On January 24, at 7:00 pm, U of T will host “Into the Cosmos,” the eleventh annual Astronomy & Space Exploration Socieety (ASX) symposium. Over three hours, three of the world’s foremost cosmology experts ­— Professor Anthony Aguirre from the University of California, Santa Cruz; Professor Matt Dobbs from the University of McGill; and Professor Rafael Lopez-Mobilia from the University of Texas at San Antonio­ — will present on the mysteries of the universe in the JJR MacLeod Auditorium. The event is free for students with student ID. The Varsity spoke to Samuel Baltz, the secretary of ASX, about his organisation, and why you should attend the symposium next week.

 

The Varsity: What is ASX? 

Samuel Baltz: ASX is the Astronomy & Space Exploration Society at the University of Toronto. We are a non-profit club run by students. ASX exists to educate and excite the public about astronomy and space exploration. We have run an annual symposium every year since 2003, featuring three astronauts, astronomers, or space industry leaders. During the year we host local astronomers in our “Star Talk” lecture series, show space-themed documentaries, and run a monthly space newsletter. Ultimately we just want more people to understand how amazing the universe is.

 

TV: What are the goals of the symposium? 

SB: The symposium seeks to educate and inspire people. Our symposium series is called “Expanding Canada’s Frontiers.” Metaphorically, we want to expand people’s understanding of the universe. To that end, we invite communicators who know about space, who want to explore space, or who have been to space. More literally, the ultimate goal is to help physically expand Canada’s frontiers. The symposium has often been a soapbox for people — like past axs guest Commander Chris Hadfield, who understand Canada’s proud history of space development, and who push for more.

 

TV: Who should attend the symposium? Is it accessible to non-science students? 

SB: ASX deliberately selects speakers both for their knowledge and ability to communicate. The symposium is an outreach event, designed to be accessible to everyone.

 

TV: The theme is “Into the Cosmos” — what’s the significance of the theme? 

SB: “Into the Cosmos” will explore both advances and challenges in cosmology. Cosmology is the fundamental study of the physical universe. It investigates the distant past, the far future, and literally everything around us. Unfortunately, cosmological theories are notoriously inaccessible. It is tragic that the most fundamental physical details of the world around us are also some of the most difficult to understand.

We have therefore selected speakers not just for their cosmological expertise, but for their ability to communicate it. In short, we chose cosmology because it is both profoundly fundamental and wildly inaccessible. We want to make it more accessible.

 

TV: Attending the event enters you into a draw for a Khan Telescope. Why choose that prize? 

SB: The Khan Scope Centre is sponsoring the event, by donating an awesome telescope. The event is also generously sponsored by TD Bank, the Dunlap Institute, the U of T Astronomy and Astrophysics Department, and U Life. Regarding Khan, we have raffled off one of their telescopes at our symposium for several years, because, honestly, what’s cooler than owning a telescope?

Last year, a little kid won his own telescope, and that was one of the best parts of the symposium. For Khan, there’s a longterm benefit beyond the obvious publicity: events like this make people look up. The fact is, once you open your eyes to the universe, you’ll never want to stop looking.