TORONTO, April 3, 2024 鈥� The upcoming solar spectacle is eclipsing some of the other interesting skyward happenings, but 91亚色 Assistant Professor of the Faculty of Science and director of the Allan I. Carswell Observatory, is available to discuss what else to watch for on April 8.

• Comet 12P Pons-Brooks 鈥� what Hyde calls fascinating 鈥� will be visible just off to the side of Jupiter and may even be visible with binoculars during totality of the solar eclipse
• The planetary alignment of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus聽and Neptune during eclipse totality
• An active sun where viewers may be able to see sunspots during the partial eclipse as the sun is in a more active time of its solar cycle

In Toronto, it will be a partial eclipse, 99.6 per cent of totality,  at 2:04 p.m. and ending at 4:31 p.m. on April 8 with the maximum at 3:19 p.m.

Timing varies depending on location. For those wanting the full experience, the total eclipse will be viewable in other areas of Ontario 鈥� Niagara Falls, Hamilton and St. Catharines.

The post A comet, planetary alignment and an active sun part of solar eclipse show appeared first on News@91亚色.

The post 2022 YEAR IN REVIEW: 91亚色 installs new state-of-the-art observatory domes appeared first on News@91亚色.

Old roof was successfully pulled off by crane this morning at 91亚色鈥檚 Keele Campus

TORONTO, June 14, 2022 鈥� Two new observatory domes were lifted into place today at 91亚色鈥檚 , replacing the original 1960s ones.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really exciting. These new domes will give us so much more functionality and ease of use, but even more importantly, we will have a larger opening that will allow observers to see more of the sky through the telescopes,鈥� says Assistant Professor , director of 91亚色鈥檚 observatory in the Faculty of Science. 鈥淭his will allow us to increase our research and public outreach鈥�

It took a week of on-the-ground preparation to assemble the new 6.24-metre diameter domes on-site before they were ready to be craned into place beginning at 7 a.m. this morning, following the removal of the old ones.

One dome covers the one-metre telescope, the largest on a university campus, while the other covers the 60-cm telescope.

鈥淭his is going to be a massive improvement in many ways as they are a different design of dome, which will allow us to view the whole of the sky,鈥� says Hyde.

With the old domes, the bottom shutter was always blocking a portion of the sky, but with the new ones the bottom shutter is hydraulically operated and flips out, making the opening larger for viewing with a 1.8-metre aperture width. Viewing objects such as supernovas, asteroid transits, exoplanets and more will now be possible.

They are also technologically superior to the original domes. They are automated so the top and bottom shutters are controlled through a computer and can even be operated remotely. They can be programmed to automatically rotate as the telescope moves to track any celestial object, which means multiple objects can be imaged in one night.

鈥淚t means we can collaborate with other astronomers and teachers anywhere in the world for research and outreach,鈥� says Hyde. 鈥淚n addition, as the interfaces for class observing will also be better, more classes and labs can be scheduled every night.鈥�

Unlike the previous domes, these new ones will have little outside maintenance requirements and will never need painting. They are aluminum-zinc alloy-coated using a hot-dip process.

鈥淭he whole process today went really smoothly and was amazing to watch. My colleagues and students are all super exited to start using them,鈥� says Hyde.

and chat sessions will continue every Monday night between 9 and 10 p.m. via Zoom, along with the 91亚色 Universe radio show on astronomy.fm at the same time. Live-streamed and Q&A sessions will happen every other Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. on YouTube.

Video of domes going on and off:

Photos of the domes being lifted off and craned on:

Both new domes in place: /news/wp-content/uploads/sites/242/2022/06/DSC00191-scaled.jpg

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More fun in astronomy

Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Venus will be visible all in a row to the southeast. With binoculars or a clear view, Mercury may also be just visible with Uranus just next to Venus at about 5 a.m.

There will also be super full moon, also known as a strawberry moon rising at about 10:30 p.m. tonight.

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91亚色 is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change and prepare our students for success. 91亚色's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91亚色鈥檚 campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.

Media Contact:
Sandra McLean, 91亚色 Media Relations, 416-272-6317, sandramc@yorku.ca

The post New observatory domes will allow for global astronomy research collaboration and more public outreach appeared first on News@91亚色.

State-of-the-art, remote-controlled domes will replace old ones from the 1960s

TORONTO, June 9, 2022 鈥� Two new state-of-the-art domes will replace the original 1960s domes at the Allan I. Carswell Astronomical Observatory at 91亚色, opening the night sky for better viewing of planets, stars, nebulas and more.

Preparation for the new domes is happening now on 91亚色鈥檚 Keele Campus. On the morning of Tuesday, June 14 (weather permitting), the old domes will be craned off and the new ones craned on. The time of the event will be decided Monday morning depending on the weather forecast, but media are welcome to watch from one of the designated safe areas.

鈥淭hese new domes will be a functional and technological improvement, the likes of which the observatory hasn't seen since its construction. Unlike the old domes, the new domes will have an automatic control system that goes to a computer where you can tell the dome to follow the telescope. Not only is this a huge timesaver, it means we can collaborate with other astronomers and teachers anywhere in the world for research and outreach,鈥� says Assistant Professor , observatory director. 鈥淭o get the best use out of the recent one-metre telescope, plus the 60cm telescope, which we already had, it was well time we replaced the domes.鈥�

As the old domes are some 50 years old, the system that controls them has been a patchwork of various electronic fixes over the years.

鈥淭hese new domes will give us a massive upgrade in terms of our technology. We can come at the beginning of the night, set up the telescope, and then operate them from home, which is something we can鈥檛 do right now with the dome for the one-metre telescope,鈥� says grad student Sunna Withers of the Faculty of Science.

The design of the new domes will allow for a larger viewing area as the top part of the shutter opens up and the bottom part flips down, exposing more of the sky. It will also now follow the telescope as it moves. One of the main advantages will be the ability to expand research and public observing activities.

Photos of original domes: /news/wp-content/uploads/sites/242/2022/06/DSC00021-scaled.jpg

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Photo of domes from 1969 - /news/wp-content/uploads/sites/242/2022/06/Under-construction-Petrie-Science-Bldg-1969-by-A.-Ross-Dawson.png

Photo of domes from 1970 - /news/wp-content/uploads/sites/242/2022/06/Observatory-1970-by-A.-Ross-Dawson.jpg

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91亚色 is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change and prepare our students for success. 91亚色's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91亚色鈥檚 campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.

Media Contact:
Sandra McLean, 91亚色 Media Relations, 416-272-6317, sandramc@yorku.ca

The post Two new observatory domes coming to 91亚色 U will improve night sky viewing appeared first on News@91亚色.