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 Centuries before Galileo observed the moons of Jupiter, scientists in the Middle East were building the first cameras and developing the physics of light. Without the benefit of modern technologies, they took some of the first steps in understanding the motions of the planets and in explaining the nature of the Universe.

Speaker: Michael Watson, RASC (Unattached)

Prof. Katherine Freese, Department of Physics, University of Michigan The ordinary atoms that make up the known universe, from our bodies and the air we breathe to the planets and stars, constitute only 5 percent of all matter and energy in the cosmos. The remaining 95 percent is a recipe of 25 percent dark matter and 70 percent dark energy, both nonluminous components whose nature remains a mystery.

See for details http://www.rascto.ca/content/nova-astronomy-course-

Measuring light pollution of your sky, see www.globeatnight.org

The quest for ever-clearer views of the sky has driven astronomers to put telescopes in such remote places as the centre of Antarctica. 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. Drop-in program. First come, first seated.

James Edgar, President, Royal Astronomical Society of Canada All stars are born from hydrogen and during their lives they produce elements through nuclear fusion. High-mass stars end their lives as supernovae, perhaps the most cataclysmic events in the universe, producing the heavy elements. This talk merges James Edgar’s love of woodworking, astronomy, genealogy, chemistry, physics, and poetry from Northern Ireland, although the main thrust of the presentation is about how elements form within stars.

Showtimes: 7:00pm, 8:00pm, and 9:00pm Centuries before Galileo observed the moons of Jupiter, scientists in the Middle East were building the first cameras and developing the physics of light. Without the benefit of modern technologies, they took some of the first steps in understanding the motions of the planets and in explaining the nature of the Universe.

A popular hit in the Doc Soup series, The Last Man on the Moon tells the story of Apollo astronaut Eugene Cernan. One of only three men who travelled to the moon twice, Cernan’s second trip in 1972 was NASA’s final lunar mission. Now, more than 40 years later, he is ready to share his epic and deeply personal story. It is a tale of fame and burning ambition set against the spectacular environment of space.

We all love it when a world record is broken. But the records set here on Earth are puny and pathetic compared to those set elsewhere in our vast cosmos. What’s the coldest place in space? What’s the fastest object in the Universe? What’s the biggest object we’ve ever seen in space, and the smallest? How weak and how strong does gravity get? Join astronomer Bryan Gaensler for a tour of the extremes of our amazing Universe.

Join Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson for an evening of engaging conversation on science, exploration and the world as we know it.