The Vatican Observatory is perhaps the most visible evidence of the Church’s commitment to science. The articles here describe a bit of the history and purpose of the Observatory, and its context both in the wider world of science and the wider world of the Church.
30 Years of Papal Blessing for VATT
Article- 200 Words
- General audience
A post by Fr. Paul Gabor on the Catholic Astronomer website, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Pope’s approval to build the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope
A Galactic Universe
- Article
- 6 pages, 2000 words
- High school level and above
This chapter by Fr. José Gabriel Funes, S. J., Director of the Vatican Observatory from 2006 to 2015, from the book The Heavens Proclaim; Astronomy and the Vatican, discusses A Galactic History: Island Universes; What Is a Galaxy Made Of?; Galaxy Formation; and Galaxy Trans-Formation.
A History of the Vatican Observatory
- Article (PDF)
- 35 pages (5 MB)
- General Audience
This is chapter from the book The Heavens Proclaim: Astronomy and the Vatican. This chapter was written by Fr. Sabino Maffeo, a physicist with the Vatican Observatory since 1985, and is a condensed version of his book In the Service of Nine Popes.
Click here to download the chapter.
History of the Vatican Observatory
About The Universe
Fr. Georges Lemaître (1894-1966, with Robert A. Millikan and Albert Einstein), Belgian priest and astrophysicist, was one of the founders of what came to be known as the “Big Bang” theory.
- Book chapter
- 2500 words
- General audiences
This chapter from the book The Heavens Proclaim; Astronomy and the Vatican was written by Fr. Christopher Corbally, S.J. and Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J., both astronomers with the Vatican Observatory. It discusses a number of questions: How can we know when the universe began? When did the first stars appear? How do we know the overall shape of the universe? Is it true that the universe is expanding faster now than it did when it was first formed, soon after the “Big Bang”? Is the universe infinite, or does it have a boundary? Can one think of “space” outside the universe? How many galaxies are there in the universe? Approximately how many stars are there in the largest galaxy that we know of? And how many stars are there in the smallest galaxy? Is it possible to guess from this how many stars are there in the universe? What are the fundamental elements of matter and energy that the universe is made of? And even, how can one calculate the number of piano tuners in a large city?
Across the Universe: A Thousand Stars are Born
Article (blog post)- 1200 words
- General audiences
A post by Vatican Observatory astronomer Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J., on The Catholic Astronomer blog. Br. Consolgmagno discusses two conferences on star formation that were hosted by the Vatican Observatory: one in 1957, the other in 2013. The 1957 conference was attended by luminaries such as Fr. George Lemaitre and Fred Hoyle, who respectively invented, and named, the Big Bang; Jan Oort, for whom the cometary Oort cloud is named; and Martin Schwarzschild, of black hole “Schwartzchild radius” fame. The 2013 conference was, however, a much more diverse gathering.
Click here to read the full article on The Catholic Astronomer – the blog of the Vatican Observatory Foundation.
Across the Universe: Happy Birthday to Us
Article (blog post)- 600 words
- General audiences
Vatican Observatory Director Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J. writes on The Catholic Astronomer blog about the 125th birthday of the Vatican Observatory, and the history that lead to its foundation by Pope Leo XIII. Reflecting on that history, Br. Consolmagno writes:
But our cosmological ideas moved from Copernicus’ fixed sun, through Kepler’s elliptical orbits, to Kant’s idea of galaxies as island universes and Herschel’s measurement of our place in the Milky Way. Our modern speculations about multiple universes carry as much a tinge of science fiction as of natural philosophy. One lesson I hope we’ve learned is that no modern cosmology is a good basis for theological doctrine, simply because no matter how well founded our astronomy is we can expect it will eventually go out of date.
Across the Universe: View from afar
Article (blog post)- 750 words
- General audiences
Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J., an astronomer with the Vatican Observatory, writes in a post on The Catholic Astronomer blog about using the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope or VATT to study small bodies in the outer solar system:.
