A four-day workshop, sponsored by the Vatican Observatory Foundation, is designed to bring those working in Catholic parishes and schools an up-to-date overview of the universe: from the Big Bang, to the search for life in the universe, to our exploration of the planets… as seen through the eyes of the Jesuit priests and brothers who work at the Vatican’s own astronomical observatory.

Note: Application period is now closed.

On February 15 2013 an asteroid exploded in the sky over the city of Chelyabinsk, in the the southern Ural region of Russia. The shock wave blew out windows all over the city, injuring over 1600 people, and damaged several buildings.

This event could well be the tipping point in public awareness about asteroids; a year after the event, the B612 Foundation and hundreds of scientists, engineers, entertainers, astronauts, astronomers, politicians, citizen activists and others got involved in what has turned into the global AsteroidDay campaign.

Each year, on the anniversary of the Tunguska Impact, events are held around the world to raise awareness of asteroids: their potential for space-side exploitation, planet-side destruction, and impact mitigation.

See also: #AsteroidDay

sroberts@cdlex.org

International Asteroid Day is a United Nations-recognized day observed each year at the international level during the anniversary of the Tunguska impact over Siberia, Russian Federation. The goal of International Asteroid Day is to raise public awareness about the asteroid impact hazards.

The Tunguska explosion of June 30, 1908 knocked down some 80 million trees over an area of 2,150 square kilometres (830 sq mi); the shock wave from the blast would have measured about 5.0 on the Richter scale.