Professor Dennis Pilon weighs in on the sudden resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland who clashed with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the appropriate response to stiff tariffs threatened by President Donald Trump. The crisis has prompted questions over the appropriate diplomatic response for Canada and other countries bracing for a second Trump term. " The more he gets, the more he wants. He doesn鈥檛 respect people who give into him, he only respects absolutely loyal followers," Pilon tells The Guardian.

Professor Mark Winfield writes about Canada's response to Donald Trump's threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican exports to the U.S. in an op-ed for The Conversation. "," writes Winfield. "Canada's premiers would be smarter to focus on engaging with their sub-national counterparts in neighbouring states rather than conducting their own freelance diplomacy."

In an op-ed for The Globe and Mail, Professor Michael Barutciski writes about why Canada should look at closing a loophole in its border agreement with the U.S. that could be incentivizing illegal migration. Barutciski says the inclusion of the 14-day rule (or loophole) in the amended Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) is an example of Ottawa鈥檚 tendency to favour laxness and administrative expediency. "," writes Barutciski.

Associate Director of the Refugee Law Lab Petra Molnar comments on Canada and the U.S. turning to technology to keep migrants out. Canada will soon boost investments in drones, sensors, and other tech, including its own surveillance towers. Advocates and experts say the deployment of new technologies risks endangering migrants. "... where Canada perhaps feels like it has to acquiesce to what the United States is asking for," Molnar tells CBC. She says the technology being deployed on borders dehumanizes people who are trying to cross the border as well as posing privacy concerns about data collection for those who live or travel near borders.

Professor Palma Paciocco talks to CTV News about legal delays making it increasingly difficult for people to have their day in court. Judicial and court staff vacancies, limited courtroom space and increasingly complicated legal processes all contribute to delays in the justice system. "," says Paciocco.

Professor David Doorey weighs in on the federal government directing the Canadian Industrial Relations Board to order Canada Post workers back to their jobs and to extend their existing collective agreement until May of 2025. Doorey says that the degree of power that a union holds might have determined the speed of government intervention in a strike. "," says Doorey, speaking to The Globe and Mail.

Professor Sapna Sharma talks to CBC about cities losing weeks' worth of winter ski, skate, and snow days each year due to climate change. In Canada, some cities and regions have lost more than two weeks of winter weather. Sharma's research has found that, leading to problems such as toxic algae blooms that follow in the summer.

Professor Zac Spicer comments on eastern Ontario mayors pointing out that recent provincial funding to help cover policing costs has left municipalities with their own police forces searching for financial support. The year-over-year increase in OPP billing was between 20 and 30 per cent and, in response, the provincial government announced $77 million to ease policing costs in those communities. , and they don't have any provincial support to show for it.

Professor Vijay Setlur talks to Global News about the owners of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC announcing that they have started the process to sell the club. This has left local soccer fans that just celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Professor Emeritus Paul Delaney weighs in on the Geminid meteor shower that peaked Friday night, bringing bright shooting star-like streaks to the sky in one of the best displays of the year. Delaney says the debris ranged from the size of a grain of sand to the size of a basketball. " with this material hitting the Earth's atmosphere and disintegrating," Delaney tells Toronto Star.

Recent research by Professor Ela Veresiu and co-authors reveals a complex moral landscape underlying everyday consumption practices. They discovered that people often unknowingly hold different meanings for concepts central to their consumption such as "self" and "care," reports Florida State University News. The study identified four primary strategies consumers use to justify their self-care choices: .

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Professor Kinnon MacKinnon's pursuit of through the DARE study research is highlighted in The New 91亚色 Times.

Professor Patricia Lakin-Thomas talks to The Jerusalem Post about daylight saving time and ongoing concerns about its impact on public health. Lakin-Thomas says Daylight Saving Time is shown to contribute to higher numbers of car accidents, heart attacks, strokes, and workplace injuries. The time is long overdue to , she adds.

In an op-ed for The Conversation, Professor Jack L. Rozdilsky gives public safety tips to Swifties attending Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, which has six shows in Toronto starting Nov. 14. Toronto's mayor has expressed confidence that the shows will be safe, and that comprehensive security measures will be in place. "In addition to preparing for fun, spend a little time considering concert safety tips which stress situational awareness," writes Rozdilsky. " If something does not seem right to you, it probably is not right." Rozdilsky is also quoted in an article about published in The Week.

If you see something, say something. If something does not seem right to you, it probably is not right.

Rozdilsky writes in The Conversation

Ontario grocery stores are saying the new bottle return requirements may make it impossible to participate in Premier Doug Ford's expansion of alcohol sales. Sebastian Prins, the director of government relations for the Ontario section of the Retail Council of Canada, says the majority of the larger stores are planning to add alcohol sales at locations within five kilometres of a Beer Store, meaning they aren't obligated to accept empties right away. The Canadian Press reports that Prins is working with a to assess the costs and logistics.

Professor Dennis Pilon weighs in on a聽report shelved by Mayor Oliva Chow that recommended Toronto city councillors receive a raise of more than 22 per cent to bring them in line with other municipalities. He says it's important for elected officials to earn "sufficient" salaries to compensate them for their work and ensure that it's not only the rich who can afford to run for office. However, Pilon says that councillors voting on whether to increase their own pay . Professor Joe Mihevc, who served on council for nearly three decades until 2018, tells Toronto Star that councillors are "absolutely" underpaid, estimating that between city hall meetings on weekdays, and community events on evenings and weekends, most regularly work 12-hour days. In a separate op-ed on the subject, Mihevc writes about why politicians deserve a pay raise. "Residents need to know when they are to both work long and often difficult hours and then also to accept a smaller salary," writes Mihevc for Toronto Star. In an article for CBC, Mihevc weighs in on聽the mayor facing political and economic challenges as the city puts together its 2025 budget. He says to balance the books next year.

Professor Robert Savage comments on a new survey that found university students studying to become teachers could correctly answer only 60 per cent of the questions on phonics. Savage says the results show a structural issue across institutions. 鈥� So, it clearly does have impacts,鈥� he says.

Professor Sean Tulin weighs in on dark matter which may account for roughly聽85 percent of the universe's mass.聽The case for the existence of dark matter goes back to the 1930s when astronomers analyzed the rates at which galaxies rotate and found there isn't enough visible matter to account for the observed spin rates.聽For the last few decades, the leading theory has been that this unseen substance is made up of weakly interacting massive particles or WIMPs.聽"," Tulin tells Smithsonian Magazine.

Daydreaming in the Solar System: Surfing Saturn鈥檚 Rings, Golfing on the Moon, and Other Adventures in Space Exploration, a new book by professors John E. Moores and Jesse Rogerson invites readers to take a voyage through space with a "behind the science" look at what's possible. 鈥淲e paired really interesting places with really weird things to be doing there,鈥� Rogerson tells CTV News. 鈥�, that was sort of a natural one because a human has golfed on the moon before. Mars has really interesting clouds, so we have cloud watching like you鈥檙e at a picnic. We imagine what it would be like to be doing a cave dive on this moon of Saturn. It was totally an imagination run wild where we were imagining ourselves, or some astronaut, doing some weird activity in some weird place and how the physics of the place would affect the activity.鈥�

Alumna Hortense Anglin, 87, received a standing ovation from guests and fellow graduates on Oct. 17 as she walked across the stage to receive her bachelor's and was congratulated by the platform party at 91亚色's in-person fall convocation. CP24 about her experience as a mature student, and CTV News wrote about .