By how often they brighten and dim, we measure how fast these bodies spin; by how much their brightness changes during these cycles, we get a measure of their irregular shapes. It is not particularly thrilling work. We point the telescope at a given object; take a three-minute exposure with our electronic camera; and then another exposure; and another; and another… These objects typically take about eight hours or more per spin; so we observe one body per night as it rises, crosses the sky, and sets in the west… checking the images for clarity, tweaking the focus, watching the skies to make sure that clouds are not moving in….
Adventures of a Vatican Astronomer – Br. Guy Consolmagno SJ
- Video
- One hour
- General Audience
Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J., an astronomer at the Vatican Observatory, gave this talk at the SETI Institute on February 22, 2013
No scientist is a Spock-like android; a scientist’s work is as intuitive, and just as full of human foibles, as a painting, a symphony, or a prayer. But most of us don’t have the opportunity (or training) to reflect on the human dimensions of our work. Br. Guy Consolmagno does; he is both a Jesuit brother and a planetary scientist at the Vatican Observatory, splitting his time between the meteorite collection in Rome (which he curates) and the Vatican telescope in Arizona. Thanks to his Vatican connections, his work has sent him around the world several times to dozens of countries and every continent (including a meteorite hunting expedition to Antarctica). In this talk he will share some of those adventures, and reflect on the larger meaning of our common experience as scientists… not only what we do, but why we do it.
At the VATT [Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope]
- Article (PDF)
- 15 pages
- General audience
This chapter by Fr. Richard Boyle, S. J., and A. G. D. Philip of the Vatican Observatory, from the book The Heavens Proclaim: Astronomy and the Vatican, abounds with photographs of the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT) on Mt. Graham, Arizona (USA).
When Astronomers and Environmentalists Clash over a Sky Island.
- Book chapter
- 8 pages
- General audiences
This chapter by Vatican Observatory astronomer Christopher Corbally, from the book Creative Creatures: Values and Ethical Issues in Theology, Science, and Technology, discusses Mt. Graham, which has high value both as a location for astronomical observatories (today including the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope and the Large Binocular Telescope) and as a biological preserve.
Click here for a preview from Google Books.
Deep-dish astronomy: First light for VATT
- Article
- 150 words
- General audiences
Below is the text of a “News Notes” article from Sky & Telescope Magazine, July 1995, announcing the first use of the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope, or VATT:
Click here to access this article via Ebscohost (available in many libraries).
Click here to access this article via Archive.org.
Deep-dish astronomy: First light for VATT
Observing is now under way at the new Mount Graham International Observatory in Arizona. At the end of January, Richard P. Boyle, S.J. (Vatican Observatory) and Austin B. Tomaney (Columbia University) took the first visible-light images with the 1.8-meter Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT). First among the $3-million instrument’s noteworthy attributes is its deep, “salad-bowl” f/1.0 primary mirror (S&T: March 1994, page 12). It was one of the first to be formed by spin-casting techniques developed at the University of Arizona. Such a fast primary requires the secondary to be positioned with micron precision to achieve proper focus. These inaugural images of the Crab Nebula in Taurus (top) and globular cluster M3 in Canes Venatici (bottom) are 300-second and 100-second exposures, respectively. Each has an 11-arcminute field of view. Vatican astronomers hope to achieve subarcsecond resolution by tilting the secondary mirror to compensate for atmospheric turbulence. Courtesy Richard P. Boyle, S.J.
The Outreach Programme for Science and Education at the Jesuit Colleges of Tamil Nadu in India
Article- 8 pages
- High school level and above
This article by M. Devasagayam, S. J., of the Department of Mathematics at St. Xavier’s College in India, highlights a variety of science education activities. It was published in International Symposium on Astrophysics Research and Science Education, published in 1999 by the Vatican Observatory.
Click here to access this article via NASA ADS.
Click here to download a PDF of this article from NASA ADS.
