Manfred Cuntz

{{Short description|German astronomer}} {{Infobox scientist | honorific_prefix = | name = Manfred Cuntz | honorific_suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = MCuntz edit2.jpg | image_size = | image_upright = | landscape =  | alt = | caption = Manfred Cuntz (2022) | birth_name =  | birth_date = {{birth date |1958|04|21}} | birth_place = Landau in der Pfalz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany | death_date =  | death_place = | death_cause =  | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates =  | other_names = | siglum = | pronounce = | citizenship =  | nationality =  | fields = {{flatlist| * Astrophysics * Astrobiology * Planetary habitability}} | workplaces = University of Colorado<br />High Altitude Observatory<br />University of Heidelberg<br />University of Alabama in Huntsville<br />University of Texas at Arlington | patrons = | education = Eduard-Spranger Gymnasium | alma_mater = University of Heidelberg (Diplom, PhD) | thesis_title = Generation of Extended Chromospheres and Mass Loss of Late-Type Giant Stars due to Acoustic Shock Waves | thesis_url =  | thesis_year = 1988 | doctoral_advisor = Dr. P. Ulmschneider | academic_advisors = | doctoral_students = | notable_students = | known_for = | influences = | influenced = | awards = Academy of Distinguished Teachers at University of Texas at Arlington{{r|UTA}} | author_abbrev_bot = | author_abbrev_zoo = | spouse = Anne-Gret Vera Friedrich | partner =  | children = 1 | parents = | relatives = | signature =  | signature_type =  | signature_alt = | website =  | footnotes = }}

'''Manfred Cuntz''' is a German astrophysicist based in the United States since 1988. He is a Distinguished Professor of Physics at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). His primary research interests include stellar astrophysics, astrobiology, and planetary habitability. In 2023, he became a fellow with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.{{r|CSI}}

== Early life and education== Manfred Cuntz was born on April 21, 1958, in Landau in der Pfalz in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} He was the first-born son of Gerhard Hermann Cuntz and Irene Emma Cuntz (née Messerschmitt) and was raised in Bornheim. His family's business was in viticulture and livestock agriculture. As the eldest son, Cuntz would have inherited the farm. Early on, however, his family deemed him unsuitable for farm work and, instead, had him focus on his education.{{r|alum}}

Cuntz attended secondary school at the Eduard-Spranger Gymnasium in Landau, from which he graduated with the Abitur. Even though he was a dedicated student, especially in mathematics and the natural sciences, academic success did not come easily to Cuntz in all subjects. In fact, he had to repeat the eighth grade. After that, however, he became a top student, especially in the last years of secondary school when he was able to focus on the subjects of mathematics, chemistry, and social studies.{{r|alum}}

Cuntz went on to study physics and astronomy at the University of Heidelberg, Germany.{{r|alum}} There, he earned a Diplom (equivalent to having earned both a U.S. bachelor's and master's degrees) in Physics in 1985. He earned his PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) in Astronomy from the same university in 1988{{r|UTA}} with a dissertation on stellar atmospheric heating and stellar winds, titled ''Generation of Extended Chromospheres and Mass Loss of Late-Type Giant Stars due to Acoustic Shock Waves''.{{r|dissertation}}

== Career == After completing his degrees at the University of Heidelberg, Manfred Cuntz moved to the United States. He held positions as a postdoctoral research assistant in the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) at the University of Colorado from 1989 to 1991 and at the High Altitude Observatory (HAO) from 1992 to 1993, a division of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). In 1994, he returned to the University of Heidelberg as Habilitation Fellow. Then, he joined the Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research at the University of Alabama in Huntsville from 1996 until 1999, which also involved collaborations with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. In 2000, Cuntz became a visiting professor in the physics department of the University of Texas at Arlington, then moved up the tenure track to become Professor in 2012.{{r|UTA}}

He is an editor of the journal ''Astronomische Nachrichten'' (Astronomical Notes).{{r|editor}}

