Observations of the microwave background, the left-over heat from the big bang, are snapshots of the universe only three hundred thousand years after the big bang. These observations have answered many of the questions that have driven cosmology for the past few decades: How old is the universe? What is its size and shape? What is the composition of the universe? How do galaxies emerge?

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.

Pluto has always been the favourite of many who have cast their thoughts out to the stars and planets. More than that though, it has played a key role in our understanding of how our solar system is formed and it may be the key to further exploration of our neighbourhood of space. In this richly illustrated presentation we explore its history, our recent discoveries and how it may lead us to one of the greatest astronomical discoveries of the 21st century.

Are we standing on the brink of a new scientific revolution that will radically change our views on space, time, and gravity? In most circumstances, the theories of Einstein and Newton adequately describe gravity, but on cosmological scales, big questions arise, particularly surrounding the nature of dark matter and dark energy.

Join us as Dr. John Percy discusses how and why astronomy was important to early civilizations ranging from the seagoing Polynesians, to the builders of Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids, to our own First Nations. He will also briefly discuss the important roles of Chinese, Indian, and Islamic astronomy.

Everyone is invited to join us and Durham Skies on September 30 for stargazing at the edge of Lake Ontario. Take a free look through different kinds of telescopes to get close-up views of craters on the Moon and spectacular Saturn and its rings! Learn the names of the stars of autumn and the constellation patterns they form. Peer deep into space and try your hand at spotting faint star clusters and nebulae. You can even bring your own telescope along and we'll give you advice on how to use it better.

Fiscal year end of the RASC Toronto Centre.

Showtimes: 7:00pm, 8:00pm, and 9:00pm In 1977 two small probes, Voyager 1 and 2, were launched from Earth with a mission to study the outer solar system. Both spacecraft visited Jupiter and Saturn, and Voyager 2 passed by Uranus and Neptune, returning images to Earth which allowed us to make surprising discoveries about these distant planets. Now these probes are entering interstellar space, making them the furthest man-made objects from the Earth!

Pluto has always been the favourite of many who have cast their thoughts out to the stars and planets. More than that though, it has played a key role in our understanding of how our solar system is formed and it may be the key to further exploration of our neighbourhood of space. In this richly illustrated presentation we explore its history, our recent discoveries and how it may lead us to one of the greatest astronomical discoveries of the 21st century.

Speaker: Dr. Jill Tarter, Bernard Oliver Chair, SETI Institute Are we alone in the universe? Is there intelligent life in space? Humans have been asking these questions throughout history. We want to know where we came from, how we fit into the cosmos and where we are going. Searching for life beyond Earth may not only result in contact, but could also lead to a better understanding ourselves. What will life in the future look like?

Speaker: Professor Jo Bovy, Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in Galactic Astrophysics in the Astronomy & Astrophysics Department of the University of Toronto

Explore the universe with members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Telescopes will be set up to give you amazing views of our Moon, the planets and more!