From the Director

Thanks for the Memories

As we publish this last report of the 1900s we look back with gratitude to all that our colleagues and friends have helped us to accomplish so that the Church might be actively present in the world of science. We could not begin to name all who have been with us in our journey, but you are all in our hearts and in our thoughts. We have been pilgrims together in our journey to understand the universe and ourselves in it. Let us for a moment reflect upon our pilgrimage.

Our attempts to understand the universe have as much to say about ourselves as they do about the universe. In fact, in us the universe has become self-reflective. Today, as we scientists attempt to understand ourselves and the universe using the most advanced methods of physics and mathematics, we realize that we stand on the shoulders of giants of the past. The path to our present-day understanding has been a long one relative to a human lifetime but a very short one relative to the age of the universe itself. We are today's pilgrims: aware of what lies behind us and impatient to know what lies ahead.

We invite all of you to retrace with us some of the more significant and interesting episodes in the history of the Vatican Observatory. Items highlighted in bold refer to the images that appear in the photographic montage on the front and back cover of this year's Annual Report.

  Beginnings

In its historical roots and traditions the Vatican Observatory is one of the oldest astronomical institutes in the world. The Observatory was foreshadowed by the call of Pope Gregory XIII to the Jesuit mathematicians and astronomers of the Roman College to study the scientific data required to reform the calendar. By the 1500s, a tiny error in the old Julian calendar, in use since the first century B.C., had become large enough that the calendar was about ten days out of phase with the seasons; this made it difficult to time holy days, especially Easter. The discrepancy was dramatically confirmed to the Pope in the Vatican's Tower of the Winds, which housed a meridian line used to measure the change in the sun's position and thus chart the change of seasons. The modern or Gregorian calendar was completed in 1582. From that time and with some degree of continuity, the Papacy manifested an interest in and support for astronomical research. In the nineteenth century, the famous Jesuit astronomer Father Angelo Secchi became the first scientist to classify stars according to their spectra. Inspired by the caliber of this work, Pope Leo XIII in 1891 formalized astronomy research with the establishment of the Vatican Observatory (Specola Vaticana). Three instruments, including the Carte du Ciel telescope used for an international program to map the whole sky, were located behind the dome of St. Peter's Basilica on the ancient Leonine wall. Several religious orders contributed personnel and directors to the Observatory, including Barnabites, Oratorians, and Augustinians, as well as Jesuits.

Notable contributors to the founding of the Vatican Observatory. Center: astronomer Angelo Secchi, S.J., a founder of modern astrophysics. Left: Pope Gregory XIII, who called for the reform of the calendar in the 1500s. Right: Pope Leo XIII (in back), who formally established the Vatican Observatory in 1891, and Pope Pius XI (in front), who moved the Observatory to Castel Gandolfo in 1935. (Painting by I. Fantini)

  The Move to Castel Gandolfo

For a little more than four decades astronomical research -- most importantly the sky-mapping project -- was carried out in the shadow of St. Peter's, but soon urban growth of the Eternal City had brightened the night sky to such an extent that the fainter stars could no longer be studied. Thus it was that in the early 1930s Pope Pius XI provided a new location for the Observatory at the Papal Summer Residence at Castel Gandolfo in the Alban Hills, some 25 kilometers southeast of Rome. It is curious that in order to modernize, the Observatory was moving to a site whose recorded history predates the founding of Rome. The Observatory's new headquarters rises on land once inhabited by the Latins, the ancient race of people who founded Rome. These hills also attracted the rich and powerful from the Eternal City. One of them, Emperor Domitian (81-96 A.D.), had an extensive and luxurious villa where the Papal gardens are now located in Castel Gandolfo. It is amidst this antiquity that the modern observatory, entrusted to the Jesuits, took shape. Two new telescopes, a double astrograph and a visual refractor, were built on the roof of the Papal palace; an astrophysical laboratory for spectrochemical analysis was installed; and several important research programs on variable stars were begun. In 1941 the Carte du Ciel telescope, which had been left in Rome (the other two telescopes had been decommissioned), was moved to Castel Gandolfo and installed in the Papal gardens next to the palace. It was joined in 1957 by a new Schmidt wide-angle telescope, which was used to extend the Observatory's research interests to other topics, such as new techniques to classify stars according to their spectra. This is still an active program at the Observatory and recalls the early pioneering work of Angelo Secchi.

