August Astronomy Public Tour at the University of Toronto

Proudly presented by the U of T Graduate Astronomy Students' Association. For the month of August, we welcome Dan Taranu, a Ph.D. candidate in his final year of studies to discuss the stark reality of human space exploration. The longest journey ever undertaken by humans beyond our own planet has been to our nearest neighbour - the moon, just 400,000 kilometres away. Even mankind's most distant space probes are now 'merely' 18 billion kilometres from Earth. But far beyond even these enormous distances lies an immense, unexplored galaxy with billions of stars. Will mankind ever be able to traverse the vast reaches of space and explore or inhabit distant worlds? How long would such a voyage last, and why would anyone volunteer to take the trip? Is there a restaurant at the end of the universe, or more of a cantina? The answers might shock you!

A description of the topic, speaker biography, directions, and all other pertinent information can be found at: http://uoft.me/astrotours Graduate student volunteers will then lead us upstairs for the viewing of celestial objects through our two dome telescopes and our two balcony telescopes. Planetarium shows will be running concurrently with the telescope session. Registration **IS** required for the shows, and there are still spots remaining. You can sign up on our website by entering the URL above and then clicking on "Planetarium" in the navigation menu. Don't forget to print and bring your tickets with you to the event.

Who can attend: anyone
Fee: free
Reservation not needed, seating available on a first come first serve basis, for planetarium see above.
Organized by: name of organization (if not RASC otherwise delete)
Location: Room MP 102, Building: McLennan Physical Laboratories (MP), 60 St. George Street, Toronto, ON