What may have started as a science fiction speculation—that perhaps the universe as we know it is a computer simulation—has become a serious line of theoretical and experimental investigation among physicists, astrophysicists, and philosophers. On April 5, watch live as host and moderator Neil deGrasse Tyson, Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium, and a panel of experts hold a lively discussion about the merits and shortcomings of this provocative and revolutionary idea. 2016 Asimov Panelists:

Showtimes: 7:00pm, 8:00pm, and 9:00pm The stars in the night sky seem unchanging and eternal, and have remained the same for the history of human civilization. However, over millions and billions of years, new stars are born, live out their long lives, and eventually die in a blaze of glory. In this show, we will be exploring the lives of stars by visiting stellar nurseries, supernova remnants and much more! If you have questions please contact planetarium@universe.utoronto.ca

Showtimes: 7:00pm, 8:00pm, and 9:00pm Recently, Dr. Mike Brown (aka the Pluto Killer) announced that his group had uncovered evidence that a ninth planet may be orbiting the Sun every 1500 years. We will go on a journey through the sometimes weird history of searching for planets in our solar system and see what evidence Mike Brown has found for a ninth planet. Along the way we will answer questions like “where do planets come from?”; “is our solar system normal?” and “why isn’t Pluto the ninth planet?”

Showtimes: 7:00pm, 8:00pm, and 9:00pm Recently, Dr. Mike Brown (aka the Pluto Killer) announced that his group had uncovered evidence that a ninth planet may be orbiting the Sun every 1500 years. We will go on a journey through the sometimes weird history of searching for planets in our solar system and see what evidence Mike Brown has found for a ninth planet. Along the way we will answer questions like “where do planets come from?”; “is our solar system normal?” and “why isn’t Pluto the ninth planet?”

Showtimes: 7:00pm, 8:00pm, and 9:00pm Recently, Dr. Mike Brown (aka the Pluto Killer) announced that his group had uncovered evidence that a ninth planet may be orbiting the Sun every 1500 years. We will go on a journey through the sometimes weird history of searching for planets in our solar system and see what evidence Mike Brown has found for a ninth planet. Along the way we will answer questions like “where do planets come from?”; “is our solar system normal?” and “why isn’t Pluto the ninth planet?”

Foreseen by Einstein almost a century ago, gravitational waves were for a long time the last prediction of his theory of general relativity left to be confirmed. Last September, LIGO directly observed these waves being emitted from the merging of two black holes 1.3 billion light-years away. Thus, we opened a new window into the workings of our universe. In this talk, Alex Rachkov will cover what these mysterious waves are, recount the long journey of their discovery and the significance they have for the future of astronomy.

Dr. Wendy Taylor talks about the science of antimatter. What is it? How is it made, trapped, studied and used? And what can it tell us about how the universe works?

Meteroids, asteroids, comets and dwarf planets are some of the smallest bodies in our solar system and are the focus of several recent space missions: Rosetta, Dawn, and New Horizons. Learn about how Pluto, Ceres and these other tiny wonders continue to amaze and surprise us.

Professor James Wadsley is a computational astrophysicist at McMaster University. He makes computer simulations of things that take millions of years to unfold on the sky. He will talk about "the secret lives of galaxies" which demonstrates the evolution of a galaxy in both what we see, and in ways we can't, over the full age of the universe.

In his Perimeter Public Lecture, 2015 Nobel Prize-winner Art McDonald will explain how researchers created an ultra-clean underground lab to obtain otherwise-impossible measurements to study fundamental physics, astrophysics, and cosmology.