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The European Space Agency's (ESA) Hera mission blasted off on Monday, beginning a two-year voyage to a double asteroid system beyond the orbit of Mars. The mission is a follow-up to NASA's successful Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which impacted the asteroid Dimorphos in September 2022. The goal of that mission was to demonstrate the ability to change the orbit of an asteroid. Both DART and Hera are part of the Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA). Professor Mike Daly, a co-investigator on DART, says . "We really are the first generation that have the knowledge and the technologies that could prevent what could be a pretty disastrous outcome on Earth," Daly tells CBC.

Professor William Colgan speaks to CBC about a photography exhibition highlighting the effects of climate change in Antarctica on display at Berenson Fine Art gallery in Toronto. "We really need to reduce carbon emissions. That is the number one goal in keeping Antarctica the way it should be, which is in ," says Colgan.

Professor Claire Mallette talks to Medscape Medical News about the ramifications of Canada's nursing shortage. Nursing had more job vacancies in the first quarter of 2023 than any other occupation. The for the increase in vacancies were stress or burnout, concerns about mental health and well-being, and lack of job satisfaction.

Professor Andrea O鈥橰eilly weighs in on Canada鈥檚 fertility rate, which has reached an all-time low. 鈥淚鈥檓 only concerned that we鈥檙e not maybe having the necessary conversations about what that stat means,鈥� says O'Reilly. ",鈥� she continues, 鈥渁nd I think women are having fewer children because of the state of the world, that it is just so challenging, expensive, exhausting to raise children in a North American context.鈥� O鈥橰eilly tells NOW Toronto that a fertility rate of 1.26 is not something we need to worry about so much as it is a sign of the times. 鈥淎 hundred years ago, we had families of 14, and then families of eight, then families of four, and families of two, and then families of one or none. That is a huge cultural change, and that鈥檚 happened in less than a century,鈥� she says, adding, as with any cultural shift, we need to examine the cause.

Professor Palma Paciocco comments on the role of plea deals and how victims aren't necessarily consulted. This is in light of a case where a 13-year-old girl awoke in the middle of the night to discover her 27-year-old neighbour near her bed. "We have a very under-resourced criminal justice system relative to the number of charges that come through the door, and the reality is that . In other words, we simply cannot afford to have everybody who is charged with a crime go to trial," Paciocco tells CBC, adding that crown attorneys have "tremendous discretionary authority and power" when it comes to plea bargains.

We have a very under-resourced criminal justice system relative to the number of charges that come through the door, and the reality is that the system would collapse under its own weight if we didn't have a large percentage of criminal charges resolved by guilty plea.

Paciocco speaking to CBC

Professor Ian Stedman weighs in on British Columbia's attorney general's plan to amend provincial laws to unmask special interest groups behind anonymous lobbying campaigns. Niki Sharma hopes to introduce legislation requiring groups behind "grassroots" campaigns to declare who they are and who they are working for. Ontario and the federal government have adopted rules that require disclosure around "grassroots" campaigns, and Stedman says without unduly limiting the ability of ordinary citizens and advocacy groups to communicate concerns to government officials. "Lobbyist registration laws are not about prohibiting people from lobbying," Stedman tells CBC. "They're about making sure the lobbying that happens is publicly disclosed so members of the public and interested parties can go online and find out who is trying to influence policy and policymakers."

In an op-ed for The Conversation, Professor Thomas Klassen writes about the upcoming announcement from the federal government about its immigration plan and immigration levels for the next three years. " with immigration levels increased when the unemployment rate falls and reduced when unemployment rises. Immigration has always been thinly veiled labour market policy; that is, a way to fill jobs," writes Klassen.

Professor Sapna Sharma and postdoc researcher Joshua Culpepper write about how an increase in human activity, warming temperatures, and stormy conditions are causing more frequent blooms of potentially harmful algae in Lake Superior, the largest, coldest and arguably healthiest of the Great Lakes. "," writes Sharma and Culpepper.

The Washington Post reports on new research by Professor Sapna Sharma that suggests warming air temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns are , threatening people who rely on ice for transportation or recreation.

Professor Emeritus Nicholas C. T. Rogers discusses the origins of Halloween and how became part of the way we celebrate the holiday, in The Telegraph.

CBC Books is calling Walking & Stealing by Professor Stephen Cain one of the "." Cain is the author of six full-length collections of poetry and a dozen chapbooks. The highly anticipated Walking & Stealing is a collection of poems about baseball, Toronto and immersing oneself in deep thoughts.

To see: Artist and PhD student Shannon Garden-Smith created an interactive installation for this year鈥檚 Nuit Blanche using a solitary material: sand. The 2,500 square-foot floor installation used vibrantly dyed sand to form marbled patterns from the humble material. During the all-night event, attendees were invited to walk through her exhibit, disrupting the sand patterns and muddying colours. "Sand is so everyday; it鈥檚 kind of this thing that is super mundane in a lot of ways and so often represented as boring," Garden-Smith tells TorontoToday. "My hope for the project is that people are reacquainted with the magic of this thing that is everywhere, but also ." "Snail-work (for the lake)" is part of the festival's extended program and will remain open to the public at 125 Queens Quay E from 12 to 7 p.m. daily until Sunday, Oct. 13.

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Prof. Mike Daly, who led the instrument science team, available for interviews before and after historic NASA OSIRIS-REx mission drop this weekend

TORONTO, Sept. 21, 2023 - The much-anticipated arrival of the Bennu asteroid sample to Earth means researchers across Canada and the world will be able to study it to better learn about the origins of the solar system, thanks in part to work led by a 91亚色 professor at the . This Sunday morning, NASA鈥檚 OSIRIS-REx plans to make that brief, but key pit stop back to earth鈥檚 orbit to parachute a package to the Utah desert, and , 91亚色 Research Chair in Planetary Science with the couldn鈥檛 be more excited.

鈥淲e get most of our information from asteroids by meteorites that fall to earth and then we try to figure out where they came from,鈥� says Daly, who led theOSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA) science team for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). 鈥淲e have few meteorites that look similar to Bennu and a unique aspect is just how pristine this sample is. We don鈥檛 know what we will find, and now we have the opportunity to study material that just may never make it to Earth.鈥�

From helping get the spacecraft to the surface of Bennu, to choosing a sampling site, to collecting the data used to create the shape-model of Bennu, OLA contributed to the OSIRIS-REx mission in a number of key ways, says Daly, adding that Bennu is now the most highly surveyed body in the solar system. 

