For nearly five decades, Dennis Mammana has delivered the wonder and mystery of the cosmos to audiences around the world. Dennis was born and raised in Easton, PA, a historic city at the confluence of the Lehigh and Delaware rivers, and his fascination with the heavens began with the launching of the first Earth-orbiting satellites in the late 1950s. He now works as an astronomy writer, lecturer, and sky photographer under the clear, dark skies of Southern California's Anza-Borrego Desert. With a degree in physics and astronomy from Otterbein College (now Otterbein University), he was one of only two astronomy graduate students admitted to Vanderbilt University in 1973. His research there included a year-long photometric study of optical variability in the nuclei of three distant Seyfert galaxies using the 24- inch (0.61-meter) telescope of the Arthur J. Dyer Observatory . After earning his M.S. in astronomy, Dennis was selected from a field of 55 applicants for a coveted one-year internship at the world-famous Strasenburgh Planetarium and has since held positions at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air & Space Museum, the University of Arizona, and San Diego's Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater & Science Center. His original planetarium programs have been enjoyed from New York to Calcutta to Brisbane, and in their production, he has directed such luminaries as actors Burgess Meredith, Patrick Stewart, Nichelle Nichols, Keye Luke, sportscaster Dick Enberg, and many others, and has collaborated with science fiction icon Arthur C. Clarke on a planetarium adaptation of Clarke’s popular short story “Wind from the Sun.” A longtime member of the National Association of Science Writers, Dennis is the author of six books on popular astronomy―including co-authoring the first-ever book about the search for extra-solar planetary systems―as well as hundreds of popular magazine articles, planetarium and video scripts, and blogs. For more than 30 years he was a regular contributor to Grolier (now Scholastic) Encyclopedia, and since 1992, he has written Stargazers , the only syndicated weekly newspaper column about astronomy. In January 1986, he was a candidate for NASA’s Journalist in Space program; just weeks later the Space Shuttle Challenger accident grounded the fleet and canceled the program. As an accomplished night sky photographer, his stunning celestial images have earned him an invited membership in TWAN (The World at Night). He is one of only six Americans on this elite international team of the most experienced and highly acclaimed night sky photographers on the planet. His work has appeared in books, videos, international magazines, and exhibitions, and has been featured nine times as NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day and dozens of times on the front page of Spaceweather . April 2018 marked the 50th anniversary of his first published sky photo. A dynamic public speaker, Dennis has entertained, inspired, and informed audiences at resorts, museums, corporate events, and on cruise ships, including those of Radisson Seven Seas, Hurtigruten, Sitmar, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Carnival, Regent Seven Seas and others. In early 2021 he was scheduled to return for his 25th year as an invited enrichment lecturer with Crystal Cruises, the world’s most awarded cruise line, but the voyage was canceled because of COVID-19. He will be joining Crystal again in August of 2024, as well as making his debut appearances on Silversea in December of 2024 and Oceania in August/September of 2025. Since 1986, Dennis has been a featured lecturer on many public observing and sky photo tours to more than 50 countries on six continents. He has traveled to the Arctic and sub-Arctic more than 30 times over the past two decades to view, photograph and lecture about the aurora borealis (the northern lights), and has witnessed and photographed 18 total solar eclipses. Dennis has hosted a weekly astronomy news segment on San Diego's KUSI-TV, and co-hosted "Quarks to Quasars" on UCSD-TV as well as the Emmy Award-winning documentary "San Diego Night Sky" with KPBS-TV. He is a recipient of the Robert Burnham Jr., Award for Exceptional Service in Astronomy from the Astronomical League and the Special Achievement Award from Otterbein College. In 2009 his astronomical contributions to the community of Borrego Springs (the first International Dark Sky Community in California) were honored as he was named Grand Marshal of the 44th Annual Borrego Days Desert Festival. When not spending time with his head in the stars, he enjoys baking and cooking home-style Italian foods, sports, weight-training, tending to his Italian herb garden, exploring the desert canyons in his Jeep 4x4, watching reruns of Gunsmoke , taking naps, and relentlessly pursuing the perfect Philly cheesesteak sandwich ― not necessarily in that order. To learn more about him and his work―and to see his public lecture and tour schedule―please visit his website , "Like" and “Follow” him on Facebook , X (formerly known as Twitter), and subscribe to his free e-newsletter StarTrails so you don't miss any of his upcoming events!

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