Specola Guestbook | October 14, 1924: Edward Phillips S.J.

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This entry is part 77 of 78 in the series Specola Guestbook

Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory.  A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, Nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from October 14, 1924, when Edward Phillips made a visit. Next to his name, Fr. Edward C. Phillips S.J.  (1877-1952) wrote, “Woodstock, Maryland, U.S.A.”  At the time of his visit, he was a professor of mathematics and astronomy at Woodstock College, and also dean. This was one of at least two visits–he also signed the guestbook on Feb 9, 1938. In 1925, he would become director of the Georgetown Observatory, where he would remain until 1928, when he would be named Provincial (major superior) of the Maryland-New York Province of the Society of Jesus. He would serve as Provincial until 1935, after which he would return to Woodstock College for a time. He also served as treasurer of the New York Province (after … Continue reading →

“Cosmos: Possible Worlds”, 10-13: Goodbye to a Losing Season

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When your favorite team is not so good, sometimes the end of the season can come as a relief.  That’s doubly true when the last couple games of the season go especially badly.  This Cosmos fan finds himself happy to see this season come to an end.  There is always next season, maybe, and hope for better days to come. “A Tale of Two Atoms”, the 10th episode of Cosmos: Possible Worlds, was a win.  I liked the overall discussion of scientists involved in nuclear physics, especially Neil deGrasse Tyson’s clear-eyed view of those scientists.  He notes, for example, that even after World War II ended, scientists kept right on working on atomic weapons.  Apparently, many scientists were willing to continue work on weapons of mass destruction even after the crisis of war and its perceived threat of German nuclear technology had passed. But the highlight of the whole Cosmos: Possible Worlds series for me was the animated feature in … Continue reading →

JWST update – Hexagons in Space

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My small group at Space Camp in Louisburgh. Proud of their new James Webb replica mirror and knowledge !! What an exciting week regarding the JWST announcment that the launch date is set for October 31st 2021 !!! Am shareing my previous blog about a workshop I did back in September 2019 and in addition I am including a video about the announcment. Something to look forward to in the year ahead. Of course anything can happen when it comes to launches but the perparation is done. We are on the verge of the launch of  space programs most exciting telescope ever built   Hexagons As far as I know, hexagons in space are not common. The only natural hexagonal shape I know of out there is the extraordinary storm cloud on the north pole of Saturn. However here on Earth, this shape is everywhere, bees use hexagons in building their hives. Hexagons hide in plain sight within our bodies, … Continue reading →

ⓜ Curiosity and the Exploration of Mars, I

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This entry is part 2 of 55 in the series And Then I Wrote

And then I wrote… On January 12, 2021, the NASA Mars rover Curiosity marked 3000 Martian days on the surface of Mars. In 2012 I was invited to write an article about the exploration of Mars; “Curiosity e l’esplorazione di Marte” appeared in the Jesuit journal La Civiltà Cattolica on November 17,2012. Here is the original English version that I submitted to them. As it is more than 5000 words long, I will publish it over two weeks. One cannot make an observation of anything in nature without, in some way, altering the very object we are trying to observe. In quantum physics, we know that if we shine even the tiniest bit of light, a massless photon, onto a particle to determine its position or momentum, the impact of that photon will nudge the particle into a different position with a changed momentum. What we thought we were observing will have become changed by the very fact of us looking at … Continue reading →

A Platonic journey

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This entry is part 38 of 40 in the series Lunarcy

I always look forward to the appearance of the 104km diameter crater Plato and surrounding environs as they emerge from the lunar night. There is so much to see there I find imaging irresistible. Usually I don’t like to do this wide a field but there’s much to enjoy. Plato’s terraced walls exhibit ancient slumping and breaches by rimae. South of Plato are the sparkling Montes Teneriffe with 2400m high Mons Pico the large peak on the east (right) end. To the east of Plato is the great gash Valles Alpes with it’s central rille seen here (with a 6″ telescope) with another isolated mountain peak south of the entrance to the Vallis, Mons Piton (2250m) standing isolated on the plain of Mare Imbrium. In the lower right corner of this image is Cassini (60km) with it’s tight ejecta blanket surrounding and interior wrinkles and satellite craters. Above Plato is a large flat region that is Mare Frigoris, the longest … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – January 12, 2021

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This entry is part 179 of 180 in the series In the Sky This Week

Venus appears very low above the southeastern horizon before sunrise. Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury continue to form a triple conjunction in the southwestern sky at dusk – Saturn may be a bit difficult to see; Mercury appears slightly higher above the horizon each evening. Mercury appears in the southwestern sky at dusk – the Moon joins Mercury on the evening of Jan 15th. Mars appears high in the southern sky after sunset; the constellations Orion, Taurus and Canis Major appear lower and to the east of Mars. If you look almost straight up at 3:00 AM, you can sky-hop from the Big Dipper to Arcturus and Spica.   The Moon is a waning crescent – visible low to the east before sunrise. The new Moon occurs on Jan. 13th – the Moon will be hidden in the glare of the Sun. After Jan. 13th, the Moon will be a waxing crescent – visible toward the southwest in early evening. If … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | June 16, 1924: Knut Lundmark and Sten Asklöf