鈥淭his is the most accurate shape-model of an asteroid ever, the level of detail is unbelievable,鈥� he says. 鈥淎lmost three-billion measurements were taken to create a model representation of Bennu.鈥�

Daly, an expert in planetary exploration, simulation and space flight instrumentation, first started working on the concept back in 2008, while working for his previous employer. MDA carried out the building of the technology for the CSA when he moved to his role at 91亚色, but he continued to be the scientific lead on the project.

From among the more than half a million known asteroids in existence, Bennu was chosen for its proximity to Earth, size, mineralogy, and other key features, but the orbiting matter around it and rough exterior of the terrain still came as a surprise when OSIRIS-REx arrived at Bennu in 2018 and spent the next couple of years collecting information. Contacting the asteroid to take its sample and finding the surface to be relatively soft was another revelation.

The spacecraft was able to extract an estimated 250 grams of matter, which, once it arrives in Utah and is shipped to Houston to be opened, will be further studied, with 91亚色 looking specifically at the microthermal properties of Bennu. Due to the Canadian contribution to the mission, four per cent of the sample will be held in Canada for future research.

Asteroids are leftovers from the formation of the solar system, so the information contained in the Bennu sample will help scientists glean information about the early days of the solar system.

Other 91亚色 researchers involved in the project include Jeff Seabrook, who was the deputy instrument scientist and James Freemantle, who provided project management for Canadian researchers. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab were close partners in analyzing the data.

While the Bennu sample will stay on Earth, the spacecraft will continue back through space where it is planned to take measurements of another asteroid, Apophis. While Daly describes Bennu as a 鈥渨ell-behaved鈥� asteroid due to its relatively steady spin on one rotational axis, Apophis will prove more challenging to capture, due to its tumbling nature. Whatever they discover next, Daly is sure it will be yet another source of amazement.

鈥淚t really takes me back to my childhood, you know, watching astronauts land on the Moon and watching Viking land on Mars,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 have a strange job where I鈥檝e had the privilege of seeing a couple of missions that I had some significant responsibilities for and that part of the job I really love. Even from the initial images before we start working on it, it鈥檚 always cool and interesting and you think 鈥楴o one has seen it like this before鈥�.鈥� 

While Daly will be in the U.S. as part of the CSA team for the return mission, in the Earth Rangers Studio on Sunday, Sept. 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will be open to the public with the cost of admission to the ROM.

Daly will be available for interviews ahead of the launch and in Houston until Sept. 29.

.

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New computer simulations follow the formation of galaxies and the cosmic large-scale structure with unprecedented statistical precision

TORONTO, July 19, 2023 鈥� 91亚色 and an international team of astrophysicists have made an ambitious attempt to simulate the formation of galaxies and cosmic large-scale structure throughout staggeringly large swaths of space. First results of their 鈥淢illenniumTNG鈥� project are published in a series of 10 articles in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The new calculations help to subject the standard cosmological model to precision tests and to unravel the full power of upcoming new cosmological observations, say the researchers including 91亚色 Assistant Professor Rahul Kannan.

Over the past decades, cosmologists have gotten used to the perplexing conjecture that the universe鈥檚 matter content is dominated by enigmatic dark matter and that an even stranger dark energy field that acts as some kind of anti-gravity to accelerate the expansion of today鈥檚 cosmos. Ordinary baryonic matter makes up less than five per cent of the cosmic mix, but this source material forms the basis for the stars and planets of galaxies like our own Milky Way.

This seemingly strange cosmological model is known under the name LCDM. It provides a stubbornly successful description of a large number of observational data, ranging from the cosmic microwave radiation 鈥� the rest-heat left behind by the hot Big Bang 鈥� to the 鈥渃osmic web鈥�, where galaxies are arranged along an intricate network of dark matter filaments. However, the real physical nature of dark matter and dark energy is still not understood, prompting astrophysicists to search for cracks in the LCDM theory. Identifying tensions to observational data could lead to a better understanding of these fundamental puzzles about our Universe. Sensitive tests are required that need both: powerful new observational data as well as more detailed predictions about what the LCDM model actually implies.  

An international team of researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (MPA) in Germany, Harvard University in the US, Durham University in the UK, and the Donostia International Physics Center in Spain, along with 91亚色, have now managed to take a decisive step forward on the latter challenge. Building up on their previous successes with the 鈥淢illennium鈥� and 鈥淚llustrisTNG鈥� projects, they developed a new suite of simulation models dubbed 鈥淢illenniumTNG鈥�, which trace the physics of cosmic structure formation with considerably higher statistical accuracy than what was possible with previous calculations.

Large simulations including new physical details

The team utilized the advanced cosmological code GADGET-4, custom-built for this purpose, to compute the largest high-resolution dark matter simulations to date, covering a region nearly 10 billion light-years across. In addition, they employed the moving-mesh hydrodynamical code AREPO to follow the processes of galaxy formation directly, throughout volumes still so large that they can be considered representative for the universe as a whole. Comparing both types of simulations allows a precise assessment of the impact of baryonic processes related to supernova explosions and supermassive black holes on the total matter distribution. An accurate knowledge of this distribution is key for interpreting upcoming observations correctly, such as so-called weak gravitational lensing effects, which respond to matter irrespective of whether it is of dark or baryonic type.

Furthermore, the team included massive neutrinos in their simulations, for the first time in simulations big enough to allow meaningful cosmological mock observations. Previous cosmological simulations had usually omitted them for simplicity, because they make up at most one to two per cent of the dark matter mass, and since their nearly relativistic velocities mostly prevent them from clumping together. Now, however, upcoming cosmological surveys (such as those of the recently launched Euclid satellite of the European Space Agency) will reach a precision allowing a detection of the associated percent-level effects. This raises the tantalizing prospect to constrain the neutrino mass itself, a profound open question in particle physics, so the stakes are high.

For their ground-breaking MillenniumTNG simulations, the researchers made efficient use of two extremely powerful supercomputers, the SuperMUC-NG machine at the Leibniz Supercomputing Center in Garching, and the Cosma8 machine at Durham Universe. More than 120聽000 compute cores toiled away for nearly two months at SuperMUC-NG, using computing time awarded by the German Gauss Centre for Supercomputing, to produce the most comprehensive hydrodynamical simulation model to date. MillenniumTNG is tracking the formation of about one hundred million galaxies in a region of the universe around 2400 million light-years across (see Figure 1). This calculation is about 15 times bigger than the previously best is this category, the TNG300 model of the IllustrisTNG project.

Using Cosma8, the team computed an even bigger volume of the universe, filled with more than a trillion dark matter particles and more than 10 billion particles for tracking massive neutrinos (see Figure 2). Even though this simulation did not follow the baryonic matter directly, its galaxy content can be accurately predicted in MillenniumTNG with a semi-analytic model that is calibrated against the full physical calculation of the project. This procedure leads to a detailed distribution of galaxies and matter in a volume that for the first time is large enough to be representative for the universe as a whole, putting comparisons to upcoming observational surveys on a sound statistical basis.