== Research == In his early research Cuntz expanded on his Ph.D. work while pursuing hydrodynamic simulations of stellar atmospheres and winds. He also considered observational data obtained by the International Ultraviolet Explorer and the Hubble Space Telescope. Cuntz's subsequent and more recent research focuses on the probability and possible distribution of extraterrestrial life on extrasolar planets and moons and "is based on a pure theoretical approach."{{r|binary}}

In 2000, Manfred Cuntz, together with Zdzislaw Musielak (UTA) and Steven Saar of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, predicted "that planetary magnetic fields could produce detectable effects on stars". This phenomenon was later observed in 2003 by E. Shkolnik of the University of British Columbia, Canada.{{r|S&T}} The underlying effect also allows to quantify magnetic fields in certain exoplanets.<ref>[https://www.space.com/hot-jupiter-magnetic-fields-measured-for-first-time.html ''Magnetic Fields of 'Hot Jupiter' Exoplanets Are Much Stronger Than We Thought. By Passant Rabie, July 29, 2019''].</ref> Cuntz also argued that "extreme magnetic protection by a powerful planetary magnetic dipole field" could increase the probability that a planet is habitable even if it is subject to "extreme ultraviolet and x-ray" radiation from its star.{{r|TRAPPIST}}

In 2007, together with colleagues from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), he contemporaneously came to the same conclusion as the group of F. Selsis (ENS Lyon), namely that the proposed exoplanet Gliese 581d, a super-Earth, is the first planet identified to be situated in a habitable zone outside the Solar System.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/12/science/space/12plan.html ''New York Times: A Planet Is Too Hot for Life, but Another May Be Just Right. By Dennis Overbye, June 12, 2007''].</ref><ref>[https://www.aanda.org/press-releases/2007-press-releases/275-aaa-press-release-gliese-581-one-planet-might-indeed-be-habitable-13-dec-2007 ''Astronomy & Astrophysics Press Release: Gliese 581: One planet might indeed be habitable''].</ref> Since about 2014, based on new data, the existence of Gliese 581d has been disputed;<ref>[https://www.universetoday.com/112925/a-brief-history-of-gliese-581d-and-581g-the-planets-that-may-not-be/ ''A Brief History Of Gliese 581d and 581g, The Planets That May Not Be. By Elizabeth Howell, July 4, 2014''].</ref> however, the discussion on this is not yet complete.<ref>[https://www.space.com/23821-gliese-581g.html ''Whatever happened to the 'potentially habitable' planet Gliese 581g (and d and f)? By Keith Cooper, Nov. 20, 2024''].</ref>

In 2010, in collaboration with his then-graduate student Jason Eberle, Cuntz explored the reality of a planet in the Nu Octantis system, which apparently is situated in a retrograde orbit. The existence of this planet was first suggested by the team of David Ramm at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Cuntz noted that "[Our studies] provide evidence for the first case of a planet in a retrograde orbit in a stellar binary system". Rudolf Dvorak, a professor at the University of Vienna, pointed out that "[t]he results of Eberle and Cuntz are important for the big hot topic of astronomy, namely extrasolar planets, and especially interesting for the dynamics of planets in double stars [noting that] in the solar neighborhood more than 60 percent of the stars are not single."<ref>[https://spacenews.com/fresh-look-at-previously-suggested-planet/ ''Fresh Look at Previously Suggested Planet'' Press Release by SpaceRef, Sep. 29, 2010].</ref> In 2025, additional evidence in support of this planet was obtained by Ho Wan Cheng, University of Hong Kong, and colleagues.<ref>[https://www.newscientist.com/article/2480992-weird-planet-is-orbiting-backwards-between-two-stars/ ''Weird planet is orbiting backwards between two stars. By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan, New Scientist, vol. 3545, May 21, 2025''].</ref>

In 2012, Manfred Cuntz and Billy Quarles, as part of a team of researchers from the University of Texas Arlington, "gained international recognition for identifying the possibility of a habitable moon within the orbit of the recently discovered planet called Kepler-16b." The scientists used data from NASA's Kepler space telescope to analyze the possibilities of an Earth-like planet or moon to sustain life within the Kepler binary star system. They relied on Cuntz's expertise in astrobiology "to develop a range within the system where life would be able to exist."{{r|Shorthorn}} According to Cuntz, "the planet's critical feature to sustain life would be liquid water"; and he speculated that under suitable conditions those "life form[s] could be along the lines of [...] plant[s] or bacteria."{{r|Sydney}}

Cuntz and Quarles collaborated again as co-authors on a study led by Oshina Jagtap published in 2021, which "explores the possibility of exomoons in a planetary system named HD 23079, located in Reticulum, a small constellation in the southern sky." This system is of interest because it contains a planet similar to Jupiter. Cuntz argues that since "Jupiter [is] a host to four planet-size moons (among many other moons), with two of them (Europa and Ganymede) having a significant chance of being habitable," gas giants in other star systems which could host an Earth-sized moon with the conditions for liquid water.{{r|exomoons}} Other work also focused on the principal possibility of submoons<ref>[https://www.uta.edu/academics/schools-colleges/science/news/2020/05/14/physics-doctoral-student-and-alumnus-publish-study-on-orbital-stability-of-exomoons-submoons ''Physics Doctoral Student and Alumnus Publish Study on Orbital Stability of Exomoons, Submoons, UTA College of Science, May 14, 2020'']</ref> and on exocomets.<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2018/12/21/astronomers-are-on-the-hunt-for-comets-circling-other-stars ''Astronomers are on the Hunt for Comets Circling Other Stars, By Bruce Dorminey, Forbes Online, Dec. 21, 2018''].</ref>

To aid astrophysicists in identifying habitable zones, Cuntz with the assistance of R. Bruntz and Zhaopeng Wang developed "BinHab, a new online tool that can be used to calculate the regions of binary systems favorable for life" in 2014. According to Cuntz, the program considers both "the amounts of stellar radiation, which provides a favorable planetary climate for life, and the gravitational influence of both stars on an existing planet." The interim dean of the UTA College of Science, James Grover, said this tool "holds enormous potential for those who study space in the search for life."{{r|binary}}

In 2016, Cuntz, while collaborating with Edward Guinan at Villanova University, explored which types of stars are best suited to offer prospects of habitability. They argued in favor of orange dwarfs, namely low-luminosity G-type and K-type stars; the related planetary condition is sometimes also called superhabitability. Guinan pointed out that "[m]any K-stars can be much older than our Sun. So, if life formed and evolved on habitable zone planet hosted by a[n] old K-star ... a few to several billions of years older than the Sun; it could maybe even harbor intelligent life."{{R|orange}}

In 2022, while collaborating with four of his students, Cuntz published a catalog of planet-hosting triple star systems, a relatively rare astronomical phenomenon.{{r|Unmasking}}

Cuntz also worked with other researchers to "examine[d] both the damaging and the favourable effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from stars on DNA molecules" and how it could affect "potential carbon-based extraterrestrial life forms in the habitable zones around other stars."{{r|UV}} A study conducted by Cuntz, Satoko Sato, and researchers from the University of Guanajuato in Mexico found that F-type star systems "may [...] be a good place to look for habitable planets" because they have a larger "area where conditions are right for general Earth-type planets to develop and sustain life" than smaller, cooler stars like the Sun. The research demonstrated that the damage to DNA (used as a proxy for general biomolecules) from UV radiation on planets "in the outer portions of F-star habitable zones" was "similar to the damage on Earth, if Earth did not have an atmosphere."{{r|F-stars}}

In 2024, Cuntz revisited the topic of habitability for F-star systems<ref>{{Cite web |title=UTA physicists publish study on habitability of F-type star systems |url=https://www.uta.edu/academics/schools-colleges/science/news/2024/09/13/uta-physicists-publish-study-on-habitability-of-f-type-star-systems |access-date=2025-12-22 |website=UTA physicists publish study on habitability of F-type star systems - College of Science - The University of Texas at Arlington |language=en}}</ref> in collaboration with then-PhD student Shaan Patel, and Nevin Weinberg, a UTA faculty, based on data from the NASA exoplanet archive.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NASA Exoplanet Archive |url=https://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/ |access-date=2025-12-22 |website=exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu}}</ref> They identified numerous planets situated in stellar habitable zones, at least part-time. In one case, that is 38 Virginis, the planet is always located in the star’s habitable zone, making this system the best case known to date in the search of life.

Subsequently, Cuntz and team also explored the reality of moons in M-dwarf systems.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UTA physicists' research casts more doubt on possible exomoons in some systems |url=https://www.uta.edu/academics/schools-colleges/science/news/2025/11/18/shaan-patel |access-date=2025-12-22 |website=UTA physicists' research casts more doubt on possible exomoons in some systems - College of Science - The University of Texas at Arlington |language=en}}</ref> They found that habitable zone exomoons are highly unlikely in most of those systems due to orbital instabilities initiated by tides, thus significantly limiting the number of potentially habitable objects in our galaxy and the universe at large. Evidently, this finding has noticeable implications for possible solutions to the Drake equation, including the Fermi paradox. This result also affects our perception of planet K2-18b by further weakening the previously suggested biological interpretation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zimmer |first=Carl |date=2025-04-16 |title=Astronomers Detect a Possible Signature of Life on a Distant Planet |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/science/astronomy-exoplanets-habitable-k218b.html |url-status=live |access-date=2025-12-22 |website=NYTimes.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Strickland |first=Ashley |date=2025-04-17 |title=Scientists detect signature of life on a distant planet, study suggests |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/17/science/k218b-potential-biosignature-webb |access-date=2025-12-22 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>

== Community involvement == Cuntz actively participates in education and public outreach (EPO). He has worked with The Planetarium at University of Texas at Arlington to create several shows. A 45-minute film titled ''Magnificent Sun'', for which Cuntz co-authored the script, is intended to allow "the general public to share information and excitement about solar physics."{{r|sun}} Another show, ''Cosmic CSI: Looking for Life in the Universe'', aims to present Cuntz's "research in astrobiology to the rest of the community."{{r|planetarium}} Additionally, he was the Principal Investigator for the development of a 3-D planetarium film "based on NASA's research and outreach mission, Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA."{{r|3D}}

Outside of his academic work, Cuntz pursues examination of fake news in science by writing articles in the journal ''Skeptical Inquirer''.{{r|skeptic}} This has included articles about misguided criticism of the work of Albert Einstein{{r|einstein}} and commentary about responses from religious groups regarding the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).{{r|JWST}}

== Literary influences == A publication by Cuntz on possible Earth-like planets in the star system 55 Cancri served as inspiration for Kenneth E. Ingle's science fiction novel ''First Contact: Escape to 55 Cancri''.{{r|fiction}}

Cuntz also chose to explore urban legends. He provided contributions to Rolf Wilhelm Brednich, at that time a professor of Folklore / European ethnology at the University of Göttingen in Germany, for one of his books.{{r|penguins}}

In 2024, Cuntz published his first children's book, titled ''Fun with Three Suns in the Sky'', aimed at sparking interest in young children in astronomy and space science. The storyline of the book is loosely modeled after the Alpha Centauri system.<ref>[https://www.uta.edu/academics/schools-colleges/science/news/2024/11/08/cuntz-publishes-childrens-book-to-promote-kids-interest-in-astronomy ''Cuntz publishes children's book to promote kids' interest in astronomy. By Greg Pederson, Nov. 8, 2024''].</ref>

== Publications == === Books === * {{citation|date=2016|isbn=978-1-5249-2331-0|location=Dubuque, Iowa, USA|publisher=Kendall Hunt Publishing Company|title=Practical Universe: Observations, Experiments, Exercises (mit N. Veerabathina, L. Gurdemir, J. Davis)}} * {{citation|date=2024|isbn=979-8765798157|publisher=Kendall Hunt Publishing Company|title= Fun with Three Suns in the Sky}}

=== Selected articles === * ''Tidally Torn: Why the Most Common Stars May Lack Large, Habitable-zone Moons'' (2026) (incl. S. D. Patel, B. Quarles, N. N. Weinberg). * ''Can Moons Exist around the Habitable-zone Planet K2-18b?'' (2025) (incl. S. D. Patel, B. Quarles, N. N. Weinberg). * ''Statistics and Habitability of F-type Star–Planet Systems'' (2024) (incl. S. D. Patel, N. N. Weinberg). * ''The Once-canceled Habitable-zone Super-Earth Gliese 581d Might Indeed Exist!'' (2024) (incl. S. G. Engle, E. F. Guinan). * ''X-ray Activity Variations and Coronal Abundances of the Star-Planet Interaction Candidate HD 179949'' (2023) (incl. A. Acharya, V. L. Kashyap, S. H. Saar, K. P. Singh). * ''An Early Catalog of Planet-Hosting Multiple-Star Systems of Order Three and Higher'' (2022) (incl. G. E. Luke, M. J. Millard, L. Boyle, S. D. Patel). * ''Updated Studies on Exomoons in the HD 23079 System'' (2021) (incl. O. Jagtap, B. Quarles). * ''Orbital Stability of Exomoons and Submoons with Applications to Kepler 1625b-I'' (2020) (incl. M. Rosario-Franco, B. Quarles, Z. E. Musielak). * ''Can Planets Exist in the Habitable Zone of 55 Cancri?'' (2019) (incl. S. Satyal). * ''Exocomets in the 47 UMa System: Theoretical Simulations Including Water Transport'' (2018) (incl. B. Loibnegger, R. Dvorak). * ''Case Studies of Exocomets in the System of HD 10180'' (2017) (incl. B. Loibnegger, R. Dvorak). * ''About Exobiology: The Case for Dwarf K Stars'' (2016) (incl. E. F. Guinan). * ''Fractal and Multifractal Analysis of the Rise of Oxygen in Earth's Early Atmosphere'' (2015) (incl. S. Kumar, Z. E. Musielak). * ''Habitability of Earth-mass Planets and Moons in the Kepler-16 System'' (2012) (incl. B. Quarles, Z. E. Musielak). * ''The Advection of Supergranules by the Sun's Axisymmetric Flows'' (2010) (incl. D. H. Hathaway, P. E. Williams, K. Dela Rosa). * ''On the Reality of the Suggested Planet in the Nu Octantis System'' (2010) (incl. J. Eberle). * ''The Great Oxidation of Earth's Atmosphere: Contesting the Yoyo Model via Transition Stability Analysis'' (2009) (incl. D. Roy, Z. E. Musielak). * ''A Method for the Treatment of Supergranulation Advection by Giant Cells'' (2009) (incl. P. E. Williams). * ''Acoustic Heating of the Solar Chromosphere: Present Indeed and Locally Dominant'' (2007) (incl. W. Rammacher, Z. E. Musielak). * ''A New Version of Reimers' Law of Mass Loss Based on a Physical Approach'' (2005) (incl. K.-P. Schröder). * ''On the Possibility of Earth-type Habitable Planets in the 55 Cancri System'' (2003) (incl. W. von Bloh, C. Bounama, S. Franck). * '' Orbital Stability of Terrestrial Planets inside the Habitable Zones of Extrasolar Planetary Systems'' (2002) (incl. M. Noble, Z. E. Musielak). * ''On Stellar Activity Enhancement Due to Interactions with Extrasolar Giant Planets'' (2000) (incl. S. H. Saar, Z. E. Musielak). * ''A Generalized Version of the Rankine-Hugoniot Relations Including Ionization, Dissociation and Related Phenomena'' (1993) (incl. H. Nieuwenhuijzen, C. de Jager, A. Lobel, L. Achmad).

== References == <references>

<ref name="alum">{{cite web |last1=Cuntz |first1=Manfred |title=Abiturjahrgang 1977 Prof. Dr. Manfred Cuntz-heute Astrophysiker in Texas |trans-title=Class of 1977 Prof. Dr. Manfred Cuntz-today astrophysicist in Texas|url=https://www.yumpu.com/de/document/read/3630022/landau-vereinigung-der-freunde-des-esg-ev |website=Yumpu |publisher=Vereinigung der Freunde des Eduard-Spranger Gymnasiums |access-date=27 September 2023 |pages=124–129 |language=German}}</ref> <ref name="UTA">{{cite web |title=Dr. Manfred A Cuntz |url=https://www.uta.edu/academics/faculty/profile?username=cuntz |website=UTA |publisher=The University of Texas at Arlington |access-date=27 September 2023}}</ref> <ref name="dissertation">{{cite web |last1=Cuntz |first1=Manfred |title=Generation of Extended Chromospheres and Mass Loss of Late-Type Giant Stars due to Acoustic Shock Waves |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/132468 |website=IOP Science |publisher=Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific |access-date=27 September 2023}}</ref> <ref name="S&T">{{cite web |last1=Naeye |first1=Robert |title=Footprint of a Magnetic Exoplanet |url=https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/footprint-of-a-magnetic-exoplanet/ |website=Sky & Telescope |publisher=AAS Sky Publishing, LLC |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref> <ref name="UV">{{cite web |title=The violent youth of solar proxies steer course of genesis of life |url=https://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau0916/ |website=International Astronomical Union |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref> <ref name="F-stars">{{cite web |title=Don't forget F-type stars in search for life, UT Arlington researchers say |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/568699 |website=EurekaAlert! |access-date=28 September 2023 |date=25 March 2014}}</ref> <ref name="TRAPPIST">{{cite web |last1=Dorminey |first1=Bruce |authorlink=Bruce Dorminey|title=Odds Are Against Life On Seven TRAPPIST-1 Planets |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2017/03/09/odds-are-against-life-on-seven-trappist-1-planets/?sh=3b23a51872f4 |website=Forbes |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref> <ref name="binary">{{cite web |title=UT Arlington astrophysicist offers new method for finding regions favorable for life in stellar binary systems |url=https://news.cision.com/university-of-texas-at-arlington/r/ut-arlington-astrophysicist-offers-new-method-for-finding-regions-favorable-for-life-in-stellar-bina,c9700734 |website=University of Texas Arlington |access-date=28 September 2023|date=22 December 2014}}</ref> <ref name="planetarium">{{cite web |last1=Buffington IV |first1=Ray Edward |title=Is There Anybody Out There? |url=https://www.theshorthorn.com/news/is-there-anybody-out-there/article_ce78fd80-b6fa-5561-9e2b-3cfeb4dcba3e.html |website=The Shorthorn |publisher=UTA Student Publications |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref> <ref name="3D">{{cite web |title=Planetarium produces first active stereo 3-D planetarium show about NASA's SOFIA mission |url=https://phys.org/news/2015-09-planetarium-stereo-d-nasa-sofia.html |website=Phys Org |access-date=28 September 2023 |date=8 September 2015}}</ref> <ref name="sun">{{cite web |title=UT Arlington planetarium to premier NASA funded show |url=https://www.uta.edu/ucomm/mediarelations/press/2010/12/magnificentsun-release.php |website=University of Texas Arlington |access-date=28 September 2023 |date=6 December 2010 |archive-date=31 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231033229/https://www.uta.edu/ucomm/mediarelations/press/2010/12/magnificentsun-release.