The Hows of Science
Article (blog post)- 700 words
- General audiences
In this post on The Catholic Astronomer blog, Vatican Observatory astronomer Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J., discusses new scientists joining the Vatican Observatory:
[A] big topic for the group was welcoming seven young astronomers to our group. They come from many countries – three from the US, plus an Italian, a Czech, a Congolese, and an Indian. They’ve studied a variety of scientific topics, from theorizing on subatomic strings to observing meteor showers, at traditional PhD programs in universities around the world. And their immediate challenge now is trying to fit the style of doing science they learned in those places to the unique circumstances of being an astronomer at the Vatican.
The World and the Universe Meet at Castel Gandolfo
Article- 6 pages
- General audiences
This article from the May 2000 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine discusses the Vatican Observatory and in particular the Vatican Observatory Summer School (or VOSS) program.
THE SMALL, PICTURESQUE TOWN of Castel Gandolfo lies 25 kilometers southeast of Rome. Sitting on top of a ridge 500 meters above sea level, it overlooks the tranquil, greenish blue Lake Albano, formed by the collapse of an ancient volcanic crater. The town’s narrow, cobbled main street leads past little cafes, souvenir shops, and a beautiful church and fountain designed by the 17th-century Italian artist Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini. Finally you come to a four-story ocher edifice with small shuttered windows and a pair of massive wooden doors–the Pontifical Palace of the Roman Catholic Church. Officially a part of Vatican City, this is where Pope John Paul II spends the summer months to escape Rome’s oppressive heat and humidity. It is also the headquarters of Vatican Observatory.
Every two years the palace’s cloistered halls and courtyard come alive with the vibrant voices of young people conversing, singing, and having fun. To the 10,000 residents and shop owners of Castel Gandolfo it can mean only one thing–the Vatican Observatory Summer School in Observational Astronomy and Astrophysics has begun….
Click here to access this article via Ebscohost (available in many libraries).
Click here to access this article via Archive.org.
Click here for another copy from Archive.org.
Across the Universe: View from afar
- Article (blog post)
- 750 words
- General audiences
Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J., an astronomer with the Vatican Observatory, writes in a post on The Catholic Astronomer blog about using the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope or VATT to study small bodies in the outer solar system:.
By how often they brighten and dim, we measure how fast these bodies spin; by how much their brightness changes during these cycles, we get a measure of their irregular shapes. It is not particularly thrilling work. We point the telescope at a given object; take a three-minute exposure with our electronic camera; and then another exposure; and another; and another… These objects typically take about eight hours or more per spin; so we observe one body per night as it rises, crosses the sky, and sets in the west… checking the images for clarity, tweaking the focus, watching the skies to make sure that clouds are not moving in….
Across the Universe: A Thousand Stars are Born
- Article (blog post)
- 1200 words
- General audiences
A post by Vatican Observatory astronomer Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J., on The Catholic Astronomer blog. Br. Consolgmagno discusses two conferences on star formation that were hosted by the Vatican Observatory: one in 1957, the other in 2013. The 1957 conference was attended by luminaries such as Fr. George Lemaitre and Fred Hoyle, who respectively invented, and named, the Big Bang; Jan Oort, for whom the cometary Oort cloud is named; and Martin Schwarzschild, of black hole “Schwartzchild radius” fame. The 2013 conference was, however, a much more diverse gathering.
The Vatican Observatory
- Video
- 5 minutes
- General audience
A short video from the Vatican Observatory Foundation about the history and work of the Vatican Observatory, featuring interviews with members of the Observatory and views of their telescopes in Arizona and Rome.
The Vatican Observatory – Rome (1929)
- Video (silent)
- 2.5 minutes
- General audiences
A silent newsreel of the Vatican Observatory, this was an item in Pathe Pictorial issue number 577. It features telescopes, Vatican Observatory personnel, and photos taken through Vatican Observatory telescopes.
Click here to access this video via the British Pathé website.
