Ingenuity Mars Helicopter down but definitely not out

Last January, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter made its final flight with a landing that damaged at least one of its rotor blades and left it permanently grounded. But while it can no longer fly, it will continue to operate as a stationary Martian weather station. Ingenuity landed on Mars on February 18, 2021, under the belly of the … Read more

Nearly 30 cases of eclipse-related eye damage reported in Quebec so far

Quebec optometrists have confirmed 28 cases of eclipse-related eye damage since the solar event on April 8, and health officials say there could be far more. For the first time, the Quebec’s health surveillance directorate has set up a watch for eye injuries linked to a solar eclipse, according to Ministry of Health and Social … Read more

No planet comes close to the life-giving properties of planet Earth — at least not yet

With the discovery of more than 5,600 planets orbiting other stars and images from robots we have sent to all the planets in our solar system, it is becoming abundantly clear that Earth is unique among worlds. Almost all of the exoplanets scientists have discovered since the 1990s fall into four main types: gas giants like Jupiter … Read more

NASA pauses Mars sample return plan until a cheaper, faster one can be developed

NASA’s plan to bring samples from Mars back to Earth is on hold until there’s a faster, cheaper way, space agency officials said Monday. Retrieving Mars soil and rocks has been on NASA’s to-do list for decades, but the date kept moving forward, as costs ballooned. A recent independent review put the total cost at … Read more

Engineers attempt to fix a computer glitch on Voyager 1

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

When is Canada’s next total solar eclipse? 2044 in B.C., Alberta

Thousands of people flocked to parts of Eastern Canada and the United States this week to catch a glimpse of Monday’s total solar eclipse, when the moon completely blocked out the sun. For 11-year-old Julian Falkin, who traveled with his family from Vancouver to Cleveland, Ohio, to view the event, it was well worth the trip. … Read more

Why this solar eclipse has meaning for the Haudenosaunee Confederacy

During next Monday’s solar eclipse, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy will celebrate the once in a lifetime event as the anniversary of its founding. The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, also known as the Iroquois Confederacy, is composed of the Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Mohawk and Tuscarora nations. A total solar eclipse played an important role in its history. On the … Read more

Citizen scientists discover a treasure trove of active asteroids

The citizen science program Active Asteroids is looking for volunteers from the public to sift through astronomical photographs of asteroids to look for signs of tails which may indicate the presence of water. Active asteroids are rare small bodies in our solar system with an asteroid-like orbit and comet-like tail. Spotting them is a bit … Read more