The universe is very large and all of it is very far away. Even the edge of the solar system is inexplicably far away. Learn how we have used telescopes and space missions to understand our solar system and universe beyond it. With Jielai Zhang. 3rd floor, Room B.

Using what we know about life on Earth as a starting point, Lauren Hetherington explains the way we will learn how life could exist elsewhere in the Universe, and how we can look for it. Presented in collaboration with the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Revolutionary progress has been achieved in the science of cosmology over the past 30 years. Powerful experiments, made possible by new technologies, have transformed our understanding of the universe. We have unveiled the laws of physics that govern time and space on the grandest scales, from the big bang to present day.

David Paige is Professor of Planetary Sciences at UCLA. He is a Principal Investigator on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, and also on NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft, which discovered ice on the Moon and on Mercury. For more information on David Page, visit: www.planetary.org/explore/projects/mcs/david-paige.html Refreshments afterwards

Join McMaster's Sidewalk Astronomy in observing the total lunar eclipse, the last of the lunar tetrad! As part of Science Literacy Week 2015, they are organizing a free public observing event for everyone. Remember to dress warmly, it's going to be a cold night! Observing is subject to the weather. Please check the website for announcements prior to the event.

To celebrate National Science Literacy Week, University of Toronto Science & Engineering Engagement is showing the 1997 Space Exploration film: Contact followed by a Question & Answer session with: Keith Vanderlinde, Assistant Professor, Dunlap Institute and Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics Laura Newburgh, Postdoctoral Fellow, Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics

Neil Turok, Director, Perimeter Institute

Prof. Keith Vanderlinde has spent the last decade building and using telescopes to study the Universe: its composition, history, and eventual fate. Aided by technologies that make cell phones possible, and which make video games a staple of modern culture, he and colleagues from across Canada are building a massive new radio telescope in Penticton, B.C., which will map a larger volume of space than ever attempted before. Lecture: 8:10 - 9:00 PMTelescope observing: 9:00 - 11:00 PM

Alexander Szalay (Johns Hopkins University)

Speaker: Nick Tacik Black holes are one of the most fascinating objects in the universe. From science fiction to the offices of astrophysicists, their mystery has captivated many. But what do we really know about them? Surprisingly, a whole lot! What happens when you fall into a black hole? What happens when two black holes collide? How do we know black holes really exist? What is a wormhole? Is spaghettification even a real word? In this talk, Nick Tacik will answer all these questions, and more, about the wondrous world of black holes.