  New Horizons

With the continuously increasing population of Rome, the night skies above the Observatory once again became too bright to do meaningful research, even in Castel Gandolfo. For this reason in 1981, for the first time in its history, the Observatory founded a second research center, the Vatican Observatory Research Group (VORG), in Tucson, Arizona. This area in the United States boasts one of the world's largest concentrations of modern centers for observational astronomy. The Observatory staff have offices at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory, and they have access to all of the telescopes located in the Tucson area. In 1993 the Observatory, in collaboration with Steward Observatory, completed the construction of the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT) on Mt. Graham, Arizona, which is considered the best astronomical site in the continental United States. The VATT, which consists of the Alice P. Lennon Telescope and the Thomas J. Bannan Astrophysics Facility, is the first optical-infrared telescope of the new Mount Graham International Observatory, which when completed will house some of the world's largest and most sophisticated instruments for studying the universe. The VATT uses a mirror made with new technology, pioneered at Steward Observatory, that makes it possible to create large, lightweight, stable mirrors in a rotating furnace.

With its two centers, the Vatican Observatory is expanding its work in many areas: Castel Gandolfo not only serves as administrative headquarters, but it is a center for meetings and summer schools, and its archives are used for research into the history of science. New scientific endeavors as well as long-term, continuing research programs that were the hallmark of research at Castel Gandolfo are being carried out at the VATT. These include investigations of cosmological models, spectral classification of peculiar stars, the distribution of metal-rich and metal-poor stars, mass-exchanging binary stars, material in star-forming dark clouds, dust envelopes about young stars, and planetary dynamics.

For the members of the Vatican Observatory, science has undoubtedly been one of the principal factors in determining the direction of our pilgrimage through the universe. In attempting to unify our scientific knowledge with all that we know as human beings, we sense that we are being led to realities beyond understanding and that our passion to know is really a participation in Love. It is remarkable that our scientific investigations have brought us to this.

Vatican Observatory Summer School

The Seventh Vatican Observatory Summer School (VOSS) in Observational Astronomy and Astrophysics was held at the Observatory in Castel Gandolfo from 13 June to 10 July. The topic, "Observations and Theoretical Understanding of Single Stars and Close Binary Systems," attracted twenty-four students from twenty countries.

The faculty included Richard O. Gray from Appalachian State University; Mercedes Richards from the University of Virginia; Rolf-Peter Kudritzki from the University of Munich; and the Vatican Observatory's Christopher Corbally, who also served as the School's Dean. On 30 June His Holiness John Paul II received faculty and students from the School in St. Peter's Square at the termination of the General Audience.

Research Highlights

GALACTIC DETECTIVES Vatican Observatory astronomer José Funes, S.J. and colleagues from Italy and Germany have been poking around galaxies looking for tell-tale signs of pending and past cosmic disasters. They found pairs of galaxies that harbor clues of ongoing gravitational interaction with each other that could lead to close encounters, mergers, even collisions. At first glance, these galaxies appear to be peacefully coexisting. Then the astronomers took deep images of them with the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope, used a special analytical technique that reveals faint structures, and found that tidal forces are stretching the gas in these galaxies into bridges and tails.

The asymmetric shape of spiral galaxy NGC 772 is likely due to the gravitational tug of a nearby galaxy. Eventually the two may collide. Photo by E.M. Corsini and C. Scarlata (University of Padua); J.G. Funes and R. Boyle (Vatican Observatory)

RUBBLE PILES IN SPACE "Space rocks" is a popular description for asteroids, but "rubble piles" may be more accurate, according to Vatican Observatory astronomer Guy Consolmagno, S.J. He and Dan Britt from the University of Tennessee found evidence that most large asteroids are not solid objects but unconsolidated piles of rock glued together by gravity with as much as 40% empty space. The scientists began examining asteroid data after completing an analysis of the density of meteorites, most of which come from asteroids, and discovering that meteorites are fairly porous. The new findings raise interesting questions about the origin of asteroids that the scientists hope to answer with further studies.

