ⓜ A faith enriched by science

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This entry is part 57 of 60 in the series And Then I Wrote

And then I wrote… this article was submitted to a magazine called Retreat, published once a year for retreat houses in the UK. I wrote it in 2012, for its 2014 issue There’s more to Ignatian spirituality than “finding God in all things”; it also means finding God in those places where we find our passion. For me, to organize or lead a retreat means to bring people to where my passion is: the stars. I have been interested in astronomy all my life… just as I have been aware of God, all my life. Sputnik orbited the Earth the year I started school, people walked on the Moon during my last year of high school, so astronomy was literally “in the air” when I was growing up. And with an Italian father and Irish mother, my religion was also something I just grew up with. There really wasn’t any sense of one coming before the other. In fact, one of the hardest things for me to do is … Continue reading →

From the V.O. Faith and Science Pages: St. Thomas Aquinas – The Knowledge of the Creatures is Useful to Avoid Errors Concerning God

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Today’s featured entry from the Vatican Observatory Faith and Science pages: “St. Thomas Aquinas – The Knowledge of the Creatures is Useful to Avoid Errors Concerning God” (click here for it) In this Summa contra Gentiles discussion on created things (that is, on the creatures or the works of God), Thomas Aquinas comments on the value for Faith inherent in understanding these things. [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 … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – February 2, 2021

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This entry is part 181 of 184 in the series In the Sky This Week

From now through next week, there will be an astounding mega-conjunction of Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn in the in the east-southeastern sky morning sky. The planets change positions quite a bit each morning, with Venus dancing with Saturn on Feb. 5th and 6th and then with Jupiter on Feb. 11th. Mercury joins the planet party on Feb. 8th, gaining altitude each morning until it appears much higher above the horizon than the other three planets by Feb 16th. This mega-conjunction would be even better if it was visible to us humans living on the planet, but that pesky atmosphere makes the planets invisible to all but the most determined daytime planet hunters (and I do happen to know some of those). On Feb. 16th Venus, Jupiter and Saturn are all aligned along the plane of the Ecliptic… and then there’s Mercury – hanging out high above Jupiter. Seen from this vantage point, Mercury’s orbital inclination is highly evident! Maybe … Continue reading →

Space Exploration As An Act Of Interfaith Dialogue.

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In the past, I offered a reflection on what it means to bring humanity to space. In that reflection, I teased the idea that space travel needs to be more than just scientific exploration. Don’t get me wrong, the science of space travel is central for many obvious reasons. At the same time, if we really want to bring humanity into space it requires us to explore science, philosophy, culture, humanities, and faith. The human person is not a one dimensional species. We are a complexity of biology, psychology, and religiosity that creates both the beauty of the human experience and the tragedy of what can happen when the fragility of our human nature fails.  I was reminded of this while penning my reflection, Space Missions in 2021: What Are You Most Excited To See In This New Year? In particular, I was quite moved by the United Arab Emirates Mars probe mission, Al Amal. Enjoy this beautiful video as … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | December 10, 1924: José Algué S.J.

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This entry is part 79 of 82 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 December 10, 1924, when José Algué made a visit. Next to his name, Fr. José Maria Algué S.J. (1856-1930) wrote, “Manila, Philippine Islands.” Algué was a meteorologist at the Observatory of Manila. He invented several instruments for the meteorological and seismographical observations. Most notable of these is a barocyclonometer, a type of fluidless barometer adapted for the prediction of storms.  He invented this instrument in 1897, and it was adopted by US Navy for use on its North Atlantic fleet in 1914. Algué also invented a nephoscope (for measuring movement and altitude of clouds) and a microseismograph.  

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Go Observe Reiner Gamma

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  I first wrote this blog back in September 2016. This is a slightly updated version and now included in the Go Observe series. Go Observe Reiner Gamma Every time I seek to do a sketch of the lunar surface, there has to be a visual trigger to set me off. On this particular night, I was offered one of the clearest steadiest views I have had for a long time. Reiner Gamma, that little bright kite shape on the lunar surface inspired me to draw.  Before I start a drawing I observe the target and the area around it for some time. This helps me spot the bright areas , dark areas and their shapes as they appear to my eye. For my moon sketches, I use pastel thickly, sometimes several applications on top of the other. This is deliberate as I can then use specific instruments to almost carve out shapes and liner features. The seeing was good, … Continue reading →

Get Lost in Space!

