Author Archives: Website Admin

Sacred Space Giving Program

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Support The Catholic Astronomer Blog It is your support that lets us keep the blog going. (We pay our contributors… a pittance, mind you, but still it isn’t for free.) According to our analytics, 8010 people are regular followers of this blog, so we made our goal of reaching 8000 this month. That’s great! However, only 114 of you are actual paying members. If you’re keeping tabs, that is significantly fewer than we reported last month, because (as we do on occasion) we have dropped members who have stopped contributing – usually because their credit cards have expired. Nonetheless we did get a few new sign ups as well last month. Thanks! If we could have even just ten percent of our readership support us at the rate of $10 a month, that would raise enough not only to keep the blog going but to substantially support the other astronomy and faith outreach activities of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. And, … Continue reading →

Sacred Space Giving Program

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

Support The Catholic Astronomer Blog It is your support that lets us keep the blog going. (We pay our contributors… a pittance, mind you, but still it isn’t for free.) According to our analytics, 7901 people are regular followers of this blog, an increase of 99 followers this past month. That’s great! (Can we make it to 8000 by December 1?) However, only 144 of you are actual paying members, which is the same as last month. (Thanks to all of you who support us!) Help?! If we could have even just ten percent of our readership support us at the rate of $10 a month, that would raise enough not only to keep the blog going but to substantially support the other astronomy and faith outreach activities of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. And, by the way, for those of you who can still deduct… we are a tax exempt 501c3 nonprofit organization. How to do this? Join the Sacred … Continue reading →

Sacred Space Giving Program

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

Support The Catholic Astronomer Blog It is your support that lets us keep the blog going. (We pay our contributors… a pittance, mind you, but still it isn’t for free.) According to our analytics, 7802 people are regular followers of this blog, an increase of 101 followers this past month. That’s great! However, only 144 of you are actual paying members, only more than last month. (Thanks to all of you who support us!) If we could have even just ten percent of our readership support us at the rate of $10 a month, that would raise enough not only to keep the blog going but to substantially support the other astronomy and faith outreach activities of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. And, by the way, for those of you who can still deduct… we are a tax exempt 501c3 nonprofit organization. How to do this? Join the Sacred Space Giving Program, and you will have reserved access to the Catholic … Continue reading →

Please Welcome our new Blogger: Dr. Heidi B. Hammel

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Heidi B. Hammel is the Executive Vice President of AURA, Inc., a non-profit consortium of universities and institutions that manages and operates astronomical facilities, including the Hubble Space Telescope. She also serves as Vice President of The Planetary Society, a public advocacy group whose mission is to empower the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration. Dr. Hammel earned her undergraduate degree from MIT, and her Masters and Ph. D. in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Hawaii at Manoa; she was a postdoctoral research fellow at JPL and MIT, and spent nearly a decade at MIT as a Principal Research Scientist. Dr. Hammel has been recognized both for her science (AAAS Fellow in 2000; 1996 Urey Prize from the American Astronomical Society) and for her work in public outreach (2002 Sagan Medal for outstanding public communication by an active planetary scientist; San Francisco Exploratorium’s 1998 Public Understanding of Science Award). She primarily studies outer planets and their … Continue reading →

Sacred Space Giving Program

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

Support The Catholic Astronomer Blog It is your support that lets us keep the blog going. (We pay our contributors… a pittance, mind you, but still it isn’t for free.) According to our analytics, 7701 people are regular followers of this blog, an increase of 84 followers this past month. That’s great! However, only 143 of you are actual paying members; still, that’s five more than last month. (Thanks!) If we could have even just ten percent of our readership support us at the rate of $10 a month, that would raise enough not only to keep the blog going but to substantially support the other astronomy and faith outreach activities of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. And, by the way, for those of you who can still deduct… we are a tax exempt 501c3 nonprofit organization. How to do this? Join the Sacred Space Giving Program, and you will have reserved access to the Catholic Astronomer blog! You’ll be able … Continue reading →

Please Welcome our new Blogger: Chris Olsen

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Chris Olsen has a degree in history, and is a student of 19th-century photography and science. Chris does daguerreotypes and wet plate collodion, which are the two first photographic processes that were commercially successful. Chris works as an operator at Fermi National Accelerator Lab; this offers him the very special privilege of taking his camera equipment into the accelerator complex and using this 150-year-old process to take pictures of it. Chris also does backstage concert photography and takes pictures of Civil War reenactors. Chris uses his own 19th-century equipment, and gives these photographs to the Civil War reenactors as gifts. Chris will be writing a series about 19th century solar observation, and recreating the instruments used during that period. Chris has started researching the English scientist and astronomer Norman Lockyer; during the next total solar eclipse, Chris hopes to “discover” the element helium using the spectrometer he built.  

