The Leonids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Tempel–Tuttle. The Leonids get their name from the location of their radiant in the constellation Leo: the meteors appear to radiate from that point in the sky. Their proper Greek name should be Leontids (Λεοντίδαι, Leontídai), but the word was initially constructed as a Greek/Latin hybrid[citation needed] and it has been used since. They peak in the month of November. - Wikipedia

The Geminids are a meteor shower caused by the object 3200 Phaethon, which is thought to be a Palladian asteroid with a "rock comet" orbit. This would make the Geminids, together with the Quadrantids, the only major meteor showers not originating from a comet. The meteors from this shower are slow moving, can be seen in December and usually peak around December 13–14, with the date of highest intensity being the morning of December 14.

Earth Hour is a worldwide movement for the planet organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The event is held worldwide annually encouraging individuals, communities, households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. towards the end of March, as a symbol for their commitment to the planet.

Earth Day is an annual event, celebrated on April 22, on which day events worldwide are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It was first celebrated in 1970, and is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network and celebrated in more than 193 countries each year. - Wikipedia

Join Dr. John Percy, Professor Emeritus, Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto as he discusses the amazing universe. Learn about alien worlds, extraterrestrial life, the birth and death of stars, cosmic catastrophes, black holes, dark matter and dark energy. The real universe, and the study of it.

Pulsars are magnetized spinning neutron stars that emit a beam of radiation. Since the first pulsar was discovered in 1967, thousands have been detected since, and they continue to be one of the most interesting objects in the sky. In this talk, Nikhil Mahajan will go over the history of pulsar astronomy, the reasons why we care about pulsars, and of course, what pulsars really are. Hopefully, this talk will leave you with an understanding of what current pulsar research is all about, and what it may lead to in the future.

Almost a century ago, Edwin Hubble discovered that galaxies appear to be moving away from us and that farther galaxies moved at faster rates. This discovery revolutionized our view of the Universe and started the field of modern cosmology. Ever since, astronomers have been trying to better measure the expansion of the Universe, the Hubble constant, using numerous standard candles.

Enjoy and learn about the night sky through an engaging presentation delivered by an astronomer. Learn about history, mythology and how to identify star constellations overhead.

Elizabeth Muir, author of Canadian Women in the Sky: 100 Years of Flight, tells the story of how women in Canada first boarded planes, then became pilots and eventually astronauts. For more information, call Business, Science & Technology Dept. 416-395-5613

Presenter: Heather Fong, Graduate Student, Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics. The direct detections of gravitational waves mark a monumental breakthrough in physics and astronomy. Gravitational waves - ripples in the fabric of spacetime - were first predicted to exist by Albert Einstein in his theory of general relativity.