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Sacred Space Giving Program

The Catholic Astronomer 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

The Catholic Astronomer 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

The Catholic Astronomer 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

The Catholic Astronomer 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 →

The Society of Catholic Scientists Second Annual Conference

The Catholic Astronomer avatarPosted on by

A majority of Americans believe that religion and science are in conflict with one another (Link: Pew research center poll from Oct. 22, 2015). It may therefore come as a surprise that since its inception in 2016, the Society of Catholic Scientists has rapidly grown to over 600 members, most of whom are faculty, post docs and students at university science departments. The society was founded by a group of university physicists, astronomers, planetary scientists and biologists to provide fellowship, student mentorship, and a public witness to the harmony between faith and a scientific career. Stephen Barr, President of the Society, notes that “many Catholics in science – especially students and young scientists – feel isolated because they do not realize how many other scientists share their faith. That is because most religious scientists are quiet about their faith. This sense of isolation can be demoralizing.” In June, the Society will host its second annual conference “The Human Mind and … Continue reading →

Sacred Space Giving Program

The Catholic Astronomer 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

The Catholic Astronomer 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

The Catholic Astronomer 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 →

Br. Guy’s Christmas Message 2017

The Catholic Astronomer avatarPosted on by

Br. Guy takes a moment to consider the Christmas Season from an Astronomer’s point of view. Thank you for all the support the Vatican Observatory Foundation has received during this year: financial support, emotional support and, above all, prayers. To the entire Vatican Observatory family, the staff, the many colleagues, and so many friends warmest wishes of a Blessed Christmas! Image Description: “Newborn stars, hidden behind thick dust, are revealed in this image of a section of the Christmas Tree Cluster from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, created in joint effort between Spitzer’s Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) and Multiband Imaging Photometer (MIPS) instruments.

The newly revealed infant stars appear as pink and red specks toward the center of the combined IRAC-MIPS image. The stars appear to have formed in regularly spaced intervals along linear structures in a configuration that resembles the spokes of a wheel or the pattern of a snowflake. Hence, astronomers have nicknamed this the “Snowflake Cluster.” Star-forming clouds like … Continue reading →