Publications

The Vatican Observatory is pleased to announce the publication of The Vatican Observatory and the Arts: The Sculpture of John David Mooney at Castel Gandolfo. This limited-edition monograph contains 162 color images that are the permanent record of the temporary sculptures created by Mooney during the Observatory's multidisciplinary conference "The Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena" held in 1994 at Castel Gandolfo. The artist's work manifests the interrelationship between art and science.

The Vatican Observatory marked the passage into the year 2000 with its first official calendar--Calendar 2000. Its goal is to tell the story of the human need to record time and out of that need to understand the celestial bodies that mark the passage of time. The color calendar features astronomy-related photographs and dates marked with events and personalities important to astronomy and to the Vatican Observatory.

Information about purchasing these publications can be obtained by contacting the Vatican Observatory Research Group in Tucson or by linking to the Observatory's web site.

Personnel News

As of 1 January 2000 José Gabriel Funes, S.J., who is finishing his doctorate in astronomy at the University of Padua, Italy, joins the staff of the Observatory. Under the direction of Francesco Bertola, Funes completed his thesis on the internal kinematics of galaxies. His research is described in this report.

As of October 1999 Louis Caruana, S.J., Assistant Lecturer in Philosophy of Science and Philosophy of Nature at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, has been appointed an Adjunct Scholar of the Observatory.

At the end of its annual conference in August 1999, the Council of the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS) elected Christopher Corbally, S.J. to be president for the year 2000. IRAS has been active in integrating scientific and religious knowledge since its establishment in 1954. In his new role, Corbally follows in the footsteps of Harlow Shapley, renowned professor of astronomy at Harvard University, who was one of the founders of IRAS and its first president.

In September Guy J. Consolmagno, S.J. was elected for a three-year term to the Committee of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society.

At Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Emmanuel M. Carreira, S.J., Adjunct Scholar, received an honorary medal given by the State Government of Galicia for his contribution to making the culture of Galicia known throughout the world.

In Memoriam

We were deeply saddened at the death on 3 September in New York of Maureen McCarthy. She and her husband, Eugene, have been fond friends of the Jesuits of the Vatican Observatory for many years. The McCarthy Family Foundation has made generous contributions to our work.

Vatican Observatory Foundation Annual Meeting

The annual meeting of the members and directors of the Vatican Observatory Foundation was held on 26 February 1999 in Tucson, Arizona. The following were elected to serve as members and directors for a three-year period: RICHARD P. BOYLE, S.J., EMMANUEL M. CARREIRA, S.J., CHARLES L. CURRIE, S.J., KAREN DALBY, SHEILA GRINELL, and BRENDAN D. THOMSON. During the two days preceding the annual meeting a seminar was conducted by members of the Observatory staff to present their research in a popular forum to friends of the Observatory and to members of the Board.

In 1999 the Vatican Observatory Foundation reached its goal of raising $2 million dollars for its development campaign to support further technological advances at the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope. By achieving its goal the Foundation was awarded a Science Initiative Grant of $500,000 by The Kresge Foundation. This was a challenge grant and required the Foundation to raise the money by 1 December. The goal was reached in November. In addition to the many individuals who made generous donations to this campaign, we wish to thank the following corporations and foundations: Arline and Thomas J. Bannan Foundation, Los Angeles; Avery Foundation, Philadelphia; Cable Design Technologies, Inc., Pittsburgh; Community Counseling Service, Co., Inc., New York; Copernicus Society of America, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania; Crown Cork and Seal Company, Philadelphia; Homeland Foundation, New York; The Kresge Foundation, Troy, Michigan; Philip Morris Companies, New York; Dan Murphy Foundation, Los Angeles; F. J. O'Neil Charitable Corporation, Cleveland; and Warner Lambert Co., Morris Plains, New Jersey.

In May the Vatican Observatory Foundation hired NANCY KNOCHE of Phoenix, Arizona, as its Director of Development.

From 26 June to 3 July a group of friends of the visited the Vatican Observatory at Castel Gandolfo, the Vatican, and Rome. The trip was organized by KAREN DALBY and conducted by GEORGE COYNE. The group also shared in some of the activities of the Vatican Observatory Summer School.

George V. Coyne, S.J., Director