Astronomy in Art & Architecture: Look Down and see the Sky

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Sometimes you find the night sky where you least expect it. When I began writing for Sacred Space Astronomy / The Catholic Astronomer I started keeping an eye out for examples of astronomy in art and architecture. Those examples have been far less common than I would have guessed. So I was pleasantly surprised to find the sun, moon, and stars all represented in art—all in the sink of a Mexican restaurant! Who expects to look down into a sink and find the sky there? The answer to that question might be “more people than you think, Graney”, because a few months after seeing the sink pictured above, I ran into another sky sink, pictured below. This was at a different Mexican restaurant (yes, I am a big fan of Mexican restaurants). The artists who created these sinks did not aim for a “realistic” depiction of celestial bodies. In particular, the first sink shown here has little crescent shapes with … Continue reading →

Cassini – The Last Splendiferous Hurrah

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The 15th of September 2017 was the day a superb mission to Saturn ended in a spectacle which for the most part was for Saturn’s eyes only. I wrote the following blog back on September 12th 2017,it was updated here in 2018.  Its entitled  The Last Splendiferous Hurrah because it is about the demise of the Cassini Mission to the gas giant. One hopes Cassini 2 is on the drawing board. 2017  Blog The English language is lacking in  affirmations glowing enough to encompass the significance of the Cassini Mission to Saturn. Side winding its way into my mind in the effort to find the right words came a memory of an old TV variety show. In the show, the host announces the artists to perform by pronouncing very large words in rapid precision. Each word is preceded by a judgemental gavel blow. The hyperbolic introductions primed the audience to welcome the splendiferous offerings of the forthcoming show. The pulchritudinous … Continue reading →

Fear, Isolation, and Calendars

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This entry is part 3 of 38 in the series And Then I Wrote

And then I wrote… it’s September and so the 2021 Calendars are available! Here are two more reflections from calendars of years past… And since these are meant to support our Calendar guild (click here to get a calendar!) I am not putting them behind the usual firewall… 2021 Calendar The COVID-19 pandemic that hit the world in 2020 brought many changes to all of our lives, including the tragic deaths of people we knew and loved. Meanwhile, even for those of us who were not directly affected by the disease, the uncertainty that it brought to our lives was a constant worry. Fear arises from uncertainty.  Science tries to put constraints on that fear by at least letting us know what is likely, or not likely, to occur. This was the motivation behind the desire of every civilization to outline the shape of the coming year with calendars. Astronomy was developed and supported by our ancient cultures precisely to give us … Continue reading →

From the V.O. Faith and Science Pages: Agnes Mary Clerke

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Today’s featured entry from the Vatican Observatory Faith and Science pages: “Agnes Mary Clerke” (click here for it) Agnes Mary Clerke was an influential nineteenth-century writer whose primary subject of interest was astronomy. This Faith and Science entry consists of a brief discussion of her life and work plus links to other articles.[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 university specialists. The F&S pages, like this blog, are made possible by the Vatican Observatory Foundation (the … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – September 8, 2020

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This entry is part 163 of 165 in the series In the Sky This Week

My wife has recuperated from her appendectomy – for the most part – she’s still in the recliner by evening, taking it easy. Her middle-school opening got delayed for a week, but she had to go into school this morning to do set up. She’s not having any students today – they start tomorrow, and knowing the history of Connie catching everything sick students bring into school… well… if I sit and think about it, I’m quite likely terrified at a situation that seems dangerous and completely out of my control. I’m not sure if playing complicated and immersive video games is “handling the situation very well,” but it sure keeps my mind off it… Saturn and Jupiter appear in the southern sky after sunset near the constellation Sagittarius, and are visible for several hours into the early morning. Mars appears in the east-southeastern sky at 3:00 AM this week – the Moon appears in the eastern sky with Mars … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | April 13-28, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 1 – Aitken, Curtis, van Steenwijk, Cortie, and Stein

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This entry is part 58 of 60 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. In the middle of the page, between March and April 1922, there is a red line drawn in the guestbook. What’s that line doing there?  The explanation becomes apparent when you see what is written in the top margin of the book: The International Astronomical Union (IAU) was founded in 1919, with general assemblies of astronomical representatives from around the world to meet every three years.  The first general assembly was held in Rome in May 1922.  On the occasion of this meeting, a large number of attendees (starting with some arriving as early as April) would make a visit to the Vatican Observatory, which at the time was still located within the walls of Vatican City. Over the next several weeks starting with this entry, I … Continue reading →

The Origin of the Origin of Life

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Have you ever heard a scientific explanation for the origin of life? Carl Sagan discussed this in his famous “Cosmos” TV show, during the second episode, “One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue”: Now, let’s take a closer look at who our ancestors were. A simple chemical circumstance led to one of the great moments in the history of our planet. There were many kinds of molecules in the primordial soup. Some were attracted to water on one side and repelled by it on the other. This drove them together into a tiny enclosed spherical shell like a soap bubble, which protected the interior. Within the bubble, the ancestors of DNA found a home and the first cell arose. Sagan’s discussion remains current. You can find a more recent short video discussion of the origin of life by typing “origin of life” into a Google video search. You will get results something like what is seen below. The short videos consist … Continue reading →

