[meteorite-list] Vatican Meteorite Collection (was: Update: Captain Scott's meteorites)
From: Richard <rdmin_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed Aug 17 21:33:43 2005 Message-ID: <4303E544.6090507_at_dodo.com.au> Pete Pete wrote: > Hi, all, > > Speaking of Hidden Treasures, is the Vatican meteorite collection ever > displayed for the public? I think I read somewhere that this is the > largest private collection of meteorites in the world... > > Off topic, and somewhat rhetorical, I wonder why the RC church would > have such a huge collection of items which contradicts their doctrine > that the universe is only 6,000 to 10,000 years old... > > > > Hi Pete and list, The Vatican meteorite collection is stored in the Vatican Observatory which is one of the oldest astronomical research institutions in the world. It is located at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome. (Its dependent reseach centre, the Vatican Observatory Reseach Group, is hosted by Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona, Tucson and this group operates the 1.8m telescope and astrophysics facility at the Mount Graham International Observatory in southeastern Arizona). The Vatican Observatory is run by the Jesuit order of the Catholic Church and the Jesuits have always been known for their intellectual persuits especially in the sciences. To quote from "Jesuits and the Sciences: 1540-1995" (Loyola University Chicago) /A remarkable characteristic of the Society of Jesus during the period of its first founding (1540-1773) was the involvement of its members in the sciences. The reasons for this interest in scientific study can be found in the nature and mission of the order itself. Saint Ignatius Loyola considered the acquisition of knowledge and the performance of mundane labor as spiritually profitable tasks, and this fostered in the Society an action-oriented, utilitarian mentality sympathetic to scientific study. In addition, the role of the Society as the "schoolmasters of Europe" meant that the pedagogically (and scientifically) useful principles of rationality, method and efficiency were highly valued. /An excellent summary of the history of the Jesuits in Science can be read at http://libraries.luc.edu/about/exhibits/jesuits/ When I was studying geology at University some years ago, one of my lecturers in geophysics was Dr Laurie Drake, a Jesuit priest at St Ignatius College and was also the Director of the Riverview Seismological Observatory and he subsequently took up an appointment as the Director of the San Calixto Observatory in La Paz, Bolivia. The Director of the Vatican Obseratory is George Coyne who is both a Jesuit priest and has a doctorate in astronomy from Georgetown University. The Curator of the Vatican meteorite collection and Vatican astronomer is Guy Consolmagno and he is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Arizona. Consolmagno is author of /Brother Astronomer: Adventures of a Vatican Scientist/ and has been quoted as saying that studying meteorites and astronomy "is our way of finding God". Astronomy was one of the original seven subjects taught at the medieval universities founded by the Catholic Church. Vatican support for astronomy dates from 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII asked Jesuit mathematