When Worlds Collide: Inauguration of the Munich Center for Geoastronomy

5 Oct 2026, 09:00 → 6 Oct 2026, 18:00 Europe/Berlin

A 140 (LMU Main Building (Hauptgebäude))

Kevin Heng (Munich Center for Geoastronomy, LMU), Yan Lavallée (Munich Center for Geoastronomy, LMU)

Event details

From the formation of planets and planetary evolution, to the forces that shape worlds near and far, Geoastronomy explores the intersections where disciplines - and worlds - collide. Join us for the official inauguration of the Munich Center for Geoastronomy - a 2-day event dedicated to bridging the connections between Earth and the cosmos under the theme “When Worlds Collide”. 

Programme

The event features a series of public talks by world-renowned international scientists/authors and scientific talks by local experts from across geosciences, planetary sciences, and astrophysics. Through accessible presentations and lively discussions, our speakers will share insights into some of the most profound questions and cutting edge developments in modern earth and space sciences. Preliminary programme available. The final programme will be announced here soon!

Keynote Talks:

Searching for Alien Earths

• Prof. Lisa Kaltenegger (Carl Sagan Institute, USA)

Volcanic Outgassing Across Time and Space

• Prof. Marie Edmonds (Cambridge, UK)

To See a World in a Point of Light: The Past, Present, and Future of Exoplanet Detection

• Prof. Joshua Winn (Princeton, USA)

The First Minerals and Rocks of the Solar System

• Prof. Marc Chaussidon (IPGP, France)

Bridging Stars to Planets: Geoastronomy with Brown Dwarfs

• Prof. Adam Burgasser (UC San Diego, USA)

Audience

This event is open to everyone, and from all disciplines and faculties - whether you are a student, scientist, educator, administrator, someone passionate about science or simply curious about the cosmos and our place within it. This event offers a unique opportunity - not just to engage with and learn from ideas and discoveries, but also to network with the people shaping some of the most exciting frontiers in science today. 

We warmly welcome you to join us for this celebration of worlds - from Earth to Exoplanets! 

Registration

Attendance to this event is free. However, registration is required.
Please register at the link in the menu or below.

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Notice:
Photographs and/or video recordings will be taken during the event for public relations, communication and documentation purposes, and may be published on our website, in printed matter and on our social media and professional networking channels (e.g. LinkedIn).

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Poster MCGA Inauguration Poster (A4).pdf

Monday 5 October

09:00 → 10:00 Welcome - Coffee/Tea and Registrations

10:00 → 10:30 Welcome speeches by Co-Directors of the Munich Center for Geoastronomy

Speakers: Prof. Kevin Heng, Prof. Yan Lavallée

10:30 → 11:30 To See a World in a Point of Light: The Past, Present, and Future of Exoplanet Detection

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 will explain the main detection methods, describe some of the surprising planetary systems they have revealed, and look ahead to the next phase of discovery.

Speaker: Prof. Joshua Winn (Princeton University, U.S.A)

11:30 → 13:00 Lunch Break

13:00 → 14:00 Volcanic Outgassing Across Time and Space

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.

Speaker: Prof. Marie Edmonds (Cambridge University, U.K.)

14:00 → 15:00 Searching for Alien Earths

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 team of tenacious scientists from many disciplines to create a specialized toolkit to find life on faraway worlds.

Using our homeworld as a Rosetta Stone, the biggest space telescopes, creatively analyzing Earth's history and its astonishing biosphere to inform this search we discover not merely new continents, like the explorers of old, but whole new worlds circling other stars and how we could spot life there. Worlds from where aliens may even be gazing back at us. What if we're not alone?

Speaker: Prof. Lisa Kaltenegger (Cornell University and Carl Sagan Institute, U.S.A)

15:00 → 16:00 End of Session, Coffee/Tea and Networking

Tuesday 6 October

09:00 → 10:00 Welcome - Coffee/Tea and Registrations

10:00 → 11:00 The First Minerals and Rocks of the Solar System

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.

Speaker: Prof. Mark Chaussidon (Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris - IPGP, France)

11:00 → 12:00 Bridging Stars to Planets: Geoastronomy with Brown Dwarfs

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 atmospheric processes; and discuss how this science will help us to better understand the origin and evolution of our broader Milky Way.

Speaker: Prof. Adam Burgasser (University of California San Diego, U.S.A)

12:00 → 13:25 Lunch Break

13:25 → 15:00 Scientific Talks: tba

15:00 → 16:00 Coffee/Tea Break

16:00 → 17:00 Scientific Talks: tba

17:00 → 18:00 Closing Remarks and Networking