There’s a lot of debris in our solar system, and every so often we get to see it — meteors streaking against a starry sky, a bright comet or a passing asteroid. And sometimes, Earth temporarily grabs hold of one of these asteroids and keeps it around a little bit longer. That’s what’s happening later this … Read more
It was astronomers who spotted J0529-4351, the most powerful quasar thanks to its brightness 500 trillion times greater than that of the sun. This quasar’s incredible brightness, previously described in a study focused on data from the Very Large Telescope in Chile, comes from an active supermassive black hole (~17 Billion solar masses), which devours … Read more
NEW DELHI: Magnetism, one of the most tangible fundamental forces, has been a part of Earth’s history since its formation. In his new book, “CHARGE: Why Does Gravity Rule?”, theoretical physicist Frank Close explores the origins and impacts of this force, explaining how magnetism became an integral part of our planet.Five billion years ago, as … Read more
Scientists have taken a clue from a carnival stunt known as the Wall of Death to help future astronauts on the moon stay healthy. But instead of riding motorcycles, moon colonists will simply run around the walls. For decades, carnival goers have been thrilled at the spectacle of stunt drivers taking motorcycles and even cars up … Read more
As the urban centre at the heart of Canada’s oilsands industry, Fort McMurray has seen more than its share of ups and downs. A decade and a half ago, the northern Alberta community was this country’s most famous boom town. High oil prices helped to drive unprecedented demand for the thick, viscous bitumen that lies … Read more
Last November, the Voyager 1 spacecraft began sending gibberish radio signals back to Earth. Engineers have now identified the problem, but trying to repair a 46-year-old device on a craft 24 billion kilometres from Earth is not easy. Voyager 1 and its twin Voyager 2 were both launched in 1977 on a reconnaissance mission to … Read more
For two decades, Tamara Franz-Odendaal has been studying how space travel affects the human skeleton. Because of the absence of gravity in space, astronauts experience bone loss when they get back to Earth. “We always think of it as just the scaffold that kind of keeps the body together, but it’s a really dynamic tissue,” … Read more
Gabriela Cowperthwaite is the first to admit her new film, I.S.S., is out of step with her career to date. The director of Blackfish (a documentary about the cruel treatment of orcas in captivity, Children of the Underground (about a covert network built to smuggle families away from abusive partners) and Our Friend (a true story of … Read more
2023 was a busy year in science. Here are 10 stories worth revisiting as we wind up the year. 1. Canadian Jeremy Hansen chosen to fly to the moon A Canadian astronaut was selected as part of the crew for NASA’s Artemis II mission to the moon. Jeremy Hansen and three crew mates will fly … Read more