Information about the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope
- Video
- 7 minutes
- General audience
Fr. Paul Gabor, S. J., an astronomer with the Vatican Observatory, gives a brief introduction to the Vatican’s telescope in Arizona, including a brief history of the Vatican and astronomy, and the Vatican Observatory’s mission for the Church.
Interview: God’s Mechanics: How Scientists and Engineers Make Sense of Religion
Video- One hour
- General Audience
A Grace Cathedral Episcopal Church (San Francisco) interview with Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J. of the Vatican Observatory. Topics covered include Galileo, being a Vatican Astronomer, The Bible and Scientific Data, Fundamentalist Techies, Scientists, Science as a Religious Act, Law, and hot-button issues.
Click here for the video. This is not a YouTube video, and to play it requires a browser with Flash.
The Mystery That Keeps Neil deGrasse Tyson Up At Night
- Video
- 9 minutes
- General audiences
This January 2018 clip from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert features Colbert and Tyson discussing a number of things, among which is a diversion into Pope Gregory XIII and the Gregorian calendar, Jesuit astronomers, the Vatican Observatory, and Fr. Georges Lemaître (who first developed the Big Bang theory), and “Team RC” (RC being “Roman Catholic”).
Adventures of a Vatican Astronomer – Br. Guy Consolmagno SJ
- Video
- One hour
- General Audience
Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J., an astronomer at the Vatican Observatory, gave this talk at the SETI Institute on February 22, 2013
No scientist is a Spock-like android; a scientist’s work is as intuitive, and just as full of human foibles, as a painting, a symphony, or a prayer. But most of us don’t have the opportunity (or training) to reflect on the human dimensions of our work. Br. Guy Consolmagno does; he is both a Jesuit brother and a planetary scientist at the Vatican Observatory, splitting his time between the meteorite collection in Rome (which he curates) and the Vatican telescope in Arizona. Thanks to his Vatican connections, his work has sent him around the world several times to dozens of countries and every continent (including a meteorite hunting expedition to Antarctica). In this talk he will share some of those adventures, and reflect on the larger meaning of our common experience as scientists… not only what we do, but why we do it.
What is the Vatican Observatory
- Video
- 8.5 minutes
- General audiences
Join Br. Bob Macke, S.J., an astronomer with the Vatican Observatory, to find out more about the Pope’s astronomers and their observatory.
Galileo’s Sons, a film about the Vatican Observatory
Castel Gandolfo and lake. Credit: VOF
- Video
- 48 minutes
- General audience
An award-winning 2004 film on the Vatican Observatory–from Bullfrog Films, directed by Alison Rose.
Castel Gandolfo, nestled in the hills southeast of Rome acts as the Pope’s summer residence. In one wing of this palace is the headquarters for the Vatican Observatory. Since 1891, Jesuit astronomers and astrophysicsts have utilized their scientific expertise to explore fundamental questions that engage all people of faith: how did the cosmos come to be, and what is our place in it?
A large part of the film is dedicated to interviews with alumni of the Vatican Observatory Summer Schools; these students reflect on their own thoughts about science and religion and their experience spending four weeks with the Vatican astronomers.
Click here for a link to Bullfrog Films web page on “Galileo’s Sons”.
Click here for libraries that have the film.
On Being with Krista Tippett: Asteroids, Stars, and the Love of God
- Audio
- One hour
- General audience
An interview with two Vatican Observatory astronomers from the radio show On Being with Krista Tippett: “Guy Consolmagno and George Coyne—Asteroids, Stars, and the Love of God”.
More than 30 objects on the moon are named after the Jesuits who mapped it. A Jesuit was one of the founders of modern astrophysics. And four Jesuits in history, including Ignatius of Loyola, have had asteroids named after them – Brother Guy Consolmagno and Father George Coyne being the two living men with this distinction. In a conversation filled with friendship and laughter, and in honor of the visit of Pope Francis to the U.S., we experience the spacious way they think about science, the universe, and the love of God.
