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Centuries of Stargazing Leave Jesuit Names Written in the Heavens


Centuries after the Holy See silenced and burned Roman Catholic explorers for questioning Earth’s centrality in the universe, Jesuit astronomers from the Vatican’s internal observatory today write your name in the sky.

The Vatican, under the direction of Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pope in history, recently announced that three more Jesuit scientists from the Jesuit-run observatory have named the asteroids as part of a new wave that includes the 16th-century pope who gave the name Gregorian. calendar and a Tuscan pastry chef whose taste is atmosphere.

The Jesuits, though not as numerous as the stars, had more than 30 Astronomer Don Yeomans, who works at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said asteroids have been assigned to them since space rocks began to be officially named. in 1801. That is “not surprising, given the generally scientific nature of this community”. ., and is now part of the group that gives formal approval to the names given to asteroids.

The three Jesuits named last month are Father Robert Janusz, a Polish priest and physicist who focuses on measurements of light from star clusters (565184 Janusz); Bishop William R. Stoeger (1943-2014), an American priest (551878 Stoeger); and Father Johann Georg Hagen (1847-1930), an Austrian-American who, according to the quote naming 562971 Johannhagen, “conceived a number of ingenious experiments at the Vatican to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth, confirming the rotation of the Earth. directly the theories of Copernicus and Galileo.”

All three work or work at Specola Vaticana, or Vatican Observatory, just off the pope’s garden in Castel Gandolfo, a short drive from Rome. The observatory is a descendant of centuries of Vatican-funded stellar research and is the only Vatican agency that conducts scientific research.

History of Observatorystaffed by Jesuits since the 1930s, is a refutation of the view that the Roman Catholic Church has always sought to impede scientific progress, an idea perpetuated by famous cases. such as that of Galileo and Giordano Bruno at the hands of the Inquisition during the Renaissance.

“There are institutions like the Pontifical Academy of Sciences that tell the Vatican what is going on in the world of science, but we really do science,” he said. The Consolmagnoan asteroid honoree (4597 Consolmagno) and director of observatory, whose website tagline is “science that inspires faith.” in one 2017 interview Speaking to The New York Times, Consolmagno said that part of the observatory’s mission is “to show the world that the church supports science.”

It says that a former director of the observatory, the Jesuit astrophysicist, Rev. George V. Coyne, the dead in 2020played an important role in getting the Vatican to change its position and officially acknowledged in 1992 that Galileo might have been right.

“There’s one thing the Bible doesn’t have,” said Father Coyne New York Times Magazine 1994, “is a science textbook. The Bible is made up of myth, poetry, history. But it is simply not teaching science.”

Specola’s origins date back to Pope Gregory XIII, who built an observatory – known as the Tower of Winds – inside the Vatican so that astronomers could study the reformation of the Julian calendar, which was used until 1582. Gregory, aka Ugo Boncompagni (1502-1585), was an important early patron of the Jesuits and now has an asteroid named after him, 560794 Ugoboncompagni.

Among astronomers studying the Reformation calendar is a Jesuit, Christopher Clavius ​​(1538-1612) — the asteroid 20237 Clavius ​​— who lived at the Roman College, a school in The capital of Italy was founded in 1551 by Saint Ignatius Loyola, the founder.

The Roman College produced generations of astronomers, including Giovanni Battista Riccioli (1598-1671) — the asteroid 122632 Riccioli — who published a map of the moon in 1647 and systematized a map of the moon. Moon nomenclature numbers are still in use. When Neil Armstrong said, “Houston, here’s Tranquility Base. The eagle has landed,” on Apollo 11 Moon Mission 1969“Tranquillity” refers to the Mare Tranquillitatis, or Sea of ​​Tranquillity, to which Riccioli gave the name.

Asteroid 4705 Secchi is named after the Jesuit priest Angelo Secchi (1818-1878), a pioneer in the field of astronomical spectroscopy and director of the observatory at the Roman University from 1948 until when he died.

Mount Graham International Observatory, Ariz., where the Vatican operates the telescope in partnership with the University of Arizona.Credit…Photo of Joe McNally/Getty

Current astronomers at the Vatican observatory primarily divide their time between Castel Gandolfo and Mount Graham, Ariz., where the Vatican operates the telescope in partnership with the University of Arizona.

Pastor Jean-Baptiste Kikwaya Eluo, who works at the observatory, says that being a scientist and a person of faith changes the way one sees the world. He said his scientific vocation was motivated by his superiors in the Jesuits. (He also has an asteroid named after him: 23443 Kikwaya.)

As Jesuits, “because we really believe that God is the One who puts everything there, that puts us in a very different relationship from what we are observing,” said Father Kikwaya. said in a chat with Zoom from Arizona.

The naming of asteroids – also known as minor planets or minor solar system bodies – is overseen by a team of professional astronomers, part of the International Astronomical Union. The group is presented monthly with a list of suggested names and citations, but not all asteroids are labeled; only about 3.8 percent of the 620,000 numbered asteroids have been named, after specific instructions.

Traditionally, names have been preferred for mythological figures from Greece or Rome (the first four were named Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta), but inspiration was later taken from the other cultures. RyuguFor example, is a magical underwater palace in Japanese folklore, while Bennu named after an ancient Egyptian bird god (chosen from thousands of entries in a “Name that asteroid!” competition). There are also Apophiswho, in Egyptian mythology, was the enemy of the sun god Ra.

Over the decades, more trivial attributions have emerged, mostly to scientists, astronomers, or celebrities. In recent years, the names of asteroids have also been inspired by the winners and top participants in high school science and engineering fairs. (New York Times science writer Carl Zimmer also has an asteroid: 212073 Carlzimmer.)

There are limitations. The guidelines note: “Names of domestic animals are discouraged,” and historical figures associated with the “slave trade, genocide, or eugenics” are not accepted. There is also a restriction on political and military figures — they must have died at least 100 years ago to be considered.

However, opening up the process has raised questions about assigning asteroid names to students whose future remains an unexplored path.

Take the case of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who an asteroid named for her (23238 Ocasio-Cortez) after her high school project won an award at an international science and engineering fair. “Right,” she wrote on Twitter in 2018.

Despite Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s later career, the asteroid will keep her name; no retroactive reclamation. “We don’t do that,” said Gareth Williams, secretary of the naming group, known as the Small Body Nomenclature Working Group.

Dr Williams said the group also tended to “strongly discourage” naming asteroids after religious figures. But the current group of Jesuit astronomers “is not named because they are Jesuits, they are named because they are astronomers. Dr. Williams noted that they happened to be Jesuits.

Many asteroid names have an attached story. In the latest batch, asteroid 44715 was named Paolovezzosi, for Paolo Vezzosi, an amateur astronomer and pastry chef from the Italian town of Montelupo Fiorentino, in Tuscany. Vezzosi, according to the quote, “provides delicious cakes,” at outreach events.

He was nominated by Maura Tombelli, president of an astronomical group that funded and built a public observatory in Montelupo Fiorentino. Ms. Tombelli discovered 200 asteroids during her decades of stargazing (asteroid 9904 was called Mauratombelli in her honor).

Ms Tombelli explained that the nomination of Mr Vezzosi was a way of thanking him for helping to get the observatory off the ground.

She said: “We have nothing else to give, only rocks in my sky.

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