Everyone is invited to join us and Durham Skies on October 12 for stargazing at the edge of Lake Ontario. Take a free look through different kinds of telescopes (including solar-filtered scopes) to get close-up looks at sunspots, craters on the Moon, Saturn and its rings, and rosy Mars. 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 expert advice on how to use it better.

Every day, as many as 1,000 extremely fast and powerful bursts of radio waves flash out of the sky from beyond our galaxy, and we know very little about them. Join Victoria Kaspi, Director of CIFAR’s Gravity & the Extreme Universe program, as she explains what we know, and describes a revolutionary new Canadian radio telescope that will soon help us solve the puzzle. Doors open at 6:30pm.

Watch the recorded video: https://youtu.be/dY4TEXpzwFE

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 polution, there is so much to see. We observe from the Long Sault Conservation area, an hour outside of Toronto. We meet around dusk once a month in the parking lot for views only seen in dark sky conditions. We hold this event on the first clear night of our week-long window, so the date and time are determined closer to.

The October Draconids, in the past also unofficially known as the Giacobinids, are a meteor shower whose parent body is the periodic comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. They are named after the constellation Draco, where they seemingly come from. Almost all meteors which fall towards Earth ablate long before reaching its surface. The Draconids are best viewed after sunset in an area with a clear dark sky. - Wikipedia

Showtimes: 7:00pm, 8:10pm 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!

The South Pole, one of Earth’s most isolated outposts, is alive with science. And it's here where you'll find the 10-metre South Pole Telescope (SPT) observing the oldest light in our Universe, the Cosmic Microwave Background—light emitted just after the Big Bang. In 2016, a next-generation microwave camera, SPT-3G, was installed on the telescope. This camera is allowing astronomers to map out the Cosmic Microwave Background in more detail than ever before, providing new information on clusters of galaxies, cosmic inflation, and particle physics. 

Dr. Avery Broderick will provide a highly accessible and interesting lecture on the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) and international efforts to interpret horizon-resolving images of numerous supermassive black holes.

Enter into a world where science, technology, engineering, art and math collide to create STEAM-Powered Stories. Take in and create new narratives through interactive experiences. You’ll quickly see the potential for STEAM to fuel creativity. STEAM-Powered Stories is a free event. During Nuit Blanche Toronto, select areas of the Ontario Science Centre are open to the public. Parking is $10 (member discount applies) before 12:00am, and parking is free after 12:00am. Food and beverages are available for purchase.

On Saturday September 29th from 7:00pm to 7:00am, experience the universe through new eyes and new ears with One Sky, a Nuit Blanche Toronto installation. This exhibition created by astrophysicist-musician Matt Russo and SYSTEM Sounds, and presented by the Dunlap Institute. With One Sky, you’ll enjoy a sunrise to sunset, multi-sensory experience of the celestial sphere.

In this talk and slide show, Michael Watson will discuss his recent month-long trip to Australia, which included several nights of stargazing and astrophotography from the dark skies of the Australian Outback. He will talk about how he prepared for the trip, the equipment that he took, and how he produced the photos that you will see. His astrophotos will be interspersed with photos of some of the sights from around the Land Down Under.

Watch the recorded video: https://youtu.be/A1DNSteIVho