Click here for the audio and a transcript of the interview from “On Being”.
IHMC STEM Talk, Conversation with Br Consolmagno
Audio- One hour
- General audience
STEM Talk is podcast produced by the IHMC (a not-for-profit research institute of the Florida University System) that features “Conversations with some of the most interesting people in the world of science and technology”. In this episode, co-host Tom Jones interviews Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J., Director of the Vatican Observatory, about his life-long journey to understand the universe and the role of faith in that pursuit. Jones is a former NASA astronaut who shares Br. Guy’s love of astronomy and who also studies under the same thesis advisor at MIT, John Lewis.
Click here to access the audio and a summary of the topics discussed from IHMC.
At the VATT [Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope]
- Article (PDF)
- 15 pages
- General audience
This chapter by Fr. Richard Boyle, S. J., and A. G. D. Philip of the Vatican Observatory, from the book The Heavens Proclaim: Astronomy and the Vatican, abounds with photographs of the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT) on Mt. Graham, Arizona (USA).
A Galactic Universe
- Article
- 6 pages, 2000 words
- High school level and above
This chapter by Fr. José Gabriel Funes, S. J., Director of the Vatican Observatory from 2006 to 2015, from the book The Heavens Proclaim; Astronomy and the Vatican, discusses A Galactic History: Island Universes; What Is a Galaxy Made Of?; Galaxy Formation; and Galaxy Trans-Formation.
Stars And The Milky Way
Book chapter (PDF)- 8 pages
- High school level and above
A chapter by Fr. Christopher Corbally, S.J., an astronomer with the Vatican Observatory, for the book The Heavens Proclaim: Astronomy and the Vatican. Fr. Corbally writes “the really interesting details contained within a [spectrum] are revealed when light from a star is focused onto a narrow slit, which from there passes through a prism, and then gets focused again onto your eye or a camera.” Topics include ‘A History of Stellar Spectra’; ‘Spectra and Brightness’; ‘Classifying Stars’; ‘Getting to Know Our Neighbors’; and ‘The Simple Picture Gives Way to Surprises’.
[Download PDF]
Stars-and-the-Milky-Way
Extrasolar Planets
Book chapter (PDF)- 11 pages
- Middle school level and above
Fr. Giuseppe Koch, S. J., a physicist with the Vatican Observatory, writes in this chapter from the book The Heavens Proclaim: Astronomy and the Vatican that with the development of various means of research, and the continual advance in precision of our instruments, the exoplanet hunters have finally realized their dream. Topics include:
What Can We Say about 51 Peg and Its Companion 51 Peg b?
What Do We Know about the Formation of Stars and Their Planetary Disks?
New Systems of Planets
How Do We Define a Planet Now?
How Do We Make Sense of Our “Collection” of Planets?
Future Developments
The Significance of the Discovery of Extrasolar Planets
Meteorites: Aliens At The Vatican
The Marquis de Mauroy, who collected the meteorites that became the Vatican collection, and his wife, Marie Caroline Eugénie, who donated the collection to the Vatican at the death of her husband.
- Books chapter
- 8 pages
- General Audiences
In this chapter for the book The Heavens Proclaim: Astronomy and the Vatican, Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J., an astronomer with the Vatican Observatory, writes “At the Vatican Observatory, you’ll find a thousand aliens: meteorites, rocks from outer space that have fallen to the surface of our Earth.” Includes Introduction (with history of the Vatican Collection); Measuring the Meteorites; Densities; Pennies from Heaven
A formal portrait of the Martian meteorite that fell near the Egyptian town of Nakhla in 1911. (Photo credit: Alberto Pizzoli)
Iron meteorites, like this large slice of San Francisco Mountains, show a complex crystal pattern when etched with acid. The crystals indicate the high nickel content in the metal. (Photo credit: Alberto Pizzoli)
[Download PDF]
Aliens-at-Vatican
About The Universe
Fr. Georges Lemaître (1894-1966, with Robert A. Millikan and Albert Einstein), Belgian priest and astrophysicist, was one of the founders of what came to be known as the “Big Bang” theory.
