JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sad news rippled across the scientific community after word spread that professor Mike Reynolds died Tuesday afternoon.
Reynolds, an educator at Florida State College at Jacksonville, was known for his infectious enthusiasm for science, particularly astronomy and space exploration.
He taught at Fletcher High School in the early part of his career, where he was awarded Florida Teacher of the Year in 1981.
He moved on to planetarium director at the Jacksonville Museum of Science & History and was a member of several groups focusing on astronomy, telescopes and space observation. He led expeditions around the world to view solar eclipses and recover meteorites.
He wrote several books on eclipses and was one of 12,000 educators nationwide in the running to fly in NASA's Teacher in Space Program in 1985.
Fellow educator Christa McAuliffe was ultimately chosen for the Challenger mission, which ended tragically. Before the mission, Reynolds and McAuliffe became friends, and after the Challenger exploded, Reynolds took on an outreach position in her honor. When News4Jax's Tarik Minor interviewed Reynolds about the Challenger mission in 2016, he explained how watching the explosion changed his life.
"It's really affected me, knowing that everyday on this earth is a gift so use that time wisely, and stick to your mission and God-given gifts, and that's why I stayed in education," he said.
Reynolds inspired countless students. His classes at FSCJ had a waiting list to get into because he made science so much fun. He, like many other astronomers, was known for a catchphrase, "Keep looking up!"
Students and friends have been posting their favorite memories and memorializing Reynolds on his Facebook page:
"The stars just became a lot dimmer. Godspeed Dr Mike Reynolds," wrote one person.
No funeral arrangements have been announced.