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Tag Archives: Polkovo Observatory

Specola Guestbook: May 18, 1910 – Oskar Backlund

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on September 15, 2019 by Robert MackeSeptember 11, 2019
This entry is part 15 of 77 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 May 18, 1910, when Oskar Backlund made a visit. Next to his name, Johan Oskar Backlund FRS (1846-1918) — known in Russia as Oskar Andreevich Backlund — wrote simply, “Pulkova.” Originally Swedish, Backlund moved to Russia in 1876. He worked at the Polkovo Observatory, becoming its director in 1895. His primary astronomical work was developing a very precise orbit for the comet Encke, including the effect of perturbations from planets and other significant objects. From this, he also attempted to estimate the masses of those objects; particularly Mercury. Other work included geodetic measurements of Spitzbergen at the end of the 19th century. The asteroid 856 Backlunda, the lunar crater Backlund, and the terrestrial mountain Backlundtoppen (near Spitzbergen) all are named for him. … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, History | Tagged Backlund, Comet Encke, history of astronomy, Polkovo Observatory, Specola Guestbook, Vatican Observatory | Leave a reply
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Recent Posts

ⓜ Full Moon-th Meetup: 28 January, 2021

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on January 21, 2021 by Br. Guy ConsolmagnoJanuary 19, 2021

Featuring Dr. Michelle Francl, and the latest news of the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope! Just for our paying members: on the next Full Moon, January 28, a week from when we are posting this, we’ll be holding our regular on-line meetup where we get to know and chat with each … Continue reading…

Posted in Announcement | Tagged Full Moon Zoom | Leave a reply

ⓜ Curiosity and the Exploration of Mars, II

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on January 21, 2021 by Br. Guy ConsolmagnoJanuary 16, 2021
This entry is part of 55 in the series And Then I Wrote

And then I wrote… this is the second half of the article I started last week, originally published in Italian in Civiltà Cattolica; this is the original English text. While much has developed since this article was written — see the links inserted here — I think the questions I raised then … Continue reading…

Posted in And Then I Wrote, Space Exploration | Tagged Mars, NASA Solar System Exploration | Leave a reply

THE EASTERN TRIO

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on January 21, 2021 by Richard HillJanuary 21, 2021
This entry is part 39 of 39 in the series Lunarcy

The moon is just a thin crescent in the bright twilight sky as this trio of craters creep out from the lunar night. The large one on the right is Endymion (129km dia.) an ancient walled plain that was formed about 4 billion years ago (b.y.) . It’s accompanied by … Continue reading…

Posted in Astronomy, Moon, Uncategorized | Tagged Atlas, Craters, Endymion, Hercules, Moon | Leave a reply

From the V.O. Faith and Science Pages: Physics Today: Thinking differently about science and religion

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on January 20, 2021 by Faith and ScienceDecember 21, 2020

Today’s featured entry from the Vatican Observatory Faith and Science pages: “Physics Today: Thinking differently about science and religion” (click here for it) In 2018 the journal Physics Today published a letter by Tom McLeish, Professor of Physics at Durham University, along with a number of responses to McLeish’s letter, … Continue reading…

Posted in From the V.O. Faith and Science Pages | Leave a reply

In the Sky This Week – January 19, 2021

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on January 19, 2021 by Bob TrembleyJanuary 19, 2021
This entry is part 180 of 180 in the series In the Sky This Week

I know quite a few astrophotographers! During online meetings of the Warren Astronomical Society, members show astrophotos they’ve recently captured and processed; even their “bad ones” are awe-inspiring! Here’s a beautiful pic by Adrian Bradley: A couple of these astrophotographers regularly livestream their telescope sessions for the public to view: … Continue reading…

Posted in Astronomy, Outreach, Space Exploration | Tagged #CountdowntoMars, 1E 0102.2-7219, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Sun, U.S. Post Office, Venus | Leave a reply

Space Missions In 2021: What Are You Most Excited To See In This New Year?