Theoretical predictions for cosmology

The first results of the MillenniumTNG project show a wealth of new theoretical predictions that reinforce the importance of computer simulations in modern cosmology. The team has written and submitted ten introductory scientific papers for the project. Eight of them have just appeared simultaneously in the journal MNRAS, the remaining two are about to follow shortly.

One timely study examines the discovery of a population of very massive galaxies in the young universe with the James Webb Space Telescope. The masses of these galaxies are unexpectedly large just a brief time after the Big Bang, seemingly defying theoretical expectations. Dr. Kannan analyzed the predictions of MillenniumTNG for this early epoch. While the simulations agree with the observations out to redshifts of z=10 (when the universe was less than 500 million years old), he confirmed that, if they hold up, the new results by JWST at even higher redshift conflicts with the simulation predictions.

鈥淧erhaps star formation is much more efficient shortly after the Big Bang than at later times, or maybe massive stars are formed in higher proportions back then, making these galaxies unusually bright鈥�, says Kannan of 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Science.

Another study looked at the shapes of galaxies. Nearby galaxies have the subtle tendency to orient their shapes in similar directions instead of pointing randomly, an effect called 鈥渋ntrinsic galaxy alignments鈥�. This poorly understood effect distorts inferences based on weak gravitational lensing, which creates its own statistical alignment signal. The MillenniumTNG project could for the first-time measure intrinsic alignments with very high signal-to-noise directly from the shapes of the simulated galaxies, out to distances of several hundred million light-years. 鈥淧erhaps our determination of the intrinsic alignment of galaxy orientations can help to resolve the current discrepancy between the amplitude of matter clustering inferred from weak lensing and from the cosmic microwave background,鈥� says PhD-student Ana Maria Delgado of Harvard University, first author of this study of the MillenniumTNG team. Using these results, astronomers will be able to correct for this important systematic effect much better.

Other works of the team鈥檚 initial analysis focus on the clustering signals of galaxies. For example, MPA PhD student Monica Barrera produced extremely large and highly realistic mock catalogues of galaxies on the past backwards 鈥渓ightcone鈥� of a fiducial observer (see Figure 3). In this case, galaxies that are more distant are also automatically younger, reflecting the travel time of the light that is reaching our telescopes. Using these virtual observations, she looked at the so-called baryonic acoustic oscillation (BAO) feature (which provides a cosmologically important standard ruler) in the projected two-point correlation function of galaxies. Her results showed, that measuring these BAOs is a fairly tricky endeavour that can be significantly influenced by so-called cosmic variance effects 鈥� even when extremely large volumes are studied in observational surveys. While in simulations one can observe the modelled universe from different vantage points to recover the correct statistical ensemble average, this is unfortunately not readily possible for the real Universe. 鈥淭he MillenniumTNG simulations are so big and contain so many galaxies, more than 1 billion in the biggest calculation, that it was really hard to study them鈥�, says Monica Barrera. 鈥淎nalysis scripts that work just fine for smaller simulations tend to take forever for MillenniumTNG.鈥�      

Analyzing cosmological data

The flurry of first results from the MillenniumTNG simulations make it clear that they will be of great help to design better strategies for the analysis of upcoming cosmological data. The team鈥檚 principal investigator, Professor Volker Springel from MPA argues that 鈥淢illenniumTNG combines recent advances in simulating galaxy formation with the field of cosmic large-scale structure, allowing an improved theoretical modelling of the connection of galaxies to the dark matter backbone of the Universe. This may well prove instrumental for progress on key questions in cosmology, such as how the mass of neutrinos can be best constrained with large-scale structure data.鈥� The MillenniumTNG simulations produced more than three Petabytes of simulation data, forming a rich asset for further research that will keep the participating scientists busy for many years to come.

Original scientific publications:

• The MillenniumTNG Project: The galaxy population at z 鈮� 8
  R. Kannan, V. Springel, L. Hernquist, R. Pakmor, A. M. Delgado, B. Hadzhiyska, C. Hern谩ndez-Aguayo, M. Barrera, F. Ferlito, S. Bose, S. D. M. White, C. Frenk, A. Smith, E. Garaldi
  MNRAS, July 2023 (preprint: )
• The MillenniumTNG Project: High-precision predictions for matter clustering and halo statistics
  C. Hern谩ndez-Aguayo, V. Springel, R. Pakmor, M. Barrera, F. Ferlito, S. D. M. White, L. Hernquist, B. Hadzhiyska, A. M. Delgado, R. Kannan, S. Bose, C. Frenk
  MNRAS, July 2023 (preprint: )
• The MillenniumTNG Project: The hydrodynamical full physics simulation and a first look at its galaxy clusters
  R. Pakmor, V. Springel, J. P. Coles, T. Guillet, C. Pfrommer, S. Bose, M. Barrera, A. M. Delgado, F. Ferlito, C. Frenk, B. Hadzhiyska, C. Hern谩ndez-Aguayo, L. Hernquist, R. Kannan, S. D. M. White
  MNRAS, July 2023 (preprint: )
• The MillenniumTNG Project: Semi-analytic galaxy formation models on the past lightcone
  M. Barrera, V. Springel, S. White, C. Hern谩ndez-Aguayo, L. Hernquist, C. Frenk, R. Pakmor, F. Ferlito, B. Hadzhiyska, A. M. Delgado, R. Kannan, S. Bose
  MNRAS, submitted (preprint: )
• The MillenniumTNG Project: Refining the one-halo model of red and blue galaxies at different redshifts
  B. Hadzhiyska, L. Hernquist, D. Eisenstein, A. M. Delgado, S. Bose, R. Kannan, R. Pakmor, V. Springel, S. Contreras, M. Barrera, F. Ferlito, C. Hern谩ndez-Aguayo, S. D. M. White, C. Frenk
  MNRAS, July 2023 (preprint: )
• The MillenniumTNG Project: An improved two-halo model for the galaxy-halo connection of red and blue galaxies
  B. Hadzhiyska, D. Eisenstein, L. Hernquist, R. Pakmor, S. Bose, A. M. Delgado, S. Contreras, R. Kannan, S. D. M. White, V. Springel, C. Frenk, C. Hern谩ndez-Aguayo, F. Ferlito, M. Barrera
  MNRAS, July 2023 (preprint: )
• The MillenniumTNG Project: The large-scale clustering of galaxies
  S. Bose, B. Hadzhiyska, M. Barrera, A. M. Delgado, F. Ferlito, C. Frenk, C. Hern谩ndez-Aguayo, L. Hernquist, R. Kannan, R. Pakmor, V. Springel, S. D. M. White
  MNRAS, July 2023 (preprint: )
• The MillenniumTNG Project: Inferring cosmology from galaxy clustering with accelerated N-body scaling and subhalo abundance matching
  S. Contreras, R. E. Angulo, V. Springel, S. D. M. White, B. Hadzhiyska, L. Hernquist, R. Pakmor, R. Kannan, C. Hern谩ndez-Aguayo, M. Barrera, F. Ferlito, A. M. Delgado, S. Bose, C. Frenk
  MNRAS, July 2023 (preprint: )
• The MillenniumTNG Project: Intrinsic alignments of galaxies and halos
  A. M. Delgado, B. Hadzhiyska, S. Bose, V. Springel, L. Hernquist, M. Barrera, R. Pakmor, F. Ferlito, R. Kannan, C. Hern谩ndez-Aguayo, S. D. M. White, C. Frenk
  MNRAS, July 2023 (preprint: )
• The MillenniumTNG Project: The impact of baryons and massive neutrinos on high-resolution weak gravitational lensing convergence maps
  F. Ferlito, V. Springel, C. T. Davies, C. Hern谩ndez-Aguayo, R. Pakmor, M. Barrera, S. D. M. White, A. M. Delgado, B. Hadzhiyska, L. Hernquist, R. Kannan, S. Bose, C. Frenk
  MNRAS, submitted (preprint: )

