The colourful stars and galaxies that we can see with our eyes and traditional telescopes are only a small portion of the light coming from the sky. What constitutes that ‘invisible’ light that our eyes cannot see, how do we observe it, and what can it tell us? Discover radio astronomy, an exciting area of research that complements observations of the visible Universe, and allows us to dive deep into the cosmos. Join Vincent McKay on our next episode of Cosmos From Your Couch, on Tuesday, July 14 at 7:00pm EDT!

NASA’s newest rover Perseverance launches July 30. Ahead of the big day, join planetary scientists Sara Mazrouei and Tanya Harrison on Wednesday, July 15 at 2 p.m. for a Facebook Live event all about the Red Planet. Why are we so fascinated with Mars? Sara and Tanya discuss Perseverance’s astrobiology mission—from launching to landing to collecting Martian samples—and other upcoming missions to explore Mars.

The collections of moons that orbit our giant planets are very like miniature planetary systems, each with their own dramatic history. In her presentation Christa Van Laerhoven will talk about the various moons of the solar system and how they have been shaped by orbital shenanigans with their fellow moons and their host planet.

Watch the recorded video: https://youtu.be/lkVax_B5uMQ

Are you interested in learning how to navigate the night sky? Do you have a telescope or pair of binoculars and not sure how to use them to their full potential?

Shortly after the big bang, the universe was a cold, dark place, barely recognizable to those of us used to seeing beautiful telescope images of a sky filled with brilliant lights.

Eighty-five percent of the matter in our universe is made up of a mysterious invisible substance scientists call “dark matter.”

This week we're looking for the constellations that make up the Summer Triangle, an easy-to-find asterism in our night sky. We'll also look at a few more objects on the Moon, and if you're feeling adventurous you can try to spot Jupiter and Saturn right next to the Moon too.

We're diving into some more constellations this week! We'll go over Cygnus, Lyra and Aquila, the three constellations that contain the bright stars in the Summer Triangle, and some of the cool objects you can find in those constellations!

Do you have a question for one of our astronomers? Our expert team will be live on Tuesday, July 28th at 7pm EDT for a “Cosmos From Your Couch” – Q and A edition! Submit a question for us at events@dunlap.utoronto.ca and then stay tuned to see it answered live on YouTube!