What can we learn with humans that the much safer robotic explorers cannot tell us? Is it worth the risk? Is there really any reason to go to Mars other than "because it's there?" Let’s take a realistic look at the challenges of a human expedition to Mars and examine the reality behind the 'hype' of a mission to the Red Planet. Featuring:

Graduate student KelleyLepo will be presenting about "History of Comets". Comets are rocky, icy visitors from the outer Solar System that develop spectacular tails when they near the Sun. Kelly will discuss how comets went from bad omens in the night sky to tools to learn about how planets orbit the Sun, to objects that teach us about how the Solar System formed. The hour-long talk will be on December 5th, starting at 8:10 PM, in MP 103, McLennan Physical Laboratories, 60 St. George St. As usual planetarium shows and telescope viewings will follow the talk.

Join on us on Friday March 22, at The Great Hall for an evening of pints, astronomy news, and mind-expanding talks from University of Toronto astronomers. Play astronomy trivia games to win great prizes or chat with a UofT astronomer over your favourite pint

Astronomers have discovered nearly 4000 planets beyond our Solar System, but for most of these exoplanets our knowledge is limited to their size and how far they orbit from their stars. The next decade of exoplanet astronomy will expand our understanding of these worlds through characterization of their atmospheres and compositions. If any of these planets have life, will astronomers be able to detect it? Before searching for life on other worlds, we must ask ourselves: would we be able to discover life on the Earth if we observed it from afar?

There’s an endless expanse of wonder right above us. Get a better understanding of it all from Randy Attwood, Executive Director of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Telescopes will be provided to view the stars, planets, and galaxies above. This four-week course is presented by Earthshine Astronomy and Space Science and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Thursdays from April 4 - April 25, 2019

Quantum physics is the golden child of modern science. It is the basis of our understanding of atoms, radiation, and so much else – from elementary particles and basic forces to the behaviour of materials. But for a century it has also been the problem child of science: it has been plagued by intense disagreements among its inventors, strange paradoxes, and implications that seem like the stuff of fantasy.

Join us for a conversation about weird planets, the search for life in the universe, and how the language of science can help tell stories about human relationships.

Full-day workshop hosted by the Dunlap Institute at the University of Toronto

Watch the livestream here: https://livestream.com/itmsstudio/events/8636855

Prof. Anny Cazenave: Climate Change, Ocean Warming, Land Ice Melt and Sea Level RiseProf. Donna Strickland: Generating High-Intensity Ultrashort Optical Pulses