How common is life in the universe? Is there other intelligent life? For over 50 years, astronomers have been conducting the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). These searches have primarily been focused at radio wavelengths, but in the last decade astronomers are thinking of new ways to search for extraterrestrial communication. I will give an overview of humanity’s quest in finding extraterrestrial intelligence, as well as future methods and programs that are on the horizon.

Join us as Dr. John Percy, Professor Emeritus, Astronomy and Astrophysics at University of Toronto discusses how Toronto became a "centre of the universe" for astronomical research, education, and outreach.

Come out and join us for an evening of laughs and science! Hear science enthusiasts to talk about their passion for science in a unique way. A song, stand-up, comedy skit, spoken word; The possibilities are endless! Line up: MC – Andrew Ivimey (@Ivimey) Ankur Chakravarthy, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (@ARChakravarthy) Ekaterina An, University of Toronto (@an_ekat) Dean Ross, Freelance Singer (@RealDeanRoss) Elliann Fairbairn, SciCommTO (@ElliFairbairn)

Most galaxies enjoy the company of other galaxies and organize into various shapes known as the "cosmic web." Many of them also like to spin - creating beautiful disks of stars and gas. PhD student George Conidis examines our own galaxy, The Milky Way, and its friends to better understand the social habits of disk galaxies and how they spin. Chronicles of a Peculiar Universe is a series of talks presented in collaboration with York University's Faculty of Science.

For decades NASA has been sending orbiters, landers and rovers to Mars for research and exploration, and the agency is aiming to send humans to the Red Planet in the 2030s. Professor John Moores provides an overview of our past, present and future missions to Mars. Chronicles of a Peculiar Universe is a series of talks presented in collaboration with York University's Faculty of Science. Note: Speaker was previously Professor Robin Metcalfe who is not able present due to unforeseen circumstances. We apologize for any disappointment.

Quasars are the brightest objects in our Universe and are formed when matter spirals into supermassive black holes. They contain rotating disks as big as our solar system and hotter than the Sun. Professor Patrick Hall discusses these fascinating objects and how they tap the strong gravity of black holes. Chronicles of a Peculiar Universe is a series of talks presented in collaboration with York University's Faculty of Science.

Fifty years ago, two radio telescopes across Canada were combined to achieve the resolution of a telescope 3000 km across, a technique now known as VLBI. Interstellar plasma lenses bend light from sources like pulsars, creating multiple images of the same source on the sky. When we combine these images in the same way as radio telescope on Earth, we can measure the position and motion of their source. Since instead of being telescopes separated by 3000km these images are separated by billions of km, this results in remarkably high precision.

Showtimes: 7:00pm, 8:00pm, and 9:00pm Often, when we think of the Solar System, we think of the planets and the Sun and nothing more. But what about all the other stuff? There are millions of asteroids in the asteroid belt, tens of millions of objects in the Kuiper belt, and probably trillions of objects in the Oort cloud—not to mention the hundreds of moons and dozens of dwarf planets that are members of the Sun’s extended family.

Showtimes: 7:00pm, 8:00pm, and 9:00pm Often, when we think of the Solar System, we think of the planets and the Sun and nothing more. But what about all the other stuff? There are millions of asteroids in the asteroid belt, tens of millions of objects in the Kuiper belt, and probably trillions of objects in the Oort cloud—not to mention the hundreds of moons and dozens of dwarf planets that are members of the Sun’s extended family.

Showtimes: 7:00pm, 8:00pm, and 9:00pm Often, when we think of the Solar System, we think of the planets and the Sun and nothing more. But what about all the other stuff? There are millions of asteroids in the asteroid belt, tens of millions of objects in the Kuiper belt, and probably trillions of objects in the Oort cloud—not to mention the hundreds of moons and dozens of dwarf planets that are members of the Sun’s extended family.