And the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics goes to….. Arthur B. McDonald and Takaaki Kajita for the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which show that neutrinos have mass. It fills me with pride to see that a Canadian scientist can win the most distinguished award for Physics in the world, and proves that cutting edge research is done by Canadian Universities. We are an important part of the global machine that is advancing humanity’s understanding of science. So what did this East-West collaboration discover? A long Standing Problem in particle Physics, called the ‘solar neutrino problem,’ developed back in the 1960s....
The high resolution data keeps on coming in from New Horizons, now far beyond the dwarf planet Pluto. Using some of the images as the craft flew by, mission scientists were able to create a fantastic video that gives you some perspective as if you were flying along yourself. We can see Charon and other moons during the early and later stages of the fly-by, with the orbits overlaid, giving perspective on how the Plutonian system’s mechanics work. As the craft approaches Pluto, time slows down to appreciate the closest approach and see the stunning detail revealed in the...
I made a big purchase this year, one that I have wanted to make for a long time. I bought a digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR) – A Canon Rebel T3i. The only reason I did this was for astrophotography. I like photography in general – the idea of getting the perfect shot, cleaning up an image, enhancing details that were not there before. But after a trip to Europe where I felt I took too many photos, I decided that I didn’t want to experience my life through the lens of a camera, especially in an age where...
Are equations beautiful? Does a mathematician see the machine code of the universe in the complex language they use? Does a Chemist see the flow of matter? Does a Biologist see the evolution of life? Does a physicist see the probabilistic nature of electrons? Many scientists would affirm their view that the equations that dictate their respective fields are artistic, in addition to logical. So if equations can be beautiful, what is the most beautiful equation? Naturally, the most beautiful equation should be simple. It should be somewhat intuitive, yet surprising in it’s result. It should explain something fundamental about the universe,...
I promised my friend Dash I would use the term ‘Apoceclipse’ to describe last night’s Perigee Harvest Moon Lunar Eclipse, so here it is! Last night was great fun, even though I couldn’t see the event at all due to cloud cover. Here’s why. It all started with a media blitz and a crazy day at the Science Centre. I started off by doing a Global News interview in the morning, and then a 680 news phone in around lunchtime. I had a planetarium show, and then it was off to CBC downtown to do the national news live! It...
Tonight is the Perigee Lunar Eclipse. A nice video from NASA sums up what we will see, though I still dislike the use of the term “Supermoon.” I’ll be out all night watching it, so stay tuned for pictures! I’m hoping to do a time-lapse of the entire eclipse to make into a movie! It will start around 9pm and peak at 10:47 pm EST. Stay warm!
A few days ago we passed the Autumnal Equinox, and said goodbye to Summer in the northern hemisphere, as the southern hemisphere welcomed Spring. This is all due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis at 23.5 degrees. As it orbits the Earth, the tilt alternately points the hemispheres toward direct sunlight, bringing summer during that time and winter 6 months later. But what about the North and South pole? What happens there? In summertime, because the North pole is actually tilted toward the Sun, the region receives direct sunlight for 6 months! The Sun just never sets! Check out...
One of the things I love most about my job at the Ontario Science Centre is that it gives me opportunities to connect with some pretty amazing people. I’ve met some incredible communicators, scientists, leaders, astronauts, and people from all walks of life doing amazing things. Last night my astronomy background gave me an opportunity to work a special event for future astronauts who are participating in the Virgin Galactic commercial space flight program. The group consisted of about 20 people, some of whom were lead flight engineers and technicians forking on SpaceshipTwo. Others were commercial development and administrators for Virgin...
New science has come forward from a team of astronomers who, earlier this year, discovered a pair of black holes in a close orbit, heading toward a cataclysmic merger. The new results suggest that this incredibly powerful collision will occur much sooner than previously thought, as little as 100,000 years from now (A blip on the radar of astronomical timescales). By precisely calculating the individual and relative masses of the black holes, the team was able to predict how the merger would take place, giving a time line for the collision. The astronomers, from Columbia University, saw bright flashes of light...
I’ve seen images from the Sun in all different wavelengths of light. It looks very different across the electromagnetic spectrum, with some wavelengths making up more of the Sun’s total energy output than others. What’s always striking to me is seeing the images of the Sun that show its structure, including the strange and beautiful features of plasma that dance across it’s surface. A recent APOD captures just such a concept. This image shows the Sun in Hydrogen Alpha, a wavelength of light at 656 nanometres. This is from the ionization of Hydrogen, where the electron is excited and transitions...