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This entry is part 1 of 60 in the series And Then I Wrote

And then I wrote… This article was submitted to US Catholic in 2012, but didn’t appear there until the February 2014 issue. (Vol. 79, No. 2, pages 34-39). “The heavens proclaim the glory of God,” writes the psalmist. As an astronomer at the Vatican Observatory, I get to enjoy those proclamations on a daily basis. But you don’t have to be a professional astronomer to appreciate the beauty that our instruments have shown us. There are hundreds of websites online where startling astronomical images can be found. Perhaps the most accessible is the Astronomy Picture of the Day website and app, which, as its name implies, posts a different astronomy image every day, along with a short description to let you know what you are looking at. Lots of those images come from spacecraft, but just as many come from Earth-based observatories. Indeed, nowadays some of the best astronomical postcards come from the telescopes of advanced amateurs. The images can speak … Continue reading →

ⓜ Calendars and Giving Tuesday, the results… and other items: Diary of 26 January, 2021

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This entry is part 64 of 64 in the series Diary

Back in November, we ran a “Giving Tuesday” campaign to support our prison outreach, where we send calendars to inmates in prison. A few days ago I asked our development coordinator, Fr. Justin Whittington, for a summary of how that went. He replied: So far we have sent out 244 calendars to inmates. 100 have been sent to chaplains at US prisons to be distributed. Thirty went to Fr. Gabriele Gionti for distribution at a  Roman prison. So far 114 have been sent to individuals at 14 different institutions. Our 2020 Giving Tuesday campaign brought in $1150.00 through 17 donations. We have also received 44 Forever stamps (worth $24.20) as donations from inmates who were requesting Calendars. Since then, I know we have sent out more calendars. It’s an important part of our outreach; I know that Pope Francis was interested to hear about it. Your donations came to about $10 per calendar, which is a pretty good return. It … Continue reading →

A CRACK IN THAT CRATER

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This entry is part 40 of 41 in the series Lunarcy

As each lunation begins one of the first craters that stands out is Petavius (182km dia.) with the large wide rima that crosses the crater floor from the central peaks to the southwestern wall. In my first lunar image of the crescent moon in 1972 (taken on Tri-X film through my RV-6 telescope) my eye was immediately drawn to this remarkable crater. My curiosity and interest in this feature grew over the years until I had the opportunity to view it through the 61″ Kuiper Telescope (formerly known as the Catalina Reflector) at f/13.5 or 823.5″ focal length (just under 210 cm). The view was breathtaking. The formerly straight rima was ragged edged cutting through the central peaks and accompanied by a number of other rimae on the floor. So don’t be afraid to crank up the magnification on this feature if the seeing will allow! To the left of Petavius are two similar sized craters, Snellius (85km) and further … Continue reading →

From The Backyard: Covid-19 Vaccines, Cultural Trauma, and the Orion Nebula

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It’s been a long, long time since I offered a “From the backyard” reflection. Part of the reason for this delay is the occupational hazard of all astro-buffs: Clouds! I can’t speak for other parts of the United States, but the cloud cover over Wisconsin has been epic. Clouds at this time of year are common for the badger state, but the transition from 2020 to 2021 has been a challenge for night sky lovers. Thankfully, the clouds broke the last couple nights and I finally was able to capture first light with my new duo-band filter (H-Alpha/OIII). As with all things, time will help me improve my images, but, for a first attempt, I’m pretty happy with the results! Something I’ve come to quickly love about duo-band astrophotography is that you can still image deep sky images in a city that boasts a bortle class 6 sky (in other other words, we don’t see too many stars over head) … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | September 25, 1983: Leo O’Donovan SJ

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This entry is part 78 of 82 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. Once again, we break the chronological sequence to highlight a name relevant to events of this past week. On September 25, 1983 the Observatory was visited by Fr. Leo O’Donovan SJ.   Next to his name, Fr. Leo Jeremiah O’Donovan III SJ (b. 1934) wrote, “Weston School of Theology, Cambridge, MA” He was accompanied on the visit by Fr. Joseph Whelan SJ (1933-1994) and Fr. James A. Devereux SJ (1928-2011), both former Provincials of the Maryland Province of the Jesuits. O’Donovan received his Ph.D. in theology in 1971 at the University of Münster, studying under Karl Rahner SJ (who also made a visit in 1975).  He taught at Woodstock College from 1971-1974, and from 1974-1985 was professor of theology at the Weston School of Theology. O’Donovan was … Continue reading →

Faith, Science and Astronomy Textbooks

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Take a look at a new resource on the Vatican Observatory Faith and Science website!—brief reviews of astronomy textbooks from a “Faith and Science” perspective.  You will find all this under “Educational Resources”. The idea for these reviews arose from questions that Vatican Observatory/V.O. Foundation folks have received over time, and from one question in particular.*   A while back, someone used the contact link here on the blog to ask about astronomy textbooks.  The questioner asked if we could recommend an introductory astronomy textbook that would be suitable for Catholic homeschooling. This question produced a bit of discussion at the V.O.F.  What was the questioner looking for?  What would make an astronomy text more or less “Catholic-suitable”?  There are science textbooks, published for certain religious schools, that do not discuss, say, the Big Bang theory.  But the V.O. is a scientific establishment—we are not going to recommend a book that dismisses a major scientific idea that has good reasoning and … Continue reading →