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Astronomers at the University of Toronto have spotted some of the most elusive stuff in our universe by taking a deep look at the cosmic web, the network of filaments and knots that trace the large-scale distribution of galaxies. Even though galaxies produce most of the visible light in the universe, they contain fewer than 10 per cent of all the atoms in the cosmos.

An international team of astronomers has identified only the second and third examples of a rare type of star system comprising two central stars orbiting each other, encompassed by a remarkable disk of gas and dust. "If there were a planet in one of these systems, it would be like the planet Tatooine from  Star Wars ," says  Michael Poon , a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Arts & Science's  David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics  and one of two University of Toronto researchers involved in the discovery.

Brown dwarfs - celestial objects that fall between stars and planets - are shown in this illustration with a range of temperatures, from hottest (left) to coldest (right). The two in the middle represent those in the right temperature range for clouds made of silicates to form. (Illustration by NASA/JPL-Caltech) A new study led by researchers at Western University provides critical information on sand clouds observed in distant planets and helps affirm a larger theory of how planetary atmospheres work.

The Near InfraRed Planet Searcher instrument, designed in part at Laval University, has successfully made its first observations The Near InfraRed Planet Searcher (NIRPS) instrument, designed in part at the University of Montreal and Laval University, has successfully made its first observations. Installed on the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) 3.6-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile, NIRPS' mission is to search for new exoplanets around stars in the solar neighborhood.

UdeM research team to develop miniaturized technology to monitor the health of astronauts on future deep-space missions - and someday in the Far North. On May 25, the Canadian Space Agency and Impact Canada announced the 20 winning entries in the Deep Space Health Care Challenge , a competition to support the development of new health-care technologies for crews on deep-space missions and residents of Canada's remote communities.

An international team of scientists recently released the largest near-infrared image ever taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, enabling astronomers to map the star-forming regions of the universe and learn how the earliest, most distant galaxies originated. Named 3D-DASH, this high-resolution survey will allow researchers to find rare objects and targets for follow-up observations with the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) during its decades-long mission.

According to a UdeM study, life could have emerged on an exoplanet as a result of a type of biochemical cooperation that is more likely to occur in nature than we might think! Darwin's theory of evolution probably isn't the full explanation for the emergence of life. Even in a barren environment conducive to fierce competition, cooperation between molecular networks may have spawned life on Earth and, by extension, elsewhere in the universe.

May 12, 2022 A new image from Avery Broderick and the Event Horizon Telescope shows the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way By Elizabeth Kleisath Faculty of Science Three years ago, history was made when the first image of a black hole inspired wonder and awe around the world as we glimpsed the shadow of light escaping from the supermassive black hole M87*.

Astronomers have unveiled the first image of the supermassive black hole at the centre of our own Milky Way galaxy. This result provides overwhelming evidence that the object is indeed a black hole and yields valuable clues about the workings of such giants, which are thought to reside at the centre of most galaxies.

May 9, 2022 Discovery advances understanding of theory of relativity and quantum By A major hurdle for work at the forefront of fundamental physics is the inability to test cutting-edge theories in a laboratory setting. But a recent discovery opens the door for scientists to see ideas in action that were previously only understood in theory or represented in science fiction.

A sample of black glass that recorded at 2,370 C temperature (Source: Gavin Tolometti) If there was ever any doubt the 2011 discovery by a post-doctoral candidate was indeed the hottest rock on Earth, new findings from a Western-led research team are putting that uncertainty to rest.

Friday, April 8, 2022 Kingston- Astronomers at Queen's University in Kingston have discovered for the first time that Polaris - more commonly known as the North Star - is host to a remarkable magnetic field. Stellar magnetic fields exert forces on charged particles in their atmospheres, impacting how the star evolves and changes over time.

The unique way that ground squirrels burn almost no energy when they hibernate - with no loss of muscle mass - has implications for space travel, an UdeM biologist finds. When bears and ground squirrels hibernate in winter, they stop eating, lasting until spring simply on the fat reserves they've stored up in their bodies.

XO-3b, a hot Jupiter on an eccentric orbit. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC) Imagine being in a place where the winds are so strong that they move at the speed of sound. That's just one aspect of the atmosphere on XO-3b, one of a class of exoplanets (planets outside our solar system), known as hot Jupiters.

Astronomers are one step closer to revealing the properties of dark matter enveloping our Milky Way galaxy thanks to a new map of 12 streams of stars orbiting within our galactic halo. Understanding these star streams is very important for astronomers. As well as revealing the dark matter that holds the stars in their orbits, they also tell us about the formation history of the Milky Way, revealing that the galaxy has steadily grown over billions of years by shredding and consuming smaller stellar systems.

The search of life beyond our world is an exciting venture that may yield an enormous discovery in the not-too-distant future. However, space agencies around the world, including NASA and the European Space Agency, have long been aware of the potential risks of biological contamination and have set in place planetary protection policies.

Research aimed at helping astronauts deal with isolation and confinement could also have an impact on those back on Earth suffering from COVID-related loneliness. Researchers in Simon Fraser University's iSpace Lab have created a virtual reality experience-called Earthgazing-which will be tested as part of SIRIUS 2021 , a study launching Nov.

A University of Toronto astronomer's research suggests the solar system is surrounded by a magnetic tunnel that can be seen in radio waves. Jennifer West , a research associate at the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, is making a scientific case that two bright structures seen on opposite sides of the sky - previously considered to be separate - are actually connected and are made of rope-like filaments.