About Dennis

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. 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 Theatre & 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, and others, and has collaborated with science fiction icon Arthur C. Clarke on a planetarium adaptation of Clarke’s famous 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 the first-ever book about the search for extra- solar planetary systems―as well as hundreds of popular magazine and encyclopedia articles, planetarium and video scripts and blogs. Since 1992, he has written Stargazers, the only syndicated weekly newspaper column about astronomy. 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. A dynamic public speaker, Dennis has entertained, inspired, and informed audiences at resorts, museums, corporate events and on cruise ships, including Sitmar, Radisson Seven Seas, Hurtigruten, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Regent Seven Seas and more. In early 2021, he was scheduled to return for his 25th year as an invited enrichment lecturer with Crystal Cruises, but that voyage was canceled by COVID-19. He will be joining Crystal again in August of 2024, as well as making his debut appearance on Silversea in December of 2024. Since 1986, Dennis has been a featured lecturer on many public observing and sky photo expeditions to more than 50 countries on six continents. He has traveled to the Arctic and Subarctic 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. He 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 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. Dennis now works as an astronomy writer, lecturer, and photographer under the clear, dark skies of Southern California's Anza-Borrego Desert. To learn more about him and his work, please "Like" and follow him on Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter) so you don't miss any of his upcoming events!