The moon is between us and the sun. Without the moon in the sky at night, deep sky objects are easier to observe.

Most galaxies enjoy the company of other galaxies and organize into various shapes known as the "cosmic web." Many of them also like to spin - creating beautiful disks of stars and gas. PhD student George Conidis examines our own galaxy, The Milky Way, and its friends to better understand the social habits of disk galaxies and how they spin. Chronicles of a Peculiar Universe is a series of talks presented in collaboration with York University's Faculty of Science.

See the Milky Way and galaxies with the unaided eye. Point your telescope to find the many dim deep space objects that sprinkle the sky. Away from Toronto's light pollution, there is so much to see. We usually observe from Long Sault Conservation Area, but this month we will be going to Glen Major Forest. Observing will begin around dusk in the parking lot. We will hold this event on the first clear night of our week-long window, so the exact date will be determined closer to the event.

Join us at the Ontario Science Centre for our monthly Solar Observing on the TELUSCAPE observing pad. This is the area in front of the Science Centre's entrance. We use specialized telescopes that are safe to aim at the Sun. Check our home page on the Friday prior for go/no-go calls as this event is weather dependent.

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!

With the hot summer temperatures that we’re enjoying right now, it’s hard to imagine that winter is just around the corner and it’s time once again to plan for the Fall Work Party at the Toronto Centre’s E.C. Carr Astronomical Observatory (CAO).

Join two University of Toronto astronomers for an evening of star-gazing. We'll teach you the basics of how to find your way around the night sky, finding constellations, planets, and more. Weather permitting, we'll have our telescope set up on the patio to show you Saturn. This program is appropriate for all ages.

Just like the Earth, the Moon is about 4.5 billion years old. It has been and continues to be constantly bombarded by meteorites. Some suggest that this rate of bombardment has remained constant in the past couple of billion years. The Moon's surface without any substantial atmosphere or tectonic activity serves as a time capsule, helping us detangle Earth's history. The only way to see if the bombardment rate has changed is to have an age for every single crater, an extremely difficult task using traditional crater dating methods.

For decades NASA has been sending orbiters, landers and rovers to Mars for research and exploration, and the agency is aiming to send humans to the Red Planet in the 2030s. Professor John Moores provides an overview of our past, present and future missions to Mars. Chronicles of a Peculiar Universe is a series of talks presented in collaboration with York University's Faculty of Science. Note: Speaker was previously Professor Robin Metcalfe who is not able present due to unforeseen circumstances. We apologize for any disappointment.

See http://www.windows2universe.org/citizen_science/starcount/

Watch the recorded video: https://youtu.be/RTeEyn0VG3k

Quasars are the brightest objects in our Universe and are formed when matter spirals into supermassive black holes. They contain rotating disks as big as our solar system and hotter than the Sun. Professor Patrick Hall discusses these fascinating objects and how they tap the strong gravity of black holes. Chronicles of a Peculiar Universe is a series of talks presented in collaboration with York University's Faculty of Science.