Michel Mayor recalled extrasolar planets including his own first discovery; and Jill Tarter explored extraterrestrial intelligence in the universe. Astrophysics and cosmology received straight coverage in a variety of talks, as with descriptions of supernovae and gamma ray bursts by astrophysicist Adam Burrows; the acoustic nature of the universe by Garik Israelian; black holes by astrophysicist Kip Thorne; the creation of the universe by cosmologist Joseph Silk; cosmic signals from the beginning by cosmologist George Smoot; and five cosmic breakthroughs of the past 50 years by astronomer Robert Williams. Talks involving technology were also given, as with technologist Rich Goldman's description of the relationship between space exploration and technology; physicist Sami Solanki’s exploration of whether the Sun is causing global warming; and astronomer Leslie Sage’s description of how astronomy has changed what it means to be human. Finally, several talks focused on the new era of spacefarers, with cosmonaut Sergei Zhukov’s presentation on the future of Russian space exploration; Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier’s recollections of orbiting on the space shuttle; and cosmonaut Yuri Baturin’s plea for space explorers to help to change Earth and its inhabitants for the better. The event also highlighted a "108 Minute Round Table Discussion" with several of the speakers, seated underneath the 10.4-meter Gran Telescopio Canarias, in homage to the length of the first space mission, flown by Yuri Gagarin. Starmus I also featured a spectacular concert event featuring Edgar Froese and Tangerine Dream, along with Brian May who joined the concert for several songs. The show was recorded. An astrophotography competition was opened for astronomy enthusiasts, and Alex Cherney won the prize, on the Gran Telescopio Canarias to make an image with the world's largest optical telescope. In 2014, Canopus Publishing Ltd. produced a book consisting of the transcripts of the Starmus talks, numerous illustrations, and other materials. Titled Starmus: 50 Years of Man in Space, the volume featured a foreword by Stephen Hawking. Editors in Chief Garik Israelian and Brian May were assisted in the book's production by Executive Editor David J. Eicher and by Editorial Director Robin Rees. The volume was dedicated to Alexei Leonov and to Neil Armstrong, who died a year after the Festival took place but before the book was released. 2014 Starmus Festival, "Starmus II" The second Starmus Festival occurred from 22 to 27 September 2014, again on Tenerife and La Palma, Canary Islands. This time the theme