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Toronto, Ontario - In 1972, 28-year-old Dr. Tom Bolton, a Toronto astronomer, proved the existence of black holes while working at the David Dunlop Observatory, 25 km north of downtown Toronto. Black holes are regions of space where the pull of gravity is so great that nothing, not even light, can escape. So, how did he discover something that’s invisible? He spent many nights recording the unusual movements of a star that seemed to being pulled by something invisible. The observatory opened on farmland in 1935. It was a gift to the University of Toronto by Jessie Donalda Dunlap, as a memorial to her husband David Alexander Dunlap, a wealthy lawyer and mining entrepreneur. City light pollution has now crept up to that region and U of T is considering selling the Richmond Hill facility. Image courtesy of David Dunlop Observatory. |
