Skywatching
Observing the radio universe
A few months ago, a strange problem arose at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, near Penticton. There were periodic bursts of intense interference...
Facination with 'magical' solar eclipses
The events of April 8 show solar eclipses are very special to us. It is not just a matter of the comparatively rare event of the Moon passing in front of the...
Figuring out what occurred in the galaxy before the Big Bang
For much of our history, we have conceived the universe as something eternal, in which everything we know of comes and goes. Then, in the first half of the 20th...
Measurements of radiation around Earth marked early days of Space Age
The Space Age began on Oct. 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched the Earth's first artificial satellite. At the time, the Cold War was in full swing,...
Solutions sought to measuring speed and distance travelled by planets in space
Our knowledge of the expansion of the universe is fundamental to understanding how it formed and how it has and is evolving. That expansion was first measured...
How radar helps us see what's in space
For most of our history, astronomy has been a strictly spectator sport. We observed and studied the light and other radiation that objects in the cosmos...
The tricky job of creating a calendar that reflects earth's actual rotation
This year is a leap year. We have added a day to February in order to keep the date in step with the seasons and the annual motion of the Sun. Here is how we...
Avoiding the fate of the dinosaurs
Around 65 million years ago, an asteroid 10 kilometres to 15 kilometres in diameter hit the Earth close to what is now the Yucatan Peninsula. Already stressed...
Fast radio bursts raise questions about highly magnetized star
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are intense bursts of radio emissions, just milliseconds duration. They were discovered by accident. A large radio telescope, which...
The impact of stellar flares
These days most of us are familiar with the term “space weather.” But “solar weather" is a more accurate term because what we mean by...
A look at Titan, Saturn's largest moon
Italian astronomer Giovanni Cassini and Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens both made detailed observations of Saturn and its moons. Huygens discovered Titan,...
Exploring Venus, the volcano planet
Venus has often been referred to as the Earth's twin. It is the second planet out from the Sun. We live on the third. It is around the same size as Earth,...
Why some stars 'wink' in the night sky
Imagine what it must have been like for ancient sky watchers when they saw a star slowly winking at them. They were familiar with stars twinkling and planets...
What light tells us about space
On the windowsill in my den at home, I have a prism (a triangular piece of glass) mounted so that sunlight coming through the window is projected as a band of...
New views of the cosmos
In the 1930s, Karl Jansky, an engineer and scientist with Bell Telephone Laboratories, was given the task of assessing the interference environment in which...
Looking in space for what's not there
One of the ways we are searching for life on other planets in the Solar System and beyond is to look for things that are only there because of living things,...
A new look at Cassiopeia A
Long, long ago, when I was just a hope-to-be astronomer, the movie "Radio Sky" was shown at a meeting of amateur astronomers. It presented a summary...
Mapping dots in the sky using radio astronomy
Every week our observatory has a science meeting, which we can attend either in person or via Zoom. After hearing about the latest admin and project updates, we...
What to consider when buying a first telescope
At 19:27 Pacific Standard Time on Dec. 21, the Sun will reach the southernmost point in its yearly travels, the Winter Solstice. Afterwards, the Sun will start...
Four moons of Jupiter are not as expected
Jupiter is prominent in our night skies at the moment. Look for a bright, untwinkling object in the south-east after dark and moving westward overnight. It is...