Michael Mumma's lecture available on Youtube

Last Thursday, at Starry Night, we had the opportunity to attend to a lecture by Dr. Michael Mumma titled “The search for life in Mars”. If you missed it, it's available in UF astronomy department’s account in Youtube.

Michael J. Mumma was educated at Franklin and Marshall College (A.B. 1963, Physics), and the University of Pittsburgh (Ph. D. 1970, Physics) and joined NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center thereafter.

He is founding Director of the Goddard Center for Astrobiology and Senior Scientist in the Solar System Exploration Division.

He thrice received the NASA's rarely given Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement; the fist time was in 1988 for originating and developing a concept for detecting cometary parent volatiles by solar infrared fluorescence, with it achieving the first detection of water vapor in comets. He also led the team that discovered the saturated hydrocarbons methane and ethane in comets, being awarded for the second time in 1997 for that work. In 2009 he was awarded for the first definite detection of methane on Mars with the John C. Lindsay Memorial Prize, Goddard’s highest recognition for scientific achievement, and also the NASA’s Medal for the third time.

He is an elected Fellow of the American Physical Society and of the Washington Academy of Sciences. In 1999, the International Astronomical Union named Asteroid 8340 "Michael J. Mumma" in his honor.  He received the Alumni Citation for Distinguished Career Achievement from Franklin & Marshall College, one of only four Alumni so honored in 2008.

During the lecture at Starry Night
“FLMNH photo by Kristen Grace.”

More than one thousand people gather to discover the universe on Starry Night.

The weather was benignant and a clear sky allowed around eleven hundred all-aged humans to peer trough the telescopes and attend the talks and activities displayed last Thursday at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

“FLMNH photo by Kristen Grace.”

Starry Night is an annual event aimed to get earthly intelligent creatures to be more interested in space. The event is sponsored by UF astronomy department, the Museum of Natural History, the Alachua Astronomy Club and Santa Fe College, also supported by NSF and NASA.

“FLMNH
 photo by Kristen Grace.”

Many telescopes of different types, including a few home-made, where displayed outside the museum where visitors enjoyed great views of the Moon, Jupiter and the stars.

Among the presentations, the portable planetarium was extremelly succesful, inflated to give a show on constellations, so popular that free tickets ran out in some cases more than an hour before the show.

“FLMNH photo by Kristen Grace.”

The 3D-show hosted by Robert Morehead and the “astronomy tools” demonstration carried on by Prof Stephen Eikenberry, both of them unleashing their inner showmen, made the delights of children and grown ups, specially when fruit and other vegetables were frozen using liquid nitrogen and afterwards used to hammer nails or shattered like glass, to the general amazement.

One of the more expected events was the lecture given by Dr. Michael Mumma, Director of the Goddard Center for astrobiology about the search for life in Mars.

Thanks to the Florida Museum of Natural History and the photographer for all the nice pictures. You can see the full galery on the museum's facebook page.

See you next year!

Children enjoy as stuff gets frozen.
"FLMNH photo by Kristen Grace.”

Dr. Michael Mumma amazes the audience
“FLMNH photo by Kristen Grace.”

Making Galaxies
“FLMNH photo by Kristen Grace.”

Meteorites!
“FLMNH photo by Kristen Grace.”