join our staff astronomer and ask your questions about Venus, phosphine and whether this news has more science fact or science fiction.

Watch the recorded video: https://youtu.be/IAbBkJgb2Cg

The space science behind Hugo Award-winning science-fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer's new novel, The Oppenheimer Alternative.

From the first announcement of its discovery in the atmosphere of Mars in 2003, methane has “punched above its weight” in our scientific imagination of the red planet. Because methane is quickly destroyed by the current chemistry active on Mars, it has to be supplied in the present day by some as yet unknown process. On the Earth, it is living systems that produce the abundant methane that we see in our atmosphere.

“O, swear not by the moon, th’inconstant moonThat monthly changes in her circled orb,Lest that thy love prove likewise variable”

Just over one hundred years ago Albert Einstein revealed the Theory of General Relativity and one of its predictions, the existence of gravitational waves. It took astronomers 100 years to first observe these mysterious waves, confirming Einstein’s theory. Now that they have, it has opened up an entirely new way to see the Universe, including objects that had not been seen before, like black holes.

Comet NEOWISE has been the sensation of our July skies, the first naked-eye comet for the Northern Hemisphere in ages. David Levy knows all about comets that snag the spotlight. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which broke apart in July 1992 and collided with Jupiter in July 1994, garnered the “Canadian comet sleuth” media attention around the world, including the headline on the very first cover of SkyNews 25 years ago.

The best objects of all types to see in the summer months, using unaided eyes, binoculars, and telescopes. We'll give you some tips on using nebula filters, and dive into some history about Scorpius and Sagittarius!

The colourful stars and galaxies that we can see with our eyes and traditional telescopes are only a small portion of the light coming from the sky. What constitutes that ‘invisible’ light that our eyes cannot see, how do we observe it, and what can it tell us? Discover radio astronomy, an exciting area of research that complements observations of the visible Universe, and allows us to dive deep into the cosmos. Join Vincent McKay on our next episode of Cosmos From Your Couch, on Tuesday, July 14 at 7:00pm EDT!