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.

Speaker: Dr. Parshati Patel, Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration, Western University Massive stars, young or old, are interesting celestial objects with fascinating mysteries. In this talk, we will explore some of the mysteries of the disks around massive stars and how their formation, dissipation and structure affect our understanding of not only the planet formation but also the star formation process.

We have evidence that billions of years ago the universe we live in was much smaller in size. This evidence comes in the form of light that has been travelling for about 13 billion years. In this talk Darsh Kodwani will describe how we have come to understand this light and why we believe this would imply that the universe started in a big bang. Even though the evidence for the big bang is very strong we do not believe it can be the full story of the universe.

The Department of Physics invites faculty, students and the public to its 42nd annual celebration of physics. The Welsh Lectures in Physics have been held annually since 1975 in honour of H.L. Welsh, a distinguished former faculty member in the Physics Department. They are the major public event in the life of the Department of Physics and are intended to celebrate discoveries in physics and their wider impact. They are intended to be broadly accessible to an audience drawn from across the university, other academic institutions and the interested public.

Hover above the moon like an astronaut and get eye-to-eye with the planets. Find colourful stars, star clusters, bright nebulae and even another galaxy. Our monthly City Star Party is the place to catch universe from within the city limits at Bayview Village Park. If you don't have a telescope then you will find many astronomers who would love to share a view. If you are thinking of buying a telescope, viewing with other people's equipment is the best way to make a good choice. If you have a telescope or binoculars, please bring it!

More than a billion years ago, two black holes collided. In the final second of their long life together, the black holes banged out a rhythm like mallets on a drum, creating gravitational waves – ripples in the shape of spacetime. One hundred years ago, Albert Einstein predicted the existence of such waves, though it seemed improbable – if not outright impossible – that we’d ever be able to actually detect them. They were long considered too faint for any earthbound experiment to measure.

Dr. John Percy will take you on an illustrated, guided tour of the universe.

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!

Discover the story behind alien worlds, black holes, dark matter, dark energy, the birth and death of stars, and more! Learn about the wondrous elements of the universe in this fascinating talk from Dr. John Percy, Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto in Astronomy & Astrophysics, and in Science Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

Professor Keith Vanderlinde talks about his work with the 10m South Pole Telescope, and the science that convinced him to undertake an eleven-month "winterover" position working on-location with the telescope.

Observe the stars via telescope with members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Witness the crescent Moon and Jupiter along with lively activities and demonstrations in this universally enlightening – and free – evening. In the event of inclement weather, Evening Star Party activities will proceed indoors in the Telus Conference Room.

Join us as we celebrate International Astronomy Day with a fun-filled day – and night – of exciting programs and experiences for visitors of all ages.