On October 16, 1975, NASA launched GOES-1 – the first Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite. Over the Indian Ocean, GOES-1 achieved a specific geostationary orbit, approximately 35,785 km (22,236 mi) above the equator, following the direction of Earth’s rotation, matching its rotation period, and appearing…
On September 30, 1905, Australian bird photographer Alfred Donald Trounson was born. Intrigued by all the Australian bird sounds new to him, Trounson collected birdsong with his tape-recorder. He was invited to play his collection on an Australian radio programme. The program was a…
On September 14, 1907, Jasper Forest Park was established, expanding into national park status in 1930. With its 11,000 km² (4200 mi² ) area, Jasper National Park of Canada is larger than the country of Jamaica. On hundreds of individual sites throughout Jasper, there…
On September 13, 1851, American army physician Walter Reed was born. After completing his medical education and internship, He entered the U S Army Medical Corps. For almost two decades he practiced medicine while serving at frontier army stations. When he returned east, he…
On August 3, 1915, American zoologist Donald Redfield Griffin was born. As a Harvard undergraduate and early pioneer in animal behaviour studies, he investigated bat echolocation as the animal’s means of navigation. Griffin coined the word echolocation to describe the location by emitted ultrasonic…
On July 10, 1851, painter and printmaker Louis-Jacques Daguerre died. He spent most of his life trying to invent something that could capture an image that could be printed and kept. Daguerre had worked with metal etcher Joseph Niépce (and later his son, Isidore),…
July 9 celebrates the passing of two Nunavut acts in Canadian Parliament – the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act and the Nunavut Act, 1993. Nunavut officially split from the Northwest Territories and became a Canadian territory on April 1, 1999. Nunavut…
On July 1, 1867, Canada became a country. Originally called the Dominion of Canada, it started with four provinces – Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the former Province of Canada split into Quebec and Ontario. This confederation had taken some years to achieve for…
On June 16, 1902, biologist Barbara McClintock was born. McClintock studied courses in genetics before it was accepted as a discipline. Using corn cobs as her exploratory medium, she noticed colour spots on kernels that could not be explained by Mendelian genetics. Immediately attracted…
Yearly, on June 8, World Oceans Day recognizes 71% of our planet as an interconnected entity since all oceans are linked and flow together as one. Marine life moves without regard for ocean label. This day also celebrates and honours decades…