Further Links:

Web site of the MillenniumTNG project

Gauss Centre for Supercomputing

SuperMUC-NG at the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre

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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 Contacts

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

MPA: Hannelore H盲mmerle, +49-89-30000-3980, pr@mpa-garching.mpg.de

Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics: +1- 617-721-7371, pr@, https://cfa.harvard.edu

Communications Office contact Durham University: Leighton Kitson, communications.team@durham.ac.uk,

Scientific contact:

Prof. Dr. Volker Springel, Max-Planck Institute for Astrophysics (MPA), +49-89-30000-2195, vspringel@mpa-garching.mpg.de

Figures / Captions:

Figure 1: /news/wp-content/uploads/sites/242/2023/07/figure1-1-scaled.jpg

Projections of gas (top left), dark matter (top right), and stellar light (bottom center) for a slice in the largest hydrodynamical simulation of MillenniumTNG at the present epoch. The slice is about 35 million light-years thick. The projections show the vast physical scales in the simulation from size, about 2400 million light-years across, to an individual spiral galaxy (final round inset) with a radius of ~150 000 light-years. The underlying calculation is presently the largest high-resolution hydrodynamical simulation of galaxy formation, containing more than 160 billion resolution elements. 漏 MPA

Figure 2: /news/wp-content/uploads/sites/242/2023/07/Figure-2.jpg

Comparison of the neutrino (top) and dark matter (bottom) distributions on the past backwards lightcone of a fiducial observer positioned at the centre of the two horizontal stripes. As cosmic expansion slows down the neutrinos at late times (small redshift/distance), they start to weakly cluster around the biggest concentrations of dark matter as shown by a comparison of the zoomed insets. This slightly increases the mass and further growth rate of these largest structures. 漏 MPA

Figure 3: /news/wp-content/uploads/sites/242/2023/07/Figure-3-scaled.jpg

Galaxy distribution on the past backwards lightcone in MillenniumTNG, where the galaxies are predicted with a sophisticated semi-analytic model on top of the dark matter backbone. Galaxies are shown down to Johnson apparent magnitude 饾憛 < 23, in a 180 degrees wide, thin wedge with opening angle 0.24 degrees, out to redshift 饾懅 = 2. The galaxy positions are drawn as circles with comoving coordinates in real space, using red for galaxies with rest frame color index 饾惖鈭掟潙� > 0.7, and blue otherwise. Real observations of the galaxy positions would additionally be perturbed by small shifts along the line of sight due to the Doppler effects from the galaxies鈥� motions, an effect that can also be easily included in the models. The two circular insets show nested zooms with diameters of around 1.25 billion light-years and 125 million light-years, and fainter apparent magnitude limits of 饾憛 < 25 and 饾憛 < 28, respectively. 漏 MPA

The post Looking for cracks in the standard cosmological model appeared first on News@91亚色.

Why cluster鈥檚 galaxies are unlike those in all other known protoclusters is a mystery

TORONTO, Feb. 10, 2021 鈥� The discovery of a massive dead cluster of galaxies in a young universe full of star producing galaxies, close to 12 billion light-years away from Earth, has surprised an international team, including researchers from 91亚色.

91亚色 researchers discovered a large galaxy structure, also known as a protocluster, and partnered with international collaborators and researchers at the University of California, Riverside, who led the effort to explore it in further detail using the largest telescope in the world at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii.

鈥淭he Universe is filled with these clusters of galaxies. They鈥檙e everywhere,鈥� says Professor Adam Muzzin of the Faculty of Science, 91亚色. 鈥淥ne of things we were looking at was these galaxies very far in the past and when you look at them in the past, they are all still forming stars, but this one is really different. It was no longer forming stars, while all its neighbours were.鈥�

The newly discovered growing galactic metropolis, named MAGAZ3NE J095924+022537, is a massive newborn galaxy cluster consisting of at least 38 member galaxies. When viewing the galaxy, scientists are looking back in time to when this universe was less than two billion years old.

鈥淲hat we were trying to do initially is see how far in the past can we see these massive galaxies and whether or not they have started forming or accumulating this cluster like structure,鈥� says 91亚色 Visiting Professor Cemile Marsan. 鈥淲hat we found is surprising. Not only do we see an over density of galaxies around this one massive galaxy, we also found that they have already advanced quite a bit in their evolution.鈥�

Researchers weren鈥檛 expecting to see this dying out of galaxies at this epoch in time. Galaxy clusters grow over time under gravity and, in the present-day universe, can contain hundreds or even thousands of galaxies, as well as hot gas and dark matter. As time goes by, their galaxies burn through the fuel available and evolve from vigorously star-forming galaxies into red and dead galaxies.

鈥淚n the early universe, all protoclusters discovered until now are full of vigorously star-forming galaxies,鈥� said Ian McConachie, a graduate student at the University of California, Riverside, and the lead author of the research paper. 鈥淏ut incredibly, unlike all of the other protoclusters which have been found at this epoch, many galaxies in MAGAZ3NE J0959 appear to have already stopped forming stars.鈥�

The finding raises many questions and could test the current paradigm of how protoclusters are formed, especially if more dead cluster galaxies are found. In the future, Muzzin and Marsan hope to be able to explore further using the new as there could be others like it out there that have yet to be found.

How do you find something like this?

The team used spectroscopic observations from the W. M. Keck Observatory鈥檚 Multi-Object Spectrograph for Infrared Exploration, or MOSFIRE, to make detailed measurements of MAGAZ3NE J0959 and precisely quantify its distances.

鈥淭here is a degree of serendipity about it. It鈥檚 like with archeologists 鈥� you see a building sticking out and you start digging, and sometimes it鈥檚 just a wall and sometimes it鈥檚 an entire city with pots and pans,鈥� says Muzzin. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know until you actually start digging and that鈥檚 the same with astronomy. Sometimes you look and there isn鈥檛 much there, and then other times you find something surprising and different.鈥�

Closely associated to the question of how ultramassive galaxies (UMGs) form, is the question of the environment in which they form. Are they always found in over dense environments like protoclusters or can they also form in isolation? Next, the team plans to study the neighbourhood of all of the other UMGs in the MAGAZ3NE (Massive Ancient Galaxies At z>3 NEar-infrared) survey to answer this question.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 think we鈥檝e mapped out the whole structure. We鈥檝e kind of looked at one corner of it and saw an over density of galaxies, but there are the other sides of it we haven鈥檛 looked at,鈥� says Marsan, adding, 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the most distant structures discovered 鈥� and the oldest in such a young universe by far 鈥� so that鈥檚 what sets it apart.鈥�

The paper, 鈥�,鈥� is published in the Astrophysical Journal.

Other researchers involved in the study are Gillian Wilson of University of California, Riverside; Benjamin Forrest of University of California, Davis; Michael Cooper of UC Irvine; Marianna Annunziatella and Danilo Marchesini of Tufts University; Jeffrey Chan and Mohamed Abdullah of UCR; Percy Gomez of Keck Observatory; Paolo Saracco of the Astronomical Observatory of Brera, Italy; Julie Nantais of Andr茅s Bello National University, Santiago, Chile.

The study was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and NASA.

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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 Mysterious dead cluster galaxy found in thriving ancient galaxy city appeared first on News@91亚色.

Interdisciplinary investigation of the planet鈥檚 south pole points to clays being the likely culprit

TORONTO, July 29, 2021聽鈥�聽For years scientists have been debating what might lay under the Martian planet鈥檚 south polar cap after bright radar reflections were discovered and initially attributed to water. But now, a聽new聽study published in聽,聽led by planetary scientists from Lassonde School of Engineering at 91亚色, puts that theory to rest and demonstrates for the first time that another material is most likely the answer.

Research led by Isaac Smith, Canada Research Chair and聽assistant professor of聽Earth聽and Space Science at Lassonde聽School of Engineering and research scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, uses聽multiple lines of evidence to show that聽smectites, a common type of clay, can explain all of the observations,聽putting the Mars lake theory on ice.

"Since being first reported as bodies of water, the scientific community has shown skepticism about the lake hypothesis and recent publications questioned if it was even possible to have liquid water," said Smith. Papers in 2018 and 2021 demonstrated that the amount of salt and heat聽required聽to thaw ice at the bottom of the polar cap was much more than Mars provides, and recent evidence showing these radar detections are much more widespread 鈥� to places even harder to thaw ice 鈥� put the idea further into question.

Mars South Polar Layered Deposits on top of Martian Smectites: The multi-kilometer thick south polar ice cap has a base that is composed, at least partially, of a common type of clays. These clays are found over nearly half of the planet's surface and now at the edges of the ice cap. Radar measurements of the clays from a lab led by Smith show that they can explain the bright reflections observed by MARSIS, a simpler explanation than bodies of liquid water.聽Credits: ESA/DRL/FU Berlin (top), NASA (bottom).

The research team, which includes researchers from the University of Arizona, Cornell, Purdue and Tulane universities, used聽experimental and聽modelling聽work to demonstrate that聽smectites聽can better explain the radar observations made聽by the聽MARSIS聽instrument聽aboard the European Space Agency鈥檚 Mars Express orbiter. Further, they found spectral evidence that聽smectites聽are present at the edges of the south polar cap.

鈥淪mectites聽are very abundant on Mars, covering about half the planet, especially in the聽Southern Hemisphere," said Smith. 鈥淭hat knowledge, along with the radar properties of聽smectites聽at cryogenic temperatures, points to them being the most likely explanation to the riddle."

Experiments done at 91亚色 measured the radar characteristics of hydrated聽smectites聽at room temperature and cryogenic temperatures. The radar characteristics in question are two numbers that represent the real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant. Both numbers are important for fully characterizing a material, but the 2018 study used聽modelling聽that included only the real part of the dielectric value, leaving out certain classes of materials from being considered 鈥� namely clays.

Spectral color map from the CRISM instrument on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter draped over HiRISE imagery at the edge of the south polar ice cap. Specific colors from this map indicate the presence of smectite clays, an important discovery that helps to explain the MARSIS radar observations. Credit: NASA/JPL/UA.

Once the experimental measurements were completed, data was evaluated using code. It was in these simulations researchers聽found that frozen clays have numbers big enough to make the reflections.

Smectites聽are a class of clay that is formed when basalt (the volcanic rock that comprises most of Mars' surface) breaks down chemically in the presence of liquid water.

"Detecting possible clay minerals in and below the south polar ice cap is important because it tells us that the ice includes sediments that have interacted with water sometime in the past, either in the ice cap or before the ice was there,鈥� said Briony Horgan, co-author and associate professor in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at Purdue University. 鈥淪o, while our work shows that there may not be liquid聽water and an associated habitable environment for life under the cap today, it does tell us about water that existed in this area in the past."

To support this new hypothesis,聽Smith聽conducted聽experiments in his聽lab聽with equipment designed for measuring dielectric values. To simulate the conditions beneath Mars's south polar cap as best as possible, his team froze the clays to -50 C and measured them again, something that had never been done before.聽Smith adds that the infrared absorptions attributable to these minerals are present in south polar orbital聽visible-near聽infrared reflectance spectra. Because these minerals are both present at the聽south pole聽and can cause the reflections, the team believes this to be a more viable scenario than the presence of liquid water. No salt or heat is聽required.

鈥淲e used our聽lab聽measurements of clay minerals as the input for a radar reflection model and found that the results of the model matched very well with the real, observed data,鈥� said Dan聽Lalich,聽post-doctoral聽researcher at the聽Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science聽at Cornell University and second author on the study. 鈥淲hile it's disappointing that liquid water might not actually be present below the ice today, this is still a cool observation that might help us learn more about conditions on ancient Mars.鈥�

"We analyzed the聽MARSIS聽radar data and identified observations with high-power values at the base of the south polar layered deposits, both in the proposed lake region and elsewhere," said聽Jenny Whitten, co-author and planetary scientist in the聽Department of聽Earth聽and Environmental Sciences at Tulane University.

"The first reason the bright reflectors cannot be water is because some of them continue from underground onto the surface. If that is the case, then we should see springs, which we don't," said Stefano聽Nerozzi,聽post-doctoral聽fellow in the聽Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and Department of Geosciences at the University of Arizona and co-author.聽"Not only that, but multiple reflectors are stacked on top of each other, and some are even found right in the middle of the polar cap. If this were water, this would be physically impossible."

Putting the results in perspective Smith says the answer is clear.

鈥淣ow, we have the trifecta. One, we measured dielectric properties of materials that are known to exist on over 50 per cent of Mars' surface and found them to have very high values. Two, we聽modelled聽how those numbers would respond in Mars' south-polar conditions and found them to match the radar observations well. Three, we demonstrated that these minerals are at the聽south pole. Because the liquid water theory聽required聽incredible amounts of heat which is six-to-eight times more than Mars provides, and more salt than Mars has, it was聽already聽implausible. Now, the clays can explain the observations with absolutely no qualifiers or asterisks.鈥�

About 91亚色

91亚色聽is a modern,聽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聽Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual聽Postsecondary聽Education. 91亚色鈥檚 campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning聽opportunities聽and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.

