City Daily Photo Theme Day: Best Of The Year

 The theme for the first of January with members of City Daily Photo is Best of the Year, and you can see how others are interpreting that theme right here.

I am doing this over three days, beginning with Ottawa itself. At the end of 2024 and into the first days of 2025, the city hosted the World Juniors hockey tournament, held at TD Place and the Canadian Tire Centre. I attended some of the games at the former.

This particular game was between Finland and Slovakia.

February brings Winterlude to the area, and this year was very good for skaters on the Rideau Canal skateway. I do not skate, but I walked it a number of times, and this particular time was on Dow's Lake itself, close to the end.

Winterlude also includes ice sculptures downtown. This one featured the great Canadian jazz legend Oscar Peterson.

As spring unfolded, one day I took a photograph of this very cooperative Canada goose.

The Chaudiere Falls is a large, sprawling waterfall on the Ottawa River, and during the spring, it rages.

May brings the Tulip Festival to the national capital region, with the biggest area of them at Commissioners Park at Dow's Lake.

Parliament Hill is a frequent photo subject for me. I took this shot of Robert Borden, one of our prime ministers, with West Block beyond the statue.

Doors Open takes place here in early June, with the opening of various sites for public visits. One place I went to this year was a familiar site- the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat. The Aga Khan stays here from time to time, but it also houses the Canadian chapter of his foundation, which does philanthropic work around the world. The architecture inside is a wonder.

This sweet cat lives near my place, and is seen outside her home in warmer weather.

I went up to Kiweki Point, which commands an impressive view of the Ottawa River.

Another visit this year was to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, where this Lancaster bomber dominates the World War Two area.

These fall colours were found by the Canadian War Museum.

And my last shot is taken in the National Arts Centre, some nights before Hallowe'en, where the orchestra was in costume. The concert was a mix of classical music and film score selections, very appropriate for the occasion.

Final Shots From Inside A Museum

 This is a space physiology experiment sled- a Canadian device used by astronaut Roberta Bondar during a space sickness study.

From here on the second floor, the walkway provides splendid views over the collection of planes.

I took my leave. As you can see, this has been a summer of drought in the area. I hope you have enjoyed this visit.

The Undiscovered Country

Astronauts are multi-taskers, and among the training is medical training.

Being able to keep in touch with family on a regular basis helps crew morale.

This is the crew shirt of Canadian astronaut Dave Williams.

He took a Tragically Hip CD to space. NASA framed it with other mementos.

Some astronauts have a background in medicine. Such is the case with David Saint-Jacques, who was a family doctor in Canada before going to space.

Here is his flight suit.

One of the things that can happen in extended stays in orbit is that the eyes can be affected, and blurring can happen.

Bone loss also happens, with density depleting during a tour on the ISS. It takes time back on Earth to build that back up. Below we see an experiment that went into space examining osteoporosis. 

And being in microgravity leads to disorientation. We'll wrap up this tour tomorrow.

Viewpoints From Orbit

 More views from within the recreated Cupola of the International Space Station.

One of the ongoing research projects aboard the ISS is the effect of radiation from the sun on the bodies of astronauts.

Another is to engage with the public- whether it's video calls with schools and community groups or posting on social media. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield became particularly skilled at the latter during his time on the ISS.

A long row of photographs of Canadian astronauts. Our first, Marc Garneau, died recently. He can be seen at top left. At bottom right, our first female astronaut, Roberta Bondar.

The second floor features more about technology in space.

It is a demanding task, spending half a year or more in space. Keeping up the morale of a mission crew presents its own challenges.

Aurora Borealis

 A panel here looks at the Canadarm.

The human body starts to have issues with extended tours in space, and if you're up there for months on end, there are ways to counteract things like muscle loss- exercise. Using customized exercise equipment on the ISS, astronauts must exercise two hours a day to counter the effects of being up there. It makes recovery upon returning home go smoother.

They're also busy with research- scientific experiments, checking on each other's physiological state, for instance.

And part of their free time inevitably includes time in the Cupola, which gives a view back onto the Earth.

A reproduction of the Cupola is here, with footage from the ISS flashing by. When I entered, aurora borealis was shimmering.