Mathematics - Sacred Space Astronomy

Religious Scientists: Fr. Roger Boscovich S.J., F.R.S. (1711-1787) – Atomic Theory

Posted on November 24, 2019 by Robert MackeNovember 23, 2019

This entry is part 10 of 10 in the series Religious Scientists of the Catholic Church

Fr. Roger Joseph Boscovich S.J. was one of the last great polymaths. His areas of study and work include physics, mathematics, atomic theory, celestial mechanics, geodesy, philosophy, theology, architecture, poetry, and more. Biographical Sketch Ruđer Josip Bošković was born May 18, 1711 to a merchant family in Dubrovnik, in what is today Croatia. He attended the Jesuit school in Dubrovnik. In 1725, he traveled to Rome to study at the Roman College, and in 1731 entered the Jesuit order. He was ordained a priest in 1744. He showed aptitude for mathematics and the natural sciences, and from 1740-1759 served as a professor of mathematics at the Roman College. It is during this time that he made many of his more significant scientific contributions. In 1742, Pope Benedict XIV requested Boscovich’s input on a little problem. The dome of St. Peter’s Basilica was developing cracks. Boscovich recommended securing the dome with iron bands, which was then implemented successfully. This led him … Continue reading →

Christopher M. Graney November 25, 2019 at 7:11 am on Transit of Mercury CHEOPS and ExoplanetsNice representation of the sun! Maybe only three dots but still cool.
Richard Hill November 23, 2019 at 8:46 pm on Agassiz’s mentorI will think about that!
Richard Hill November 23, 2019 at 8:45 pm on Agassiz’s mentorIf you go to my webpage at: https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~rhill/moonobs.html you will see at the top of the page a link to an article on the minimum size crater that is detectable (as a dot). I have done the theoretical minimum of 1km with this telescope at perigee. Most of the time...
Jim Cook November 23, 2019 at 7:42 am on Smart Phones from EelsI often carry around something smaller than a smart phone that would not be possible without the work all four gentlemen: my car's key fob. It contains a small coin-sized battery, which powers the signal it emits that my car detects, within a certain distance, and lets me unlock it...
Jim Cook November 21, 2019 at 9:15 am on The Story Telling Universe.If the point was the difference between an ordinary astrophotograph and a good one is the extent to which it tells a story, I took from your comments that “story” was something the photographer should try to include in a photograph or make an effort to try to capture somehow,...
Christopher M. Graney November 19, 2019 at 8:47 am on The Story Telling Universe.Well I particularly like both of the windmill pictures.
Fr. James Kurzynski November 18, 2019 at 4:51 pm on The Story Telling Universe.Jim, Thank you for a very engaging response! And thank you for the links to your wonderful pictures! I'm always inspired by the work of others. In that spirit, thank you for inspiring me! Your initial paragraph cuts right to the heart of the struggle I faced a few months...
Jim Cook November 18, 2019 at 9:01 am on The Story Telling Universe.My own experience as an astrophotographer is, well, less experienced than I would like. But my sense is the images taken by experienced astrophotographers rarely tell stories. More often, they are simply portraits — say, a high magnification photo of Saturn, or lunar craters, or the Orion Nebula. And really...
Bob Prokop November 12, 2019 at 7:23 pm on In the Sky This Week – November 12, 2019I had much better luck on Monday. I wrote up my impressions of the event here: https://theobserverschair.blogspot.com/
Christopher M. Graney November 6, 2019 at 2:06 pm on Agassiz’s mentorP.S. Can you give us an estimate of the size of the smallest features visible in these shots?
Christopher M. Graney November 6, 2019 at 1:59 pm on Agassiz’s mentorThese are great lunar shots that you post. Write a post about this 8" f/20 telescope that you use for these shots. Or have you done that, and I just missed that post?
Richard Gabrielson November 4, 2019 at 9:20 pm on Navy Jets Harassed by Magical Mermaid Tic Tac UFOs!Bravo, Prof. Graney! Seeing this published under a Church connection reminded me immediately of an aphorism attributed to GK Chesterton: "When a man [sic] stops believing in God he doesn’t then believe in nothing, he believes anything." (According to https://www.chesterton.org/ceases-to-worship/ it's a repeated theme in Chesterton's works but never in...
Fr. James Kurzynski October 31, 2019 at 6:00 am on From The Back Yard: Know Thyself.And thanks for the complement!
Fr. James Kurzynski October 31, 2019 at 6:00 am on From The Back Yard: Know Thyself.Sadly, there are. The yellowish light on the right side is from the west - creeping light pollution from the cities of Plover and Stevens Point. I'm not 100% sure where the blue came from. Part of me thinks it might be a result of the light from my parents...
Christopher M. Graney October 30, 2019 at 11:11 am on From The Back Yard: Know Thyself.That is a nice Milky Way panorama! They are all nice. At each end of the panorama there is some skyglow. Are there a lot of artificial lights around?
Christopher M. Graney October 16, 2019 at 10:22 am on Putting the Space Station Where You Want ItThanks for the comments. A funny thing happened at the observatory: the ISS did not show up. A visitor there had an app on his phone, and that app did not show the ISS as passing by Saturn. I later went back to Stellarium, and Stellarium did not show the...
Jim Cook October 12, 2019 at 12:06 pm on Putting the Space Station Where You Want ItTwenty years ago, give or take, I had my telescope set up for a stargazing program at my local park. Earlier in the day, I had checked to see if there would be any bright satellites passing overhead. Back then, before there were satellite pass web sites like heavens-above.com, I...
Ed Yepez October 11, 2019 at 9:46 pm on ⓜ The day I almost met Buzz… Diary of 11 October, 2019I have enjoyed John Scalzi's work, but I must admit I would not recognize him. Let me know if you ever attend an orthodontic meeting. They won't know me either, but it would definitely encourage me to attend! The motion of planets and teeth?
Tracy Lunquist October 11, 2019 at 1:19 pm on ⓜ The day I almost met Buzz… Diary of 11 October, 2019I've had dinner with Buzz Aldrin -- a long-time friend of mine was dating him for a little while (yes, you can imagine my reaction to hearing that little tidbit of news). He is certainly a unique character, and I'm sorry you didn't get to meet him. But indeed, of...
Christopher M. Graney October 4, 2019 at 10:34 am on ‘Hot Jupiter’ Exoplanet Found with 18-Hour OrbitWow. Do we know *anything* about planet formation any more? Obviously, everything I was ever taught has turned out to be WRONG. This is such a cool area of discovery.