When the Hume Cronyn Memorial Observatory opened on campus in 1940, board chair Arthur Little emphasized it was meant to inspire students and faculty and benefit the surrounding community.
From visits such as this one from Aberdeen Public School in 1941, to free public summer nights that take place to this day, the Observatory has certainly achieved its intended purpose — and beyond. (Read more here.)
Today, Western is home to Canada’s leading organization for space exploration research. In the past year alone, Western Space has interpreted images from the James Webb Space Telescope, completed the CubeSat Ukpik-1 (launched by SpaceX in July 2023) and helped develop a network of cameras originally set up to find meteors that can also be used to track satellites.
What’s next? Stay tuned.