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> <ref name="skeptic">{{cite web |title=Author: Manfred Cuntz |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/authors/manfred-cuntz/ |website=Skeptical Inquirer |publisher=Center for Inquiry |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref> <ref name="einstein">{{cite journal |last1=Cuntz |first1=Manfred |title=100 Authors against Einstein: A Look in the Rearview Mirror |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |date=November 2020 |volume=44 |issue=6 |pages=48–51 |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2020/11/100-authors-against-einstein-a-look-in-the-rearview-mirror/ |access-date=29 September 2023}}</ref> <ref name="JWST">{{cite journal |last1=Cuntz |first1=Manfred |title=The James Webb Space Telescope: First Responses from Religion |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |date=January 2023 |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=38–40 |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2022/12/the-james-webb-space-telescope-first-responses-from-religion/}}</ref> <ref name="editor">{{cite web |title=Meet the Editors |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/15213994/homepage/edbd.html |website=Wiley Online Library |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref> <ref name="fiction">{{cite book |last1=Ingle |first1=Kenneth E. |title=First Contact: Escape to 55 Cancri |date=2009 |publisher=Booksforabuck.com |isbn=1602150982}}</ref> <ref name="penguins">{{cite book |last1=Brednich |first1=Rolf Wilhelm |title=Pinguine in Rückenlage – Brandneue sagenhafte Geschichten von heute |trans-title=Penguins in Supine Position - Brandnew Legendary Stories of today|date=2004 |publisher=C. H. Beck |location=Munich |isbn=3-406-51069-8 |language=German}}</ref> <ref name="Sydney">{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Diane |title=Is there anyone else out there? |url=https://www.smh.com.au/technology/is-there-anyone-else-out-there-20120116-1q2jv.html |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=12 November 2023 |date=17 January 2012}}</ref> https://www.theshorthorn.com/news/campus/ut-arlington-research-team-gains-worldwide-attention-for-kepler-16b-findings/article_93473aa8-866a-5505-b4f0-d7619e25b34f.html<ref name="Shorthorn">{{cite web |last1=Kirby |first1=Russell |title=UT-Arlington research team gains worldwide attention for Kepler-16b findings |url=https://www.theshorthorn.com/news/campus/ut-arlington-research-team-gains-worldwide-attention-for-kepler-16b-findings/article_93473aa8-866a-5505-b4f0-d7619e25b34f.html |website=The Shorthorn |access-date=12 November 2023 |date=18 January 2012}}</ref> <ref name="exomoons">{{cite web |last1=Pederson |first1=Greg |title=Physics Doctoral Student Leads New Study about Plausibility of Exomoons |url=https://www.uta.edu/academics/schools-colleges/science/news/2022/02/14/physics-doctoral-student-leads-new-study-about-plausibility-of-exomoons |website=UTA College of Science |access-date=17 November 2023 |date=14 February 2022}}</ref> <ref name=CSI>{{cite web |title=Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Elects Twelve New CSI Fellows |url=https://centerforinquiry.org/news/committee-for-skeptical-inquiry-elects-twelve-new-csi-fellows/ |website=centerforinquiry.net |publisher=Center for Inquiry |access-date=21 December 2023}}</ref> <ref name="orange">{{cite web |last1=Dorminey |first1=Bruce |title=Orange Dwarfs Most Likely To Harbor Intelligent Life, Say Astronomers |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2016/07/11/orange-dwarfs-most-likely-to-harbor-intelligent-life-say-astronomers/?sh=3cd623a0976c |website=forbes.com |publisher=Forbes |access-date=17 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217045615/https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2016/07/11/orange-dwarfs-most-likely-to-harbor-intelligent-life-say-astronomers/?sh=3cd623a0976c |archive-date=17 February 2024 |date=July 11, 2016}}</ref> <ref name="Unmasking">{{cite web |title=Unmasking the Universe: Astrophysicist Catalogs All Known Planet-Hosting, Three-Star Systems |url=https://scitechdaily.com/unmasking-the-universe-astrophysicist-catalogs-all-known-planet-hosting-three-star-systems/ |website=scitechdaily.com |publisher=SciTechDaily |access-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924080734/https://scitechdaily.com/unmasking-the-universe-astrophysicist-catalogs-all-known-planet-hosting-three-star-systems/ |archive-date=September 24, 2023 |date=June 21, 2023}}</ref>

</references>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuntz, Manfred}} Category:1958 births Category:German astronomers Category:20th-century German astronomers Category:21st-century German astronomers Category:German scientists Category:Astrophysicists Category:German astrophysicists Category:Living people Category:German science communicators Category:Space advocates Category:Heidelberg University alumni Category:University of Texas at Arlington faculty