In the Footsteps of Galileo

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In the Footsteps of Galileo In September 2009 an exhibition opened in the Science Gallery at Birr Castle in Ireland. The idea came to me in September 2007, it took two years to the month for it to come to fruition. Funding was forthcoming from The Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies and Blackrock Castle Observatory in Cork. In the Footsteps of Galileo had landed. There were over 50 sketches to frame, sent  from all over the world. The venues attracted some of the worlds best drawings produced by astronomers at the time. Having their work on display in what is considered to be the global home of astronomical sketching was truly joyous. Therefore I decided to call the exhibition In the Footsteps of Galileo. A bit presumptuous perhaps however, Galileo produced truthful drawings. Above all finding truth and accuracy drawing is what  most sketchers strive to achieve. Drawing exactly what you see through the telescope takes time to do right. … Continue reading →

Calendars, coincidence, and play

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This entry is part 4 of 38 in the series And Then I Wrote

And then I wrote… it’s September and so the 2021 Calendars are available! Here are two more reflections from calendars of years past… And since these are meant to support our Calendar guild (click here to get a calendar!) I am not putting them behind the usual firewall… 2019 Calendar There are many coincidences in astronomy. The Moon’s size and location allows it to exactly eclipse the disk of the Sun. The visual juxtaposition of the stars Alcor and Mizar in the Big Dipper’s handle drew the attention of early telescopes to discover that Mizar was actually a double star (whose separation is just right for those early telescopes). The shapes of nebulae remind us of horses’s heads or dumbbells. And of course it’s mere chance that the nebulae themselves happen to be not only scientifically interesting, but also remarkably beautiful.  There’s no cosmic significance to it, really. Just coincidence. And yet…  In December 1988 I spent a week at the Jesuit retreat … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – September 2, 2020

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This entry is part 162 of 165 in the series In the Sky This Week

My wife is home recuperating from her appendectomy; she’s healing well and starting to feel better – so naturally, she’s overdoing it… She’s been spending a lot of time in the recliner in the basement, with the parrots and I. Andromeda, our Senegal parrot has been simply loving all the time she’s been spending with Connie! Saturn and Jupiter appear in the southern sky after sunset, moving to the southwest in the late evening and early morning hours; the pair of planets set shortly after 2:00 AM. The Moon appears in the sky above the bright star Fomalhaut for a good part of the night; Fomalhaut rises in the southeast around 10:00 PM, and sets in the southwest around 5:00 AM. Mars rises in the east around 10:00 PM, and appears high in the southwestern sky at sunrise. The Moon appears in a very close conjunction with Mars in the early morning hours of Sept. 6th. Here’s a close-up of … Continue reading →

2021 Vatican Observatory Calendars

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The Vatican Observatory calendars have been a tradition since the year 2000! Each month, the calendar features a beautiful photograph of the heavens by some of the leading astrophotographers from around the world. The 2021 calendar features the works of: Mark Hanson, Stellar Winds Observatory, USA Damian Peach, UK Bernard Miller, USA R. Jay GaBany, USA Robert Gendler, USA Josef Pöpsel, Stefan Binnewies, Capella Observatory, Germany Johannes Schedler (chart32.de), Panther Observatory, Chile/Austria Bernhard Hubl, Austria Dario Giannobile, Italy Anthony Ayiomamitis, Greece J-P Metsavainio, Finland Tony Hallas, USA Adam Block, Steward Observatory – University of Arizona, USA   Here’s a taste of the beautiful images of the heavens in the Vatican Observatory 2021 calendar: For 21 years, the Vatican Observatory Guild has helped to support and promote our work through the distribution of the Official Calendar of the Vatican Observatory. Each contribution of $25 or more entitles a Guild Member to receive or give a copy of the 2021 Calendar.

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The Readiness Is All: Faith, Science, Sports, and OSIRIS-REx

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The readiness is all. This famous quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet can be spun in many ways. Ironically, the times I’ve heard this quote used most, directly and indirectly, is in the context of sports. Having worked in education environments as a major part of my ministry, I often hear student athletes share with me the importance of off season programs and how games are not won or lost on the field of play, but in the weight room, the video room, and the daily 5 mile run. A good friend of mine, Kendra Pagel, is a wonderful school counselor and a successful women’s volleyball coach I had the honor to work with while I was chaplain at Regis High School in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. In 2013, she coached the Regis Ramblers volleyball team to a Division 3 State Championship in the state of Wisconsin. When I left Regis, Kendra always invited me to her volleyball games when Regis was playing … Continue reading →