About Lassonde School of Engineering

Located in the heart of the multicultural Greater Toronto Area, the聽听补迟听91亚色聽ishome to engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs, representing a diverse community of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners. With 11 undergraduate programs, seven graduate programs and a host of certificates and accessible study options, Lassonde is shaping the next generation of creators who will tackle the world鈥檚 biggest challenges and devise creative solutions through interdisciplinary learning opportunities. Lassonde鈥檚 creators think in big systems rather than small silos, design with people in mind and embrace ambiguity.

Media contact:聽Kayla Lewis, 91亚色 Media Relations, cell 416-455-4710,聽lewiskay@yorku.ca

The post Study: 91亚色 U planetary scientist puts Mars lake theory on ice with new study that offers聽alternate聽explanation appeared first on News@91亚色.

Professor Paul Delaney answers this and otherworldly questions before boarding his spaceship to places unknown

TORONTO, June 28, 2021 鈥� As 91亚色 physics and astronomy Professor gets ready to board his spaceship and fly off (retire), he is leaving behind a few answers to some of the public鈥檚 most common astronomical questions over the years.

Delaney is the inaugural Allan I. Carswell Chair for the Public Understanding of Astronomy in the Faculty of Science and has been at 91亚色 since September 1986. He has been the public face of astronomy for 91亚色 for many years teaching undergraduate and graduate students, but also thousands of elementary students and the community through science outreach events and in the observatory.

In addition to answers to popular questions, Delaney is available to answer otherworldly questions from media. The public will have the opportunity to do the same during his farewell YouTube disengagement derby (details below).

• Will Earth be swallowed by a black hole? Absolutely not.聽 While a black hole does have an immense gravitational field, they are only 鈥渄angerous鈥� if you get very close to them.聽 For example, if our own sun was to (miraculously) transform into a black hole of the same mass, our planet would not discern any change in the gravitational force acting on it and continue in the same orbit. It would get very dark of course and very cold, but the black hole鈥檚 gravity at our distance from it would not be a concern.
• Is there life on other planets? We really do not know the answer to this question.聽 Astronomers are searching for this answer in a number of ways, but at present, we can only say that life exists on Earth. My opinion is that life is common, and that we will find evidence of life on other planets in the relatively near future. There is an enormous amount of 鈥渞eal estate鈥� (exoplanets) in our own Milky Way galaxy and based on our understanding of the way life developed in our solar system, I would expect similar conditions to have existed on other planets too.
• Will the sun become a supernova? No, our sun will end up as a red giant followed by a white dwarf. The death of our sun, about five to six-billion years from now, will be a relatively calm affair compared to the destructive demise of star that goes supernova. It is a question of mass that determines the way a star completes its life cycle. Our sun is too low in mass to allow the supernova process to occur.
• Do you want to go into space? Absolutely but unfortunately, I am now too old to do so.聽 I have always wanted the opportunity to see Earth from space, to experience weightlessness and to observe the stars from a vantage point other than the ground.聽 With humanity on the cusp of space tourism, I expect my grandchildren will have the opportunity to 鈥渨eekend鈥� or 鈥渃amp鈥� in Earth orbit or even go to the Moon for a holiday. Sadly, I was born too early in the Space Age.
• Why does the moon look bigger when it鈥檚 close to the horizon? The moon fascinates people. The moon illusion, the idea that the moon is actually bigger when viewed near the horizon is a common misconception. The apparent angular size of the moon does not change during the night. It appears larger at moonrise or moonset simply because the observer sees the moon proximate to familiar objects like trees, houses, etc., and your mind interprets the moon to be 鈥渂igger.鈥� When the moon is higher in the sky, there are no familiar reference points, just the open, vastness of space and again, your mind interprets the moon to be 鈥渟maller.鈥�
• When is it a good time to observe? Anytime! The stars are there waiting for anyone to enjoy, with or without a telescope.

YouTube disengagement derby

Join the 鈥檚 online YouTube retirement party, An Astronomy 4D Event: The Director Delaney Disengagement Derby, on Wednesday, June 30 at 7:30pm where observatory staff and faculty will answer questions, discuss astronomy, have observations and tell stories. Comments, stories and questions are welcome in advance at eahyde@yorku.ca.

Navigate your way here:

The 91亚色 observatory has been a prominent hub for science outreach to the broader community since 1969. In pre-COVID-19 days, about 5,000 visitors annually came for public viewing on Wednesday nights. Hundreds more, especially during the pandemic, tune into Monday night viewing opportunities when 91亚色 students and faculty host the popular 鈥溾�� radio show on astronomy.fm online.

After June 30, Delaney will be on sabbatical until he hangs his hat on the nearest star Dec. 31.

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91亚色聽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.聽

Media Contact:

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

The post Will Earth be swallowed up by a black hole? appeared first on News@91亚色.

From left, Vice-President of Advancement Jeff O'Hagen, the inaugural Allan I. Carswell Chair for the Public Understanding of Astronomy in the Faculty of Science Paul Delaney, Dean of the Faculty of Science Ray Jayawardhana, President & Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton, and far right 91亚色 Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell

TORONTO, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018 鈥� With a galactic $3M investment, made in partnership with 91亚色 Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell and the Carswell Family Foundation, 91亚色 will share the wonders of the universe with students, youth in the community and the public through the creation of a new Chair.

The Allan I. Carswell Chair for the Public Understanding of Astronomy in the Faculty of Science, thought to be the first of its kind in North America, will be dedicated to science engagement and outreach. It will benefit students and the public through education and activities, involving telescopes at the Allan I. Carswell Observatory, as well as novel technologies such as virtual reality. The endowment will also support the 91亚色 Science Communicator in Residence program to enhance student learning opportunities in science communications.

91亚色 President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton

The first holder of the Carswell Chair for a three-year term will be University Professor and Senior Lecturer Paul Delaney. Delaney is well-known within the University and the broader community for his public outreach and frequent media appearances explaining the mysteries of the Universe in a way that everyone can understand.

鈥淲ith this generous gift to the Faculty of Science from Allan Carswell and the Carswell Family Foundation, 91亚色 will enhance the exciting educational opportunities in astronomy that we offer our students, while also growing our community outreach initiatives as part of our institutional commitment to public service,鈥� said President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton. 鈥淎llan鈥檚 immense generosity will benefit students, faculty and the public here and across the country, and allow a whole new generation to explore the wonders of our galaxy.鈥�

91亚色 will match the $1.5 million gift from the Carswell Family Foundation for a total of $3 million.

As a result of the Carswell gift, the Chair will be poised to keep pace with emerging technologies, changes in science education, and develop innovative ways to teach, communicate and involve students, as well as the broader community in the excitement of science.

91亚色 Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell

The kind of STEM learning experiences possible with the new endowed Chair will go far beyond the immediate community to include youth, educators, students, and community groups across the country. Currently close to 1,500 elementary and secondary students in the GTA visit the observatory every year, providing teachers with an indispensable resource, while the science ambassador team goes directly to those schools unable to organize the trek to 91亚色 U. Recognizing that astronomy is an accessible way to connect people to science, today鈥檚 gift will help these kinds of outreach efforts reach the next level of engagement.

