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When Worlds Collide: Inauguration of the Munich Center for Geoastronomy

5–6 Oct 2026
LMU Main Building (Hauptgebäude)
Europe/Berlin timezone
Event Registration Open!

MCGA Coordination Office

Keynote Talks

7 out of 7 displayed
  1. 2. Welcome speeches by Co-Directors of the Munich Center for Geoastronomy
    Prof. Kevin Heng, Prof. Yan Lavallée
    05/10/2026, 10:00
  2. 3. To See a World in a Point of Light: The Past, Present, and Future of Exoplanet Detection
    Prof. Joshua Winn (Princeton University, U.S.A)
    05/10/2026, 10:30

    A distant star appears as a single point of light - yet hidden within that light can be the signatures of an entire planetary system, if you know how to look. Astronomers have found thousands of planets by measuring tiny shifts, dips, and blips in the light from distant stars, using techniques that range from simple geometry and optics to Einstein’s general theory of relativity. This lecture...

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  3. 4. Volcanic Outgassing Across Time and Space
    Prof. Marie Edmonds (Cambridge University, U.K.)
    05/10/2026, 13:00

    Volcanic degassing is the principal mechanism for the transfer of volatiles from the interior of a planet to its surface. In this talk I will discuss the role that volcanoes play, over geological time and across our solar system, in the development of atmospheres, in regulating climate and in the delivery of elements to the planetary surface that are critical for life.

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  4. 6. Searching for Alien Earths
    Prof. Lisa Kaltenegger (Cornell University and Carl Sagan Institute, U.S.A)
    05/10/2026, 14:00

    For thousands of years, humans have wondered whether we're alone in the cosmos. Now, for the first time, we have the technology to investigate. But once you look for life elsewhere, you realize it is not so simple. How do you find it over cosmic distances? What actually is life?

    As founding director of Cornell University's Carl Sagan Institute, astrophysicist Lisa Kaltenegger has built a...

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  5. 7. The First Minerals and Rocks of the Solar System
    Prof. Mark Chaussidon (Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris - IPGP, France)
    06/10/2026, 10:00

    One of the major unknowns regarding the early evolution of the solar system is how the first solids and rocks formed from the initial mixture of gas and dust inherited from the parent molecular cloud. Clues are provided by combining observations of the mineralogical, chemical, and isotopic composition of the components of primitive meteorites with astrophysical models of the accretion disk.

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  6. 8. Bridging Stars to Planets: Geoastronomy with Brown Dwarfs
    Prof. Adam Burgasser (University of California San Diego, U.S.A)
    06/10/2026, 11:00

    Between the highest-mass planets and lowest-mass stars, there exists a liminal population of brown dwarfs. Co-discovered with the first extrasolar planets, these objects have diverse formation channels and planetary-like atmospheres. In this talk, I describe how modern studies of brown dwarfs require deep connections between stellar and planetary science, from formation to evolution to...

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  7. 16. Welcome speeches by Co-Directors of the Munich Center for Geoastronomy
    Prof. Kevin Heng, Prof. Yan Lavallée