Guy Consolmagno

Brother Guy Joseph Consolmagno , SJ (born September 19, 1952 in Detroit ), is an American researcher and director of the Vatican Observatory .

Life

Consolmagno attended the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy before receiving his Bachelor's (1974) and Master's (1975) from MIT . He received his PhD in 1978 from the University of Arizona in the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory . Planetology was the theme of all titles . After postdoctoral stays at Harvard College Observatory and MIT, he became a member of the United States Peace Corps in 1983 and taught physics and astronomy in Kenya for two years . After returning to the United States, he became an Assistant Professor at Lafayette College in Easton , Pennsylvania .

He became a Jesuit in 1989 and took his religious vows in 1991 . When he entered the order, he became an astronomer at the Vatican Observatory and at the same time curator of the Vatican Meteorite Collection, positions that he still holds today. In addition to his continued scientific activity in planetology, he also studied philosophy and theology .

His research focuses on the relationships between meteorites and asteroids and the origins and evolution of small bodies in the solar system . In addition to his more than 40 scientific publications, he is the co-author of several popular science books on astronomy that have been translated into several languages. In 1996 he was a participant in the Antarctic Meteorite Search Program (ANSMET), during which he discovered several meteorites on the Antarctic ice. In 2000 the International Astronomical Union named an asteroid after him, (4597) Consolmagno , also known as Little Guy .

He believes in the need for science and religion to coexist , which is better than competition between competing ideologies. In 2006 he said: "Religion needs science to keep it away from superstition and keep it close to reality, to protect it from creationism, which at the end of the day is a kind of paganism - it's turning God into a nature god." ("Religion needs the natural sciences to protect them from superstition and to hold them to reality. To protect them from creationism , which is ultimately a kind of paganism that transforms the Christian God into an idol .")

Consolmagno served as Chairman of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society from October 2006 to October 2007 .

Consolmagno is a well-known and popular popular science speaker and writer. He was the guest of honor at several science fiction conventions, for example the DucKon in 2000, the ConFusion in his home state Michigan in 2002 and a few more. He appeared on the Colbert Report in 2009 to introduce his book, The Heavens Proclaim .

He received an honorary doctorate from Georgetown University in May 2014 and spoke at the Georgetown College graduation ceremony. In 2010 he was a guest of Krista Tippett, the presenter of the radio show On Being , along with his friend and brother, Father George Coyne . In this interview they talked about their similarities and differences in view of the relationship between science and belief. The broadcast was repeated several times.

In 2014 he was awarded the Carl Sagan Medal by the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences for his outstanding contributions to popularizing planetology with the general public.

Known as the Pope's astronomer, he was appointed director of the Vatican Observatory by Pope Francis in September 2015 - succeeding José Gabriel Funes .

bibliography

• Worlds Apart (with Martha W. Schaefer, Prentice Hall , 1993)
• Turn Left at Orion (with Dan M. Davis, Cambridge University Press , 1995)
• The Way to the Dwelling of Light (University of Notre Dame Press, 1998)
• Brother Astronomer, Adventures of a Vatican Scientist ( McGraw Hill , 2000) Review ( September 27, 2007 memento in the Internet Archive )
• Intelligent Life in the Universe? Catholic belief and the search for extraterrestrial intelligent life (Catholic Truth Society, 2005)
• God's Mechanics: How Scientists and Engineers Make Sense of Religion ( Jossey-Bass , 2007)
• The Heavens Proclaim: Astronomy and the Vatican (Vatican Observatory Publications, 2009)
• Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial ?:. . . and Other Questions from the Astronomers' In-box at the Vatican Observatory (with Paul Mueller, Crown Publishing Group, 2014)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Forum: Brother Guy Consolmagno: God's Mechanics ( Memento of the original from July 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , audio recording, Grace Cathedral, March 2, 2008, 9:30 am PST  
2. ↑ Scotsman article at news.scotsman.com
3. ↑ Current Division of Planetary Science Officers ( Memento of the original from June 17, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at aas.org  
4. ↑ Gold, Frankincense and Mars , December 1, 2009. The Colbert Report
5. ↑ Georgetown Announces Speakers for 2014 Commencement . In: Georgetown University , May 1, 2014. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .  
6. ↑ Guy Consolmagno and George Coyne - Asteroids, Stars, and the Love of God . Retrieved September 20, 2015.
7. ↑ 2014 AAS Prize Winners . Retrieved July 3, 2014. 
8. ^ Edwin Cartlidge: Talking science and God with the pope's new chief astronomer . In: Science , September 29, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2015. 
9. ↑ Pope names US Jesuit planetary scientist to head Vatican Observatory . Retrieved September 18, 2015. 

Web links

Commons : Guy Consolmagno  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website of the Vatican Observatory
• "Brother Guy Consolmagno: Knocking on heaven's door" , portrait of John Crace in The Guardian , May 9, 2006.
• Interview with Guy Consolmagno in Astrobiology Magazine (2004).
• Interview with Guy Consolmagno from Grace Cathedral's The Forum . A streaming video is also available.
• Guy Consolmagnos BBC Radio Series 'A Brief History Of The End Of Everything'
• Guy Consolmagno , Cathopedia (in Italian)