鈥淭he Carswell Chair embodies a truly inspired, exciting and meaningful vision for science engagement 鈥搊ne that is unique in its scope and far-reaching in its impact,鈥� said Ray Jayawardhana, dean of the Faculty of Science. 鈥淗aving been drawn to the wonders of space as a kid, I can attest personally to astronomy鈥檚 power to stimulate the imagination and instill a passion for science. We hope today鈥檚 landmark investment will inspire and enable youth and communities near and far to share in the adventures of science.鈥�

Dean of Faculty of Science Ray Jayawardhana and 91亚色 Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell

Working with the Science Communicator in Residence program and the observatory, the Chair will also enhance undergraduate and graduate learning opportunities in science communications.

鈥淎stronomy has for centuries been providing everyone with an awe-inspiring challenge to understand the universe around us and the science involved,鈥� says 91亚色 U physics Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell. 鈥淭he goal of the Carswell Chair, in the present communication-age, is to stimulate a response to this challenge by providing a proactive outreach to students and the community at large.鈥�

From left, 91亚色 Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell and University Professor Paul Delaney, the first Allan I. Carswell Chair for the Public Understanding of Astronomy in the Faculty of Science

This is not the first gift that Carswell and his family have made to 91亚色. Last year, the Carswell Family Foundation donated $500,000 toward a $1M investment to acquire a new, for the observatory at 91亚色 U, making it the largest telescope on a Canadian campus.

The observatory at 91亚色 U has been a prominent hub for science outreach to the broader community since 1969. About 5,000 visitors a year come for public viewing on Wednesday nights, while there are online viewing opportunities for scores more on Monday nights when 91亚色 students and faculty host the popular 鈥溾�� radio show on astronomy.fm online. Establishment of the Chair is subject to approval by the 91亚色 Senate and Board of Governors.

Now that should encourage everyone to look up at the stars.

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91亚色聽champions new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-disciplinary programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91亚色 students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world鈥檚 most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91亚色 U is an internationally recognized research university 鈥� our 11 faculties and 25 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91亚色 is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni. 91亚色 U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 聽

Media Contact:

Sandra McLean, 91亚色 Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 22097,聽sandramc@yorku.ca

The post Stellar $3M endowment will help students, community reach for the stars and beyond appeared first on News@91亚色.

From left, Vice-President of Advancement Jeff O'Hagen, the inaugural Allan I. Carswell Chair for the Public Understanding of Astronomy in the Faculty of Science Paul Delaney, Dean of the Faculty of Science Ray Jayawardhana, President & Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton, and far right 91亚色 Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell

TORONTO, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018 鈥� With a galactic $3M investment, made in partnership with 91亚色 Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell and the Carswell Family Foundation, 91亚色 will share the wonders of the universe with students, youth in the community and the public through the creation of a new Chair.

The Allan I. Carswell Chair for the Public Understanding of Astronomy in the Faculty of Science, thought to be the first of its kind in North America, will be dedicated to science engagement and outreach. It will benefit students and the public through education and activities, involving telescopes at the Allan I. Carswell Observatory, as well as novel technologies such as virtual reality. The endowment will also support the 91亚色 Science Communicator in Residence program to enhance student learning opportunities in science communications.

91亚色 President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton

The first holder of the Carswell Chair for a three-year term will be University Professor and Senior Lecturer Paul Delaney. Delaney is well-known within the University and the broader community for his public outreach and frequent media appearances explaining the mysteries of the Universe in a way that everyone can understand.

鈥淲ith this generous gift to the Faculty of Science from Allan Carswell and the Carswell Family Foundation, 91亚色 will enhance the exciting educational opportunities in astronomy that we offer our students, while also growing our community outreach initiatives as part of our institutional commitment to public service,鈥� said President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton. 鈥淎llan鈥檚 immense generosity will benefit students, faculty and the public here and across the country, and allow a whole new generation to explore the wonders of our galaxy.鈥�

91亚色 will match the $1.5 million gift from the Carswell Family Foundation for a total of $3 million.

As a result of the Carswell gift, the Chair will be poised to keep pace with emerging technologies, changes in science education, and develop innovative ways to teach, communicate and involve students, as well as the broader community in the excitement of science.

91亚色 Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell

The kind of STEM learning experiences possible with the new endowed Chair will go far beyond the immediate community to include youth, educators, students, and community groups across the country. Currently close to 1,500 elementary and secondary students in the GTA visit the observatory every year, providing teachers with an indispensable resource, while the science ambassador team goes directly to those schools unable to organize the trek to 91亚色 U. Recognizing that astronomy is an accessible way to connect people to science, today鈥檚 gift will help these kinds of outreach efforts reach the next level of engagement.

鈥淭he Carswell Chair embodies a truly inspired, exciting and meaningful vision for science engagement 鈥搊ne that is unique in its scope and far-reaching in its impact,鈥� said Ray Jayawardhana, dean of the Faculty of Science. 鈥淗aving been drawn to the wonders of space as a kid, I can attest personally to astronomy鈥檚 power to stimulate the imagination and instill a passion for science. We hope today鈥檚 landmark investment will inspire and enable youth and communities near and far to share in the adventures of science.鈥�

Dean of Faculty of Science Ray Jayawardhana and 91亚色 Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell

Working with the Science Communicator in Residence program and the observatory, the Chair will also enhance undergraduate and graduate learning opportunities in science communications.

鈥淎stronomy has for centuries been providing everyone with an awe-inspiring challenge to understand the universe around us and the science involved,鈥� says 91亚色 U physics Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell. 鈥淭he goal of the Carswell Chair, in the present communication-age, is to stimulate a response to this challenge by providing a proactive outreach to students and the community at large.鈥�

From left, 91亚色 Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell and University Professor Paul Delaney, the first Allan I. Carswell Chair for the Public Understanding of Astronomy in the Faculty of Science

This is not the first gift that Carswell and his family have made to 91亚色. Last year, the Carswell Family Foundation donated $500,000 toward a $1M investment to acquire a new, for the observatory at 91亚色 U, making it the largest telescope on a Canadian campus.

The observatory at 91亚色 U has been a prominent hub for science outreach to the broader community since 1969. About 5,000 visitors a year come for public viewing on Wednesday nights, while there are online viewing opportunities for scores more on Monday nights when 91亚色 students and faculty host the popular 鈥溾�� radio show on astronomy.fm online. Establishment of the Chair is subject to approval by the 91亚色 Senate and Board of Governors.

Now that should encourage everyone to look up at the stars.

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91亚色聽champions new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-disciplinary programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91亚色 students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world鈥檚 most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91亚色 U is an internationally recognized research university 鈥� our 11 faculties and 25 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91亚色 is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni. 91亚色 U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 聽

Media Contact:

Sandra McLean, 91亚色 Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 22097,聽sandramc@yorku.ca

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