- Book chapter
- 2500 words
- General audiences
This chapter from the book The Heavens Proclaim; Astronomy and the Vatican was written by Fr. Christopher Corbally, S.J. and Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J., both astronomers with the Vatican Observatory. It discusses a number of questions: How can we know when the universe began? When did the first stars appear? How do we know the overall shape of the universe? Is it true that the universe is expanding faster now than it did when it was first formed, soon after the “Big Bang”? Is the universe infinite, or does it have a boundary? Can one think of “space” outside the universe? How many galaxies are there in the universe? Approximately how many stars are there in the largest galaxy that we know of? And how many stars are there in the smallest galaxy? Is it possible to guess from this how many stars are there in the universe? What are the fundamental elements of matter and energy that the universe is made of? And even, how can one calculate the number of piano tuners in a large city?
Nove papi, una missione: Cento anni della Specola Vaticana.
Book- General Audience (Italian)
Nove papi, una missione: Cento anni della Specola Vaticana, by Fr. Sabino Maffeo, a physicist with the Vatican Observatory since 1985, was published in 1991, on the occassion of the 100th anniversary of the Vatican Observatory. It is also available in English translation as In the Service of Nine Popes.
Click here for libraries that carry this book.
J.G. Hagen S.I. – Astronomo e Direttore Spirituale Della Beata E. Hesselblad
- Book
- 112 pages
- General audiences (Italian)
A book by Fr. Sabino Maffeo, S. J., a physicist with the Vatican Observatory, about Fr. Johann Georg Hagen, Director of the Vatican Observatory from 1906 to 1930. From the publisher:
Il volume viene pubblicato in occasione del centenario della nomina del p. Hagen come direttore della Specola Vaticana (1906-2006) econtiene la fitta e interessante corrispondenza epistolare fra p. Hagen e la Beata Elisabetta dell’Ordine del SS. Salvatore di S. Brigida.
Click here for further information from the publisher, Apostolato della Preghiera.
The Heavens Proclaim: Astronomy and the Vatican
Click on the image for more information from Google Books.
- Article (PDFs of book chapters)
- Various lengths
- General to advanced audience
The Heavens Proclaim: Astronomy and the Vatican was a book published by the Vatican Observatory in honor of the Year of the Telescope, 2009. Unfortunately it is now out of print. However, a number of chapters from the book have been posted in various places on this site. These include:
About the Universe (click here)
A Galactic Universe (click here)
A History of the Vatican Observatory (click here)
Astronomy, Calendars, and Religion (click here)
At the VATT (click here)
Extrasolar Planets (click here)
Frequently Asked Questions About The Universe (click here)
Galileo and His Times: Some Episodes (click here)
Is Big Bang Cosmology In Conflict With Divine Creation? (click here)
Meteorites: Aliens At The Vatican (click here)
Popes and Astronomy (click here)
Stars And The Milky Way (click here)
The Vatican Observatory: In The Service of Nine Popes
- Book (link to publisher)
- 429 pages
- General audience
This book, written in Italian by Sabino Maffeo, S. J. and translated by George V. Coyne, S. J. (both of the Vatican Observatory), gives the history of the founding and development of the Vatican Observatory. From the web site of the current publisher, University of Notre Dame Press:
The Vatican Observatory: In the Service of Nine Popes records the history of the Vatican Observatory (Specola Vaticana). It was originally published in 1991 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the observatory by Pope Leo XIII. This revised edition brings together many facts hidden in archival material, correspondence, previous publications on the observatory’s history, as well as fresh material derived from interviews. Of particular interest is new research on the difficult period in the observatory’s history as it moved from an institute struggling to establish research programs to a true astronomical observatory.
The Vatican Observatory: In the Service of Nine Popes presents the most complete written history of the Vatican Observatory.
Click here for a version of the full text of this book from NASA-ADS.