Students at 快播视频 captured early-morning images of NASA鈥檚 Artemis II Orion capsule from the Allan I. Carswell Observatory (AICO), contributing tracking data and a moving image as the spacecraft carried Canada鈥檚 first astronaut to fly around the moon.
From 3 to 4 a.m. on April 8, physics and astronomy students used the observatory鈥檚 one-metre telescope to image Orion as it travelled back toward Earth after looping around the moon. The capsule carried Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
The observation was led by graduate student Sunna Withers and supported by Naul Sethuram Ramjee, an undergraduate student. Ramjee also completed the data reduction, animating the images to produce a short movie showing the spacecraft moving against background stars.
"I worked on processing the Artemis II data using Siril (an astronomical image processing software)," says Ramjee. "I uploaded the sequence of images and applied auto stretch to enhance the brightness and contrast, and then converted the sequence into a video to visually capture it's movement over time."
Because Orion appeared low on the horizon, the imaging capture pushed the limits of the telescope. The team used a Mallincam camera mounted on the one-metre telescope at York鈥檚 Keele Campus to capture the historic mission.
Elaina Hyde, director of AICO and associate professor in the Faculty of Science, says this kind of telescope access and training is rarely available to undergraduate students. Having the largest telescope on any Canadian post-secondary campus, she notes, "is quite a boon to any space fan at York."
She adds that certification to use the telescope is open to all undergraduate students.
Withers describes the event as "very exciting." Because the capsule was barely visible against the stars, it took careful comparison of multiple images to identify its motion. "It was a great feeling once I spotted it," says Withers. "Artemis II is a historic mission, especially with a Canadian on board, and its amazing that we were able to get a glimpse of it through the one-metre telescope."
A video of the spacecraft imaging, along with a technical discussion of the observations, is available for public viewing on .
鈥淭his work highlights how York students participate directly in space-related observation, data analysis and telescope operations using on-campus infrastructure,鈥 says Hyde. 鈥淢onitoring mission activity gives students experience with real-time space missions.鈥
Alongside astronomical research, the observatory tracks satellites and space missions connected to human exploration programs.
Artemis II is part of NASA鈥檚 broader Artemis program that is preparing for a return of astronauts to the moon in 2028.
AICO supports both research and public engagement and offers free weekly public tours on Wednesday evenings, featuring its 60-centimetre and one-metre telescopes. This summer will also host the 2026 AstroFair 鈥 a community fundraiser to support AICO鈥檚 programming. More details will be released ahead of the Aug. 29 event.