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Sacred Space Giving Program

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

Support The Catholic Astronomer Blog According to our analytics, 7617 people are regular followers of this blog an increase 105 followers just in this past month That’s great! But only 138 of you are actual paying members, and that hasn’t changed at all since last month. Help! It is your support that lets us keep the blog going. (We pay our contributors… a pittance, mind you, but still it isn’t for free.) If we could have even just ten percent of our readership support us at the rate of $10 a month, that would raise enough not only to keep the blog going but to substantially support the other astronomy and faith outreach activities of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. And, by the way, for those of you who can still deduct… we are a tax exempt 501c3 nonprofit organization. How to do this? Join the Sacred Space Giving Program, and you will have reserved access to the Catholic Astronomer blog! … Continue reading →

Please Welcome our new Blogger: Brother Bob Macke SJ

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Br. Bob Macke joined the Vatican Observatory in July 2013, where he studies meteorite physical properties in the observatory’s meteorite laboratory. In August 2014, Br. Bob became the curator of the Vatican collection of 1200 meteorite specimens. Br. Bob is a member of the U.S. Central and Southern Province of the Society of Jesus. He was born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1974. After studying physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Washington University in St. Louis, he taught astronomy for a few years at Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, Ohio) before entering the Society of Jesus in 2001. As a Jesuit, he studied philosophy at St. Louis University. He then taught physics, astronomy, and mathematics at Rockhurst University (Kansas City, Missouri) for one year, and then began a doctoral program studying meteorite physical properties at University of Central Florida. His dissertation, Survey of Meteorite Physical Properties: Density, Porosity and Magnetic Susceptibility, detailed measurements on more than … Continue reading →

Sacred Space Giving Program

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

Support The Catholic Astronomer Blog According to our analytics, 7512 people are regular followers of this blog. That’s great! But only 138 of you are actual paying members. It is your support that lets us keep the blog going. (We pay our contributors… a pittance, mind you, but still it isn’t for free.) If we could have even just ten percent of our readership support us at the rate of $10 a month, that would raise enough not only to keep the blog going but to substantially support the other astronomy and faith outreach activities of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. And, by the way, for those of you who can still deduct… we are a tax exempt 501c3 nonprofit organization. How to do this? Join the Sacred Space Giving Program, and you will have reserved access to the Catholic Astronomer blog! You’ll be able to join in on conversations with blog authors, and you’ll receive a copy of the Sacred … Continue reading →

Sacred Space Giving Program

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

Support The Catholic Astronomer Blog According to our analytics, 7429 people are regular followers of this blog. That’s great! But only 134 of you are actual paying members. It is your support that lets us keep the blog going. (We pay our contributors… a pittance, mind you, but still it isn’t for free.) If we could have even just ten percent of our readership support us at the rate of $10 a month, that would raise enough not only to keep the blog going but to substantially support the other astronomy and faith outreach activities of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. And, by the way, for those of you who can still deduct… we are a tax exempt 501c3 nonprofit organization. How to do this? Join the Sacred Space Giving Program, and you will have reserved access to the Catholic Astronomer blog! You’ll be able to join in on conversations with blog authors, and you’ll receive a copy of the Sacred … Continue reading →

Sacred Space Giving Program

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

Support The Catholic Astronomer Blog According to our analytics, nearly 7000 people are regular followers of this blog. That’s great! But only about 100 of you are actual paying members. It is your support that lets us keep the blog going. (We pay our contributors… a pittance, mind you, but still it isn’t for free.) If we could have even just ten percent of our readership support us at the rate of $10 a month, that would raise enough not only to keep the blog going but to substantially support the other astronomy and faith outreach activities of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. And, by the way, for those of you who can still deduct… we are a tax exempt 501c3 nonprofit organization. How to do this? Join the Sacred Space Giving Program, and you will have reserved access to the Catholic Astronomer blog! You’ll be able to join in on conversations with blog authors, and you’ll receive a copy of … Continue reading →

Sacred Space Giving Program

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

Support The Catholic Astronomer Blog According to our analytics,  7,222 people are regular followers of this blog (compared to just under 7000 last month). That’s great! But only 139 of you are actual paying members. It is your support that lets us keep the blog going. (We pay our contributors… a pittance, mind you, but still it isn’t for free.) If we could have even just ten percent of our readership support us at the rate of $10 a month, that would raise enough not only to keep the blog going but to substantially support the other astronomy and faith outreach activities of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. And, by the way, for those of you who can still deduct… we are a tax exempt 501c3 nonprofit organization. How to do this? Join the Sacred Space Giving Program, and you will have reserved access to the Catholic Astronomer blog! You’ll be able to join in on conversations with blog authors, and … Continue reading →