Paul Wiegert is a Western Space expert in the dynamics of the Solar System, particularly its smaller bodies like asteroids, comets and meteoroid streams.
Faculty of Science
Astronaut training mission lands in Labrador
Western Space director preps future astronauts for next lunar expedition.
Global Meteor Network monitors the skies in search of celestial bodies
International project, led by Western’s Denis Vida, observes rare meteor showers and meteorite falls from across the globe.
Health risks from tattoos not just skin deep
New international study investigates relatively unregulated world of tattoo ink
Newly discovered ‘glaciers’ could be key to human survival in future Mars missions
Western planetary geologists have discovered glacier-like features below the Martian surface in an area that is relatively flat – perfect for future Mars landings.
Western scientists address corrosion issues
Corrosion continues to cause major health and infrastructure problems worldwide. To bring attention to the issues, the World Corrosion Organization acknowledges April 24, 2021 as Corrosion Awareness Day.
Machine learning allows for ‘ultra-fast,’ ‘highly accurate’ classification of COVID-19 virus genomes
Using machine learning, a team of computer scientists and biologists from Western University and University of Waterloo have identified an underlying genomic signature for 29 different COVID-19 virus RNA (ribonucleic acid) sequences. This new data discovery tool will...
Astronomers detect most energetic outflow from a distant quasar
Researchers, led by Western University's Sarah Gallagher, using the Gemini North telescope on Hawai'i's Maunakea have detected the most energetic wind from any quasar ever measured. This outflow, which is travelling at nearly 13% of the speed of light, carries enough...
Researchers solve mystery of Tuvan throat singing
An international research team has uncoupled the mystery of how Tuvan throat singers produce distinctive sounds in which you can hear two different pitches at once – a low rumble and a high whistle-like tone. Fascinated with how this form of throat singing, known as...
CSA contract giant leap towards launching Western into space
Western University’s Institute for Earth and Space Exploration (Western Space) has landed a major contract from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to develop an Integrated Vision System for future rover missions that could ultimately represent a flagship Canadian...
First evidence in more than a decade of endangered and ‘weird’ shark traveling to Canada
Named one of the world’s ‘weirdest’ animals by National Geographic, basking sharks are also the second largest shark after the whale shark. They are also Canada’s most endangered marine fish as the Pacific Ocean population is almost extinct. That’s why any...
International study looks to protect and conserve critically endangered shark species
Mackerel sharks are large, fast-swimming apex predators that include Hollywood heavy hitters like great whites (Jaws), mako (Deep Blue Sea) and the now-extinct Megalodon (Meg). One of the smallest mackerel sharks is the porbeagle – on average less than two metres long...