Skip to main content

Astronomy

Boy looking through telescope at night

Optical Telescopes

Learn about the history of telescopes and the function of refracting and reflecting optical telescopes.

Telescope under construction

Seeing the Universe with the James Webb Telescope

Learn about the James Webb telescope and Canada’s role in the mission.

Katie Mack headshot

Katie Mack (she/her)

Hawking Chair in Cosmology and Science Communication

I study of the fundamental physics of the universe.
Katie Harris essayant une combinaison spatiale de simulation au Centre européen des astronautes.

Katie Harris (she/her)

Medical Student/Prospective Aerospace Medicine Specialist

I am working towards a career as an aerospace medicine specialist - a doctor who works with astronauts and keeps them healthy for long missions!
Skyglow from a city and highway

Light Pollution

Light can be a type of pollution. Learn about the damage it causes to people and living things as well as how you can prevent it.

Hubble Space Telescope as seen during a servicing mission in 2009

Airborne & Space Telescopes

Learn about telescopes that do their work high in Earth’s atmosphere and in space.

Radio Telescope array at night

Radio Astronomy

Learn about radio astronomy, a type of astronomy that studies objects in space using radio waves and radio telescopes.

Close-up of the Arecibo Observatory radio telescope

SETI - The Search for extraterrestrial Intelligence

Some astronomers are not looking for stars, planets or galaxies. They are searching for intelligent life in the universe beyond our planet.

Adult and children looking through telescope

The Optics of Telescopes

Learn about telescopes, how they work & why they're important to astronomers.

ChaoticMind75 - iStock

Why is it colder in the winter even though the Earth is closer to the Sun?

Learn why we have seasons in this hands on activity.

What would happen if a meteor hit Earth?

What would happen if a meteor hit Earth?

Explore the effects of asteroid impacts in this hands on activity.

The Parkes Observatory in New South Wales, Australia

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence - and How You Can Help!

When astronomers search for extraterrestrial life, they often have to listen for radio waves coming from deep space. If you’re interested, you can help!

Milky Way galaxy as seen from Australia (Brett Ritchie via Unsplash)

The Milky Way

In 2019, scientists discovered that our galaxy, the Milky Way, is not the shape they thought it was. How do astronomers use astronomical distance to understand the shapes of galaxies?

An artist’s impression of a habitable exoplanet orbiting a red dwarf star

Searching for exoplanets around the star next door

In planetary science, astronomers have found planets that orbit other stars, just like Earth orbits the Sun. Some of them might even be able to support life.

compass pointing north

How can I tell which way is north at night?

Do you like to look at the stars? What can you identify in the night sky? Try finding some important constellations tonight!