Greetings!
Spring is here, but a very different sort of spring this year. With the coronavirus upon us, many of us are staying at home these days… including members of the Vatican Observatory. Find out what we were up to before the shut down; how we are coping now; and what you can do even from home to follow along with our activities!
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In This Issue:
- 2020 Foundation Annual Seminar report
- 2019 Vatican Observatory Annual Report available
- VATT and VO Science, shut in but not shut down!
- In Memoriam, Fr. Coyne, 1932-2020
- Three New Videos
- Latest Publications
- Highlights from Our Web Sites
- Online Seminar: Angelo Secchi
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The Vatican Observatory Foundation annual seminar was held on Friday, February 21, 2:00 PM in Tucson, Arizona.
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Dr. Daniel Apai discussed how the VATT is a key player in the EDEN project, an international astronomical campaign that aims to identify habitable planets within 50 lightyears of the Sun.
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Frs. Paul Gabor, Chris Corbally and Bayu Risanto participated in a Jesuit round table discussion with Br Guy Consolmagno about what it means to be both a Jesuit and a scientist.
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Dolores Hill, from the University of Arizona’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission, gave our keynote address. The robotic probe is currently orbiting asteroid Bennu, and will retrieve a sample from its surface this year, and return it to Earth in 2023.
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Vatican Observatory 2019 Annual Report
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How does the work of the Vatican Observatory tie in with the four apostolic priorities of the Society of Jesus proposed this year by Father General Arturo Sosa? We were able to reflect on the nature of our mission when all of the members of the Observatory got together this past summer... a gathering that culminated in a private audience with Pope Francis.
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Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope
Shut in, but not shut down!
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What is it like for the astronomers at the Vatican Observatory to work from home? What kind of science can they do with the telescope shut down and all conferences cancelled? We asked a number of them to tell us their stories, and these were recently published in posts on our Sacred Space Astronomy site.
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Fr. Coyne Memorial & Fundraiser Site
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Fr. George Coyne, former director of the Vatican Observatory and founder of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, died on Feb. 11, 2020. We've created a "virtual" memorial page for Fr. Coyne, and have collected several remembrances of Fr. Coyne from people around the world who worked with him.
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Asteroids, Stars, and the Love of God
In a conversation filled with laughter, we experience the spacious way Fr. Coyne and Br. Guy approached life, faith, and the universe.
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Trinity of Videos about the Vatican Observatory
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In a trinity of related YouTube videos produced by
Brady Haran and James Hennessy
, Brother Guy Consolmagno gives you a tour of the Vatican Observatory Museum and its historic telescopes, and answers questions during a Q/A session.
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23,556 views as of 2020-03-31
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25,519 views as of 2020-03-31
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73,020 views as of 2020-03-31
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Radionuclides in Chassigny and Nakhla meteorites of Mars origin: implications for their pre-atmospheric sizes and cosmic-ray exposure ages.
Povinec P., Sykora I., Macke R., Toth J., Kornos L., and Porubcan V. Accepted for publication in
Planetary and Space Sciences
.
Hypervelocity Cratering and Disruption of the Northwest Africa 4502 Carbonaceous Chondrite Meteorite: Implications for Crater Production, Catastrophic Disruption, Momentum Transfer and Dust Production on Asteroids.
Flynn G., Durda D., Molesky M., May B., Congram S., Loftus C., Reagan J., Strait M., and Macke R. Accepted for publication in
Planetary and Space Sciences
.
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Incorporating the Catholic Astronomer, our blog has
several authors writing about a wide range of faith and science related topics.
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Our
Faith and Science archive has
hundreds of articles, videos, and audio files on the topic of Faith and Science, for the use of Catholic educators and Catholics seeking education - produced by members of the Vatican Observatory with the support of the Vatican Observatory Foundation.
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Popular Posts on Sacred Space Astronomy
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Sabbatical Journal 2: Corona Virus – When The Unthinkable Becomes Reality.
At the Redemptorist Renewal Center, our group has felt as if we have been living in a bubble, distant from Corona hysteria. That ended this morning when, during the petitions at Mass, it was made known that a parishioner's brother died from complications of this virus. Even in the safety of the Saguaro Desert, this pandemic continues to be indiscriminate in its impact...
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On Solar Spectrum and Humans I’ve always been fascinated by the links between the solar spectrum and humans. It is a visual thing coupled with some interesting interactions. The elements found in our sun are also found in us and all living things, Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Sulfur and Phosphorus...
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A Tour of Nearby Stars
For the past several weeks in his
In the Sky
posts
, Bob Trembley has been giving a virtual tour of nearby stars - starting with the closest stars to our Sun and working outwards. Bob posts information about the star, and uses the app
SpaceEngine to create visual representations of those stars, and their exoplanetary systems.
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Featured Faith and Science Archive Articles
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Historical Events - Articles about Galileo
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Most of what people think happened during the Galileo Affair is wrong; but the truth doesn’t necessarily make the Church look any better. Any serious discussion of Galileo should be based on accurate history, and not on prejudices either for or against Galileo, or for or against the Church.
Our Faith and Science Archive has numerous articles about
the Galileo Affair.
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Online Seminar: Back to early astrophysics: the contribution of Angelo Secchi (1818-1878)
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April 8, 2020; 10:55 AM (Rome), 4:55 AM (EST)
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Mainly known as trailblazer of the spectral classification of stars and pioneer of solar physics, Angelo Secchi is one of the most brilliant and modern figures in the Italian and international scientific context of the second half of the 19th century. His background was in physics, but he was called in 1849 to became director of the Collegio Romano Observatory, where he applied early techniques of photography and spectroscopy in the field of astronomy.
Driven by his wide scientific curiosity, Secchi explored many scientific domains, trying to find correlations between the natural phenomena and giving important contributions in all his fields of interest. This talk will outline his interesting profile of Jesuit scientist and illustrate his main scientific results, that had paved the way to current research topics and methods (not only in astronomy).
Meeting ID:
987 413 844,
Topic:
Seminario IAPS
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2020 Vatican Observatory Summer School Postponed Until 2021
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It is with great regret that we must announce the postponement of the 2020 Vatican Observatory Summer School due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are currently planning on running the summer school in 2021.
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Vatican Observatory Foundation
2017 East Lee Street
Tucson, Arizona 85719
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