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This entry is part 76 of 78 in the series Specola Guestbook

Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory.  A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, Nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from June 16, 1924, when Knut Lundmark and Sten Asklöf made a visit. Next to his name, Knut Emil Lundmark (1889-1958) wrote, “Ph.D., Upsala, Sweden.” He had completed his Ph.D. at Uppsala in 1920 and subsequently worked at the Lick and Mount Wilson observatoies. In 1929 he became director of the observatory at Lund University in Lund, Sweden. Lundmark’s scientific work was primarily concerned with galaxies.  He measured the distance to the Andromeda Galaxy in 1919 using  novae as standard candles. [Note: while certain types of supernovae function well as standard candles, novae in general vary in maximum brightness and do not serve the purpose well.] He measured a distance of about 650,000 ly (compared to the modern value of 2.5 million ly), which … Continue reading →

The World’s Worst Astrophotographer sees and shares the 2020 ‘Christmas Star’

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Tomorrow is the Baptism of the Lord, the end of the Christmas season which began on December 24.  So today is still Christmas, and that means a post about the 2020 “Christmas Star” is still appropriate! In my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky the weather was persistently cloudy across mid-December.  I did not have my hopes up for seeing the Great Conjunction.  So when the weather folks started mentioning that the sky might clear a bit the night of December 20, I decided that, if clear weather did come, I would make a big fuss over getting out a telescope. December 20 dawned as grey and dreary as the previous who-knows-how-many days had been, and by 2:00 PM it was still grey and dreary.  But then, around 3:00, the sun started to break through, and before long the weather was absolutely gorgeous.  So I started text-blasting my neighbors, telling them that I would have a telescope set up on the corner … Continue reading →

Go Observe M82 – The Cigar Galaxy

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Drawing M82 M82 pastels on black paper November 27th 2008 – 22:20 UT 22:45 UT some cloud made it longer to do Transparency Poor ,Seeing 6/10 No filters used Meade 16 inch FL 4000mm 22mm Nagler eyepiece = 181X – Co Kildare Ireland Back in 2008, I had the opportunity to draw something with a 16 inch Meade SCT. My friend’s observatory was in a semi-suburban / rural setting. It took me some time to get warmed up to the detail provided by that instrument. I had never seen the cigar galaxy (M82)  before in this way. Then I settled down to draw this long stretched out wonder in the night sky. It was the first time I saw any structure within this object, oh boy it’s great have tracking when sketching. M82 is an irregular galaxy. To my eye, it looked like one nebulous section was pulling away from the other elongated part. The longer part had a curve … Continue reading →

ⓜ The Bookfoxes Interview (Part II)

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This entry is part 55 of 55 in the series And Then I Wrote

And then I wrote… ten years ago there was an active blog site (which I can no longer find online) edited in Britain called “Book Foxes” where a number of writers wrote about books and the people who wrote books. Kirsty Jane Falconer, a British author who has gone on to become a successful freelancer living in Italy, decided to interview me about my book God’s Mechanics for the site. The interview was split into two parts; last week I ran Part I The idea of a religious university as they exist in the US is not a familiar one for those of us in the UK, although of course our university system has deep confessional roots.  Could you tell us something about the idea – and the practice – of a Jesuit university? The Jesuits got into the education business pretty much by accident. They started out as a group of men who’d met at the University of Paris, who … Continue reading →

From the V.O. Faith and Science Pages: We Saw His Star in the East: BBC Radio Sunday Worship for Epiphany

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Today’s featured entry from the Vatican Observatory Faith and Science pages: “We Saw His Star in the East: BBC Radio Sunday Worship for Epiphany” (click here for it) First heard in 2008, this program first aired on BBC Radio’s Sunday religious program for Epiphany. This program, hosted by Fr. James Hanvey, explores the meaning of Epiphany, with readings and music as well as a visit to the Vatican Observatory. [click here to continue] The Faith and Science pages (F&S) are a unique resource on the web. The material in F&S is stuff that you will find nowhere else (or at least not without a lot of digging). Featured areas on F&S include “History of Church and Science”; “Church and Science Today”; “Science and Scripture”; “Science, Religion & Society”; “Life in the Universe”; “Cosmology”; and more. The level of the F&S material ranges from being accessible to all audiences, with even some material oriented toward young readers, up to material for … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – January 5, 2021

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This entry is part 178 of 180 in the series In the Sky This Week

For the images in this week’s “In the Sky” post, I turned light pollution off in Stellarium – these images show a multitude of stars you cannot see from an urban or suburban locations. I remember camping at a VERY dark sky location in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and not being able to find any familiar guide stars because there were SO MANY stars! This is one of the best reasons to get away from the city lights, and visit a dark sky location! Mercury is visible low above the southwestern horizon at sunset – appearing a bit higher above the horizon each evening. Jupiter and Saturn are also visible low above the southwestern horizon at sunset – appearing a bit lower each evening. The three planets join to form a triple conjunction on Jan 10th, but it may be a challenge to observe due to the nearness to sunset. Mars appears high in the southwestern sky after sunset, and through … Continue reading →