From Galileo to Laudato Si': Why Astronomy Needs Faith, by Guy Consolmagno - 2020-11-09
Channel: Cork Astronomy Club
Date: 2021-02-26

Brother Guy J. Consolmagno, SJ, is an American research astronomer, physicist, Jesuit religious brother, Director of the Vatican Observatory, and President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation.

He obtained his S.B. (1974) and S.M. (1975) degrees at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. (1978) at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, all in planetary science. His research is centered on the connections between meteorites and asteroids, and the origin and evolution of small bodies in the solar system. At the Vatican Observatory he also serves as curator of the Vatican Meteorite collection. An asteroid was named in his honor by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2000: 4597 Consolmagno.

He served as Chair of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society in 2006-07. He was awarded the Carl Sagan Medal for outstanding communication by an active planetary scientist to the general public by the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society in 2014.

In addition to his continuing professional work in planetary science, he has also studied philosophy and theology.

Source: Wikipedia

In this "Lockdown Lecture" to Cork astronomy Club, conducted via Zoom because of the global Covid-19 pandemic,  Guy Consolmagno provides an outline of the Galileo Affair, the Catholic Church's involvement in astronomy through the Vatican Observatory, and the Pope's encyclical Laudato Si', which critiques consumerism and irresponsible development, laments environmental degradation and global warming, and calls all people of the world to take "swift and unified global action."

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