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on January 18, 2021 by Fr. James KurzynskiJanuary 19, 2021

Now that the Christmas season is done, I can return to reflecting on astronomy! As I shared with you in the past, I plan on doing a couple more pieces on the forthcoming Artemis Missions. I also thought it would be fun to reflect on space missions slated for 2021. … Continue reading…

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Replies
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Recent Comments

  • Fr. James Kurzynski January 20, 2021 at 6:48 am on Space Missions In 2021: What Are You Most Excited To See In This New Year?Thanks Janine! I love your reflection on the Al Amal mission! I was so impressed with the video they produced and, yes, I can't wait to see the United Arab Emirates contribution to science! It's something that isn't mentioned much, but should be mentioned more: True science, by its very...
  • Janine Samz January 19, 2021 at 9:37 am on Space Missions In 2021: What Are You Most Excited To See In This New Year?Thank you, Father. Let's see. I am drawn to three! The Emirates one is interesting because of the extent of what they are looking for and from history I know the Arab culture used to be a leader in science. It would be interesting to see them at work again...
  • Christopher M. Graney January 19, 2021 at 8:59 am on “Cosmos: Possible Worlds”, 10-13: Goodbye to a Losing SeasonMy experience with students and the general public is that a reasonable number of people will be amazed by the real universe. For example, people who saw the conjunction on the 21st were generally amazed. But certainly Cosmos seems to think that stuff has to be over the top.
  • Stan Sienkiewicz January 16, 2021 at 9:17 am on “Cosmos: Possible Worlds”, 10-13: Goodbye to a Losing SeasonIt is a shame that the producers of the show are not amazed by the real world and need to enhance reality with special effects. I feel you are discussing a topic that is coming up quite often about our culture: the lack of astonishment. I recently had taken a...
  • Fernando Comeron January 15, 2021 at 5:22 am on JWST update – Hexagons in SpaceIncidentally, you can see that we at the European Southern Observatory (ESO, of which Ireland is a member too) did something that bears some resemblance several years ago. We invited visitors to our headquarters near Munich on the open doors day in 2011 to put hexagons together to reproduce a...
  • Fernando Comeron January 15, 2021 at 5:07 am on JWST update – Hexagons in SpaceNice article, Deirdre -and actually hexagons in space are very common, although very tiny. Carbon hexagonal cycles are at the basis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a class of molecules that compose the cold interstellar medium. So hexagons are pretty much everywhere in the Universe!
  • Bob Trembley January 14, 2021 at 2:01 am on In the Sky This Week – January 12, 2021Thanks for keeping me honest! :) I corrected it to say "Mercury appears slightly higher above the horizon each evening." When you advance days in Stellarium at dusk, you see Jupiter and Saturn get lower each day, and Mercury getting higher. Venus gets a bit lower each morning in the...
  • Joseph O'Donnell January 12, 2021 at 10:03 am on In the Sky This Week – January 12, 2021"Mercury appears slightly higher above the horizon each morning" I believe you mean Venus or am I missing something?
  • Christopher M. Graney January 4, 2021 at 10:50 am on Carols versus Matthew on the Star of WonderVery interesting -- I had never read the "Gospel of James", or "Protoevangelium of James", until now. Below is its whole section about the star, for those not familiar with it. Remarkably, the same problem is found in it. It follows Matthew in talking about the magi. No one knows...
  • Christopher M. Graney January 4, 2021 at 10:43 am on Carols versus Matthew on the Star of WonderI should have been more clear. When I said "This sounds just like the Great Conjunction of 2020", I meant it sounds like that *kind* of thing -- something no one who was not an astronomer would have noticed it just by chance.
  • Alfred Kracher January 2, 2021 at 10:47 am on Carols versus Matthew on the Star of WonderEmbellishments of Matthew’s simple “star” into a spectacular miracle are all but irrresistible. Already in the apocryphal 2nd century Gospel of James it shines with an “incredible brilliance amidst the constellations and making them seem dim.” And over the centuries artists of all kinds have further expanded on these exaggerations,...
  • Fr. Timothy Sauppé January 2, 2021 at 5:30 am on Carols versus Matthew on the Star of WonderI thought the biggest objection to the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction being the “Star of Bethlehem” was the 800 year cycle of its occurrence viz. the timing is off. Also, I am reminded of a comment of an amateur astronomer when he went to Chile, up in the Andes. He said there...
  • Stan Sienkiewicz December 26, 2020 at 1:07 pm on The Sun Illuminates Fort AncientYes, while not quite following the astronomy it still is fascinating to see what these early N American people did to their environment. As to why they did it and your article disagreeing with the solstice explanation reminded me of the book, Motel of the Mysteries. It is a funny...
  • Joel Hopko December 24, 2020 at 1:09 pm on Bah! Humbug. Science.And a very Merry Christmas to you Professor. May your spirit and inquiring mind continue to brighten our New Year! Joel Hopko
  • Fr. Timothy Sauppé December 21, 2020 at 6:04 pm on Was Jesus Born on December 25? The Fight Between Inculturation and Radical Certitude.Just saw this Socrates In The City from 2005 with Eric Metaxas interviewing Colin Nicholl. His book and thesis is that the Star of Bethlehem was one big comet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mT-8O8S_Fw&t=1s
  • Bob Prokop December 21, 2020 at 12:08 pm on Was Jesus Born on December 25? The Fight Between Inculturation and Radical Certitude.It's interesting that Tolkien chose March 25th as the date the One Ring was cast into the fires of Mount Doom (see the appendixes to The Return of the King for the date). It can't be a coincidence that the destruction of evil in Middle Earth coincides with the Annunciation...
  • Fr. Timothy Sauppé December 21, 2020 at 10:35 am on Was Jesus Born on December 25? The Fight Between Inculturation and Radical Certitude.Here is an interesting take by Liberato De Caro, Ph.D., of the Institute of Crystallography of the National Research Council in Bari, Italy, who led the research, proposes that the date of Jesus’ birth. He posits 1 BC for Jesus’ Birth. For your consideration. https://www.ncregister.com/blog/liberato-de-caro-nativity?utm_campaign=NCR%202019&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=102396683&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9xKkcgGuiy7rFyWiX8fgbgA63Wabi_9C-VcU6QmESl4QYoKUDYHXm6DrY_jGwbVptu0roDhgBz363uEIX8dd6P7oOaBQ&utm_content=102396683&utm_source=hs_email
  • Bob Prokop December 18, 2020 at 7:52 am on Pursuing the ConjunctionLooks like we're going to be clouded out here in Maryland. But I did get a good look at the two planets last night (Thursday). They were already practically on top of each other! So it has not been a total loss. By the way, your December 14th drawing is...
  • Fr. James Kurzynski December 14, 2020 at 6:42 am on Follow the Money, the Science, or the Theology? A Second Reflection on the Forthcoming Artemis Moon Mission.Thanks Ed! I so appreciate your thoughts! As a fellow "Star Trek" fan, I can appreciate you insight! :)
  • Fr. James Kurzynski December 14, 2020 at 6:38 am on Follow the Money, the Science, or the Theology? A Second Reflection on the Forthcoming Artemis Moon Mission.Absolutely! Send me a message through the "Contact US" tab!

Top Posts

  • From the V.O. Faith and Science Pages: Physics Today: Thinking differently about science and religion
    From the V.O. Faith and Science Pages: Physics Today: Thinking differently about science and religion
  • THE EASTERN TRIO
    THE EASTERN TRIO
  • Looking for Wormwood
    Looking for Wormwood
  • In the Sky This Week – January 21, 2020
    In the Sky This Week – January 21, 2020
  • Biblical Signs in the Sky? September 23, 2017
    Biblical Signs in the Sky? September 23, 2017
  • ⓜ Full Moon-th Meetup: 28 January, 2021
    ⓜ Full Moon-th Meetup: 28 January, 2021
  • ⓜ Curiosity and the Exploration of Mars, II
    ⓜ Curiosity and the Exploration of Mars, II
  • Space Missions In 2021: What Are You Most Excited To See In This New Year?
    Space Missions In 2021: What Are You Most Excited To See In This New Year?
  • Religious Scientists: Sr. Miriam Michael Stimson O.P. (1913-2002); Structure of DNA
    Religious Scientists: Sr. Miriam Michael Stimson O.P. (1913-2002); Structure of DNA
  • History of Light Pollution
    History of Light Pollution

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