Thirty-four years ago on January 22, 1992, STS-42 carried the first International Microgravity Laboratory [IML-1], dozens of experiments, and seven space shuttle crew members into orbit. Over 200 scientists from 13 countries contributed to the crew’s onboard research tasks in the physical and life…
On October 24, 1908, Canadian geologist and geophysicist John Tuzo Wilson, CC, OBE, FRS, FRSC, FRSE was born. After academic studies on three continents, a stint with the Geological Survey of Canada, and the Royal Canadian (Army) Engineers, he taught geophysics at the University…
On September 11, 1847, American astronomer Mary Watson Whitney was born. She excelled in mathematics and nature studies. Whitney was one of Vassar’s first students in the college’s opening year and one of its first students in its new department of astronomy. In a…
From August 18 through August 21, 2025, it’s another week of night sights in the Wood Buffalo National Park Dark Sky Preserve at the Dark Sky Festival [DSF]. The park’s 44,807 km2 (17,300 mi2) sit on the border of Canada’s Northwest Territories and the…
On April 24, 1996, Wapusk National Park, an area covering 11,475 km2 (4,430.5 mi2 ), became part of Canada’s National Parks system. Wapusk, “White Bear” in Cree, protects one of the world’s largest polar bear den areas. On the transition between boreal forest and…
On April 17, 1899, English entomologist Sir Vincent Brian Wigglesworth was born. He created a new science – the study of Insect Physiology – and researched extensively into the role of hormones in insect growth, metamorphosis, and reproduction. Wigglesworth detailed many physical mechanisms and…
On April 15, 1452, Leonardo da Vinci was born. Without formal education, he recorded much of his interest in every facet of life and study. He was an observational scientist who tried to understand something by illustrating and describing it, taking joy in quiet,…
On April 14, 1912, sightings of large icebergs were radioed ship-to-ship in the North Atlantic. Little was generally known about icebergs except that they could damage a ship and the navigational strategy of the day was to avoid them. Moved by ocean current and…
On April 7, 1795, France introduced the metric system of measurement with the original units for length, area, volumes and mass. The main feature of the metric system is the standardized set of interrelated base units that include a standard set of prefixes in…
On March 4, 1901, Dr. Wilbur Rounding Franks was born. This Canadian scientist and cancer researcher developed anti-gravity devices in the 1940s with his colleagues at the Banting and Best Medical Research Institute at the University of Toronto. The first devices Dr. Franks developed…