At various times in our annual reports I have used this section to feature one of the principal activities and achievements of the Observatory. These have included research with the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope and the Observatory's role in the birth of the Mt. Graham International Observatory; the search for meteorites in the Antarctic; engagement in the dialogue between religion and science; the Summer Schools in astrophysics for young scholars from around the world, etc. This year I would like to speak of an important aspect of the Observatory's work that is sometimes hidden in this report because it is diffused throughout the various sections. I refer to the substantial amount of time and effort that Observatory staff members devote to educational outreach and public service.

As far back as 1991 the Observatory, in collaboration with Kino Learning Center, Inc. of Tucson, Arizona, produced a booklet entitled Long Eyes on Space: Astronomy and You for use in grades K to 6. Since then we have continued to dedicate considerable resources to public education at many different levels. These activities include guiding visits to the Observatory's headquarters at Castel Gandolfo, Italy, and to the Mt. Graham International Observatory in Arizona where the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope is located; talks to elementary-school students; the preparation of resource material for teachers; lectures at public planetaria and science centers; contributions at science-fiction conventions; teaching adult-education courses; interviews with journalists and radio and television producers; science education for journalists; and public discussion of the interaction between science and religion. Noteworthy are the Vatican Observatory Foundation Seminars, which provide the Foundation's Board of Directors and friends two days of leisurely presentations by staff members who discuss the research carried out at the Observatory.

Many of the activities described above can be found in section III (Observatory and Staff Activities) of the annual report. In reviewing past reports I find that during the past two years members of the Observatory staff have given more than 100 public lectures and about 60 interviews to various news media in North America, Italy, Spain, and South America. It is of interest to note the variety of topics that have been covered in these lectures and interviews: the conditions for life elsewhere in the universe; the presence of water on other planets in the solar system; collisions in the planetary system and especially on the Earth; the formation of planets around other stars; the evolution of the universe and the appearance of life in it; the Galileo case; science and religion; as well as the history of the Vatican Observatory, the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope, and the next generation of the world's largest telescopes.

It was through the Observatory's initiative that a series of conferences have been organized under the heading of "The Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena." These conferences bring together artists, literary figures, architects, historians, scientists, etc. to exchange ideas on the way that astronomy has influenced the various aspects of human culture.

The Observatory's activities in educational outreach and public service are our way of sharing with others--no matter their age or background--the excitement of carrying out scientific research. We have come to realize that an amazing thing happened with the birth of modern science in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. We scientists were able, by the use of physics and mathematics, to put the universe in our heads. We have become so accustomed to what occurred since that time that some of us have ceased to marvel at this magnificent happening. In us the universe has become self-reflective. We are the product of 15 billion years of an expanding, evolving universe and 3 billion years of an inevitable organic evolution from primitive living organisms to beings with the most complex entity known to exist: the human brain. It is a pleasure for us to share with the public what we have learned and to help bring back that sense of marvel to science.

Research Highlights

MYSTERY ASTEROIDS Back in the 1940s scientists theorized the existence of a family of asteroid-sized objects that orbit the sun beyond Neptune, but it was only in the early 1990s that they were able to observe these elusive celestial bodies, called Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt Objects. They are so faint that it will take the next generation of giant telescopes to unravel their mystery. In the meantime, though, Vatican Observatory scientists have teamed up with colleagues from the University of Notre Dame to conduct a preliminary survey with the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope, taking advantage of the telescope's excellent optics and the dark skies at its Mt. Graham site that make it possible to study such dim objects.

A PIECE OF THE MOON Remember the six weeks in 1996 that Vatican Observatory astronomer Guy Consolmagno spent scouring the East Antarctic Plateau for pieces of space rock with the National Science Foundation's Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET) program? The team brought back a cache that is being examined at the NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, where one meteorite was found to be unlike the others. Most meteorites come from asteroids, but this one is identical to samples of moon rock brought back by the Apollo astronauts. Only a dozen other lunar meteorites have ever been found.

Personnel News

After many years of preparation, José Gabriel Funes, S.J. is entering what we expect will be his final year of studies for his doctorate in astronomy at the University of Padua, Italy. He is destined by his religious superiors to join the staff of the Observatory. Funes has already participated in many of the activities of the Observatory and has carried out observations with the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope. In anticipation of his joining the staff we present some of his research in this report.

In Memoriam

We were saddened by the death on 23 July of Fred A. Lennon, a dear friend of the Vatican Observatory for more than a decade; a major benefactor; and an active member of the Board of the Vatican Observatory Foundation since its inception. By his express wish, the Alice P. Lennon Telescope, an integral part of the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope complex on Mt. Graham, Arizona, is named for his wife. In 1992 His Holiness John Paul II named Fred A. Lennon a Knight of the Order of Saint Silvester. He will be sorely missed by all who witnessed his dedication to the work of the Vatican Observatory.

Vatican Observatory Foundation Annual Meeting

The annual meeting of the members and directors of the Vatican Observatory Foundation was held in Tucson, Arizona, on 27 February 1998. The following were elected to serve as members and directors for a three-year period: CHRISTOPHER J. CORBALLY, S.J., PAUL M. HENKELS, CHRISTOPHER P. HITCHCOCK, WILLIAM R. STOEGER, S.J., and CHARLES W. POLZER, S.J. Additionally, PAUL M. HENKELS was elected treasurer of the Foundation. The other officers were reelected for another one-year term. The Foundation's Executive Committee, acting in the name of the Board, met on 24 February, 8 October, 5 May, and 1 December.

The Foundation is conducting a development campaign to raise funds to support further technological advances in the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope and to establish an endowment for two postdoctoral fellowships. As part of this campaign, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago graciously held a reception at his residence at which I had the opportunity to present a slide-illustrated program on the Observatory's work and its facilities at Castel Gandolfo, outside of Rome, and in Arizona.