Talk Synopsis - Reconnecting Students to the Cosmos with Experiential Learning Abstract: Astronomy education is losing its connection with the night sky. Urbanization, automation, and computerization have all made it less and less likely that a typical astronomy undergraduate will use a telescope as part of their training. Most undergraduates at big urban campuses use […]
Talk Synopsis The talk will focus on Canada’s Lunar Rover Mission, including a background on lunar exploration, Canada’s role in this international endeavour and the progress made so far on the development of the rover.Perry Edmondson Bio: Perry is a life-long space enthusiast and avid supporter of manned and robotic space exploration. He has over 28 […]
Talk Synopsis When the James Webb Space Telescope was launched, astronomers looked forward to peering further into space than ever before, and to witnessing the cosmic dawn — the epoch when the first galaxies emerged and set the stage for the universe as we know it today. What happened next was a surprise. Instead of […]
Talk Synopsis The talk will give a general introduction on the formation of stars and planets. I will show how we are using data from amateur telescopes to monitor the brightness of 1000s of young stars to study their properties. A few selected recent results will also be discussed. At the end I will give […]
Talk Synopsis Have you ever wanted to blast off to distant stars, or travel to far away galaxies? The speed of light can be an issue for ambitious spacecrafts, unless, of course, you happen to be a telescope. This talk features tips and tricks for exploring the universe at all levels. Join Dr. Elaina Hyde […]
Talk Synopsis Humans are natural dreamers and storytellers. Stories are how we communicate ideas, develop comprehension, empathize, and survive. Both our imagination and our ability to tell compelling stories have been central to the evolution of humanity from thousands of year ago, when we started using observations of nature to better ensure our survival, to […]
Talk Synopsis New Life and New Civilizations: A Science Fiction Perspective on Exobiology Ever since H.G. Wells's invading Martians, science fiction writers have worked hard to portray believable alien life forms. Hugo Award-winning science fiction novelist Robert J. Sawyer will introduce you to intriguing fictional extraterrestrials and share the techniques SF writers use in crafting […]
The Annual Meeting will commence after the Speaker Presentation ~ 9:00pm Speaker Presentation @ 8:00pm: Speaker: Dr. Lea Hirsch Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Astronomy UTM Title: Building a Dream Team: UTM Astronomy + RASC Mississauga Centre Talk Synopsis: Over the past several years, we've been building a strong partnership between the RASC Mississauga Centre and the UTM Astronomy […]
Talk Synopsis Centuries before the Space Age and continuing to the present day, people have journeyed to the stars vicariously through science fiction. The links between science fiction and the real-life space program are implicit and numerous. This presentation will show the links between science fiction and the real-life space program. Public attitudes to science, […]
Working across Organizations and Continents to Boost Astronomy Education Talk Synopsis Bruce’s presentation will be on how connecting ourselves to the stars also connects us to each other and his experiences in collaborating with various institutions and, most recently, the Barbados Astronomical Society and the Harry Bayley Observatory.Bio: Bruce Waters became fascinated in astronomy and […]
Due to capacity limitations the event has been moved to a larger room: CCT1080 in the Communications, Culture and Technology BuildingTalk Synopsis Get ready for an out-of-this-world experience! Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk takes you inside his unforgettable six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. From the adrenaline-filled launch aboard a Soyuz rocket to his time […]
Talk Synopsis Quasars: Faster and More Furious Professor Patrick Hall's research group at York University will present a sampling of their past and current work on quasars - supermassive black holes at the centres of distant galaxies. Patrick will introduce quasars and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and talk about a quasar he found almost […]