Allan I Carswell Observatory Presents: York Universe

With the Tunguska impact having happened over 100  years ago,  June 29/30 is Asteroid day.  Here we focus mainly on asteroid relate topics and some great objects we can see in the sky over the summer months.  

Mary and Julie discuss the discovery of Pluto's moon Charon, the summer solstice, then go on several side quests while discussing missions that have side quests.  Image by A. Dunn from  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Summer_Solstice_Sunrise_over_Stonehenge_2005.jpg

Join our host Maheen Hemani and cohost Dr. Elaina Hyde for a high-energy x-ray investigation of galaxies and history. We discuss the recent news from Chandra, MeerKat, JWST and of course York University. Did you know that the fastest wind near a supermassive black hole ever found (as of yet) at ultraviolet wavelengths was by YorkU researchers?

Tune into this weeks episode to learn about how to explore the summer skies, and hear about exciting space news in our galaxy and beyond!  Image: The Milky Way over the 16'' telescope at Killarney Provincial Park Observatory. Image credit: Anna Skrinnik and Sunna Withers 

Rocky asteroids, planets and meteors make for dynamic objects. Tonight we talk about sky viewing for Mercury and Venus as well as asteroids and the recent Ontario meteorite. The host is Dr. Elaina Hyde and we are joined by special guest Mahesh Aravamudan, a RASC Toronto Center member and astronomy enthusiast to investigate. Image Credit: The general shape of Psyche viewed from the south pole with...

Julie and Maheen explore the technology that makes scientific advancement possible. From using cinematography to record solar eclipses at the turn of the last century to AI use in future space missions and using fungi to grow food in regolith, thinking outside of the box has led to some pretty amazing stuff! Episode photo: A view of the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse from Madras, Oregon. Credi...

This week, we look at the night sky, some space and astronomy news, and, most importantly, celebrate some of the great mothers in the field!  

Spectra and Light are important to all of Astronomy as we know it today. Join special guest Dr. Thomas Morris for a history and news adventure in spectroscopy with our host Dr. Elaina Hyde. What is light? What is it used for in Astronomy, and how can amateur astronomers help? Image Credit: Fraunhofer made this copper etching in 1815, He coloured the spectra and lines as well as drew the spectral r...

Here we talk about a few history topics and some planetary observations.  Mars Express Observations  https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_Express/Ash_creeps_across_Mars

Julie and Elaina discuss the illustrious careers of Max Planck and Ibn al-Haytham in This Week and Space and Astronomy History. In the news, dark volcanic ash is moving across the Martian surface, the Lyrid meteor shower peak is almost here, mineral dust is increasing cloud production in the Venusian atmosphere, and NASA has found interstellar glaciers that are definitely not glaciers, but are ver...

This week's episode is all about Artemis! Join Maheen and Sunna as they discuss the historic Artemis II mission to the Moon, as well as the history and future of crewed Lunar exploration.  Image: Artemis II Earthset, NASA

As the seasons progress through the year, they also progress through observing targets. This week, we talk about Easter and observing galaxies from home or by visiting our observatory. We also look at some Apollo history, the upcoming Artemis II Mission, and more data than you can possibly imagine from the Vera C. Rubin behemoth! http://yorku.ca/science/observatory Contact us at observe@yorku.ca

This exciting episode features special guest Dr. Rachel Ward-Maxwell from the Ontario Science Center ( https://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/ ). We cover mysterious Aurora, lunar launches, a bit of Artemis and of course a discussion of the newest science and sci-fi crossovers, the film Hail Mary. Observing tips and science tricks, we even discuss how to break the optical illusion that we all face in...

Dark matter and dark energy can sound gloomy but there's no need to worry in this episode as Maheen Hemani and Dr. Elaina Hyde talk about dark matter in history, dark matter in the news, dark matter in the Milky Way…. and get very excited! The more we find out about this exciting topic, the less it seems we understand but that doesn't mean we're not going to try! Image Credit: JWST, from March 14t...

Tune into this week's episode to learn about the history of the Voyager and Cassini missions, and important discoveries about Uranus! This week's hosts also discuss several recent news headlines, including an update on the Artemis program and the Vera Rubin Observatory. 

Join this week's hosts Gagan Sidhu and Sunna Withers as they discuss exploration of the solar system and Moon, a historic supernova, and recent news about the Artemis II launch.    Image: Supernova 1987A by JWST. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA

We look at this week in history and have a discussion on Artemis II and other worthy news items! Please note that we had a bit of a technical glitch on the recording near the beginning of the show but all the important bits are there. Illustration of Orion in Low Earth Orbit - Image Credit: ESA

A possible Challenge to Cold Dark Matter? A sad anniversary for the Space Shuttle Challenger Hubble solves the mystery of Blue Straggler stars Groundhog Day!  

This week, we look at astronomy and space history, including important events in space exploration. We then follow up on the restoration of NASA and other science funding by US Congress, and give updates on manned space exploration.  Image: Veritas Spacecraft in orbit around Venus - Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech  

Here we touch on some brief history and then go onto what kind of astronomy we are looking forward to in 2026 including the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope, Artemis as well as the Pandora and Plato missions to find exoplanets.

Welcome to our last broadcast of 2025.  We will be looking at the solstice this week and some of the ways it has been marked in the past as well as moon and venus landings and other current news.   Image : Heart O'Ireland - Cropped version of: File:Newgrange 053.jpg, CC BY 2.5, from Wikimedia commons    

Tonight we discuss some fun history items, and of course the recent news about sugars and more on Bennu! The host is Dr. Elaina Hyde and we are joined by special guest Mahesh Aravamudan, a RASC Toronto Center member and astronomy enthusiast to investigate. The allsky camera for AICO mentioned in this episode can be found at: https://www.yorku.ca/science/observatory/observers/ Image credit: Aview a...

Welcome to our holiday show! What was the star of Bethlehem? What is a great gift for an astronomer?

Here we look at a few Mars related topics, including possible karstic (water eroded) caves and other findings around the solar systems.   Image (open access) from Ravi, Sharma et al 2025 APJL 993 L36  

Tonight the Leonid meteor shower peaks.  Here we look at the Leonids in detail as well as comets and Frank Drake. Image: Leonid meteor storm of 1833 (Public Domain)    find out more about the observatory at https://www.yorku.ca/science/observatory/