Astronomer · Educator · Author · Cosmic Guide
For three decades, I've explored the cosmos and human experience, helping people discover themselves as participants in a living, creative universe.
Stephan Martin is an astronomer, educator, and author who helps people rediscover their place in a living, evolving universe.
For more than three decades, he has taught astronomy, physics, and consciousness studies in colleges, universities, and transformational learning environments across the United States. His work bridges science, story, and contemplative experience, inviting people into a direct and personal relationship with the cosmos.
I grew up in South Florida, spending time under the star-filled skies of the Everglades and the Florida Keys. From an early age, I felt a deep calling to explore the universe, especially the stars and galaxies that stretched endlessly across the night sky.
I went on to study physics and astronomy at Colgate University, where I participated in imaging studies of quasars and supernovae. During this time, I encountered the work of Anthony Aveni, whose research into Mesoamerican sky traditions opened my awareness to something transformative. The universe is not only something we study scientifically. It is something human cultures have related to, interpreted, and lived within in many different ways. This insight became a guiding thread in my life and work, a sensitivity to multiple ways of knowing and experiencing the cosmos.
In graduate school at the University of Wyoming, I studied the distribution of dark matter in spiral galaxies. This work pointed to a profound realization. Most of what shapes a galaxy is invisible, detectable only through its influence. That insight has stayed with me, both scientifically and philosophically, as a reminder that reality is always larger than what we can directly perceive.
I later joined the Space Telescope Science Institute, supporting observations from the Hubble Space Telescope during a time of rapid discovery. While the work was intellectually engaging, I found myself drawn back to teaching and working directly with students. This led me to Williams College, where I returned to a more relational and educational path.
While at Williams, I participated in solar eclipse expeditions around the world to study the solar corona. These experiences offered more than scientific insight. They revealed the extraordinary power of cosmic alignment. In the brief moments of totality, when the Moon, Sun, and Earth come into precise relationship, something normally hidden becomes visible. The Sun's corona emerges in breathtaking detail, reminding us how much of the universe lies just beyond ordinary perception, waiting for the right conditions to be revealed.
My path continued to evolve as I felt called to explore more integrative and experiential ways of understanding the universe and our place within it. During this time, I encountered the field of New Cosmology, shaped by thinkers such as Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme. Their work offered a profound reframing. The universe is not simply a collection of objects, but a dynamic, unfolding story in which we are active participants. This perspective helped bring coherence to the scientific, cultural, and contemplative strands of my journey.
This exploration led me to the California Institute of Integral Studies, where I engaged deeply with consciousness studies, philosophy, and the intersection of science and spirituality.
From there, I joined the faculty at New College of California, teaching in the Consciousness, Healing, and Ecology program. I also served as adjunct faculty in the Consciousness and Transformation program at John F. Kennedy University. In these settings, my work expanded beyond traditional astronomy to include the lived, relational, and symbolic dimensions of the cosmos.
Teaching in these environments invited a new question. Not only what is the universe made of, but how do we live in right relationship with it?
During this period, I was also invited to speak at the International Transpersonal Conference 2017 in Prague, which explored the theme "Beyond Materialism – Towards Wholeness." This gathering brought together voices from science, psychology, and spirituality, and further affirmed my commitment to bridging scientific understanding with deeper questions of meaning, experience, and human transformation in an evolving universe.
In the years that followed, this orientation became central to my teaching, writing, and guiding. I began developing courses, retreats, and experiential offerings that invite people into a direct encounter with the living universe through contemplative stargazing, storytelling, and shared inquiry.
This work eventually led me to my current role with the Deeptime Network, where I serve as Director of the Deeptime Leadership Program. In this role, I have helped guide a global community of participants in exploring how the story of the universe can inform leadership, community, and personal transformation.
Across these experiences, a unifying thread has continued to emerge. The universe is not only something we study. It is something we belong to. By deepening our relationship with it, we open new possibilities for meaning, connection, and creative participation in the unfolding of life.
Stephan is the author of Cosmic Conversations and Living a Cosmic Life. His forthcoming book, Traveling in the Shadow of the Moon, weaves together personal narrative, eclipse travel, and a Deeptime perspective on belonging in the universe.
Today, his work brings together scientific insight, contemplative practice, and lived experience through retreats, workshops, speaking engagements, and immersive stargazing gatherings. Known for his ability to make complex ideas accessible and meaningful, he creates spaces that are intellectually grounded, emotionally resonant, and spiritually expansive.
He is also an advocate for the protection of dark night skies, working to raise awareness of light pollution and its impact on ecological systems, human health, and our ability to experience the stars. Through his teaching and public programs, he helps others rediscover the wonder of the night sky and align their lives with the rhythms and unfolding story of the universe.
He lives in North Carolina with his family, where he continues to explore how the story of the universe can become a lived, transformative presence in everyday life.
Interested in a workshop, retreat, or cosmic conversation? Let's explore how we might work together.