THE SCHOLARS' SCOOP

Photographer: Preslee Decker

For the past two weeks, the Astronomy focus area has been taught by Rico Tyler and Travis Oliver, but this week they welcomed special guest Bob Summerfield to both Tyler’s focus area and his general studies class. 

 Bob Summerfield has appeared on numerous television programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, Discovery Channel and NASA-TV, as well as newspapers nationwide. According to the University of Delaware, “ASTRONOMY TO GO was officially founded [by Summerfield] in 1990 and is dedicated to taking programs and telescopes, day or night, to schools, camps, community groups, scout troops or whoever wants or needs a program that can come to them.” He is a well-credited astronomer and has a true passion for teaching others about space and the atmosphere. 

Summerfield passed around multiple types of meteorites to the Astronomy scholars, including those of iron, stony, and stony-iron varieties. He also introduced rocks that could have been—in theory— from Mercury, Venus, and even the moon. Students both felt and viewed different pieces of these variations and learned about the qualities of each type. 

Multiple fragments of rocks that Summerfield brought in held significance. For instance, it was proven from a gas match that he owns rocks from Mars which also contain water. It turns out that water is abundant in space and that there are theories stating that it’s possible that all of the water on Earth came from comets. 

In addition to these rare finds, Summerfield is an owner of one of two chondrite meteorites found with fossilized bacteria and complex carbohydrates. This meteorite was found in Murray, Kentucky in 1954 when it blasted into a neighborhood home. Summerfield is a proud owner of meteorites of all varieties, and this zeal for science has made a lasting impression on our scholars.

“What I found most interesting about Bob’s presentation was his passion for what he is talking about and how he presents it with such enthusiasm,” Scholar Juliana Stith says. “He loves astronomy and everything that it encompasses and I respect his love for his work.”

Scholars like Stith will continue to take inspiration from Summerfield’s stellar passions, even after his departure from campus. Tyler and Oliver will continue Summerfield’s teachings in their focus area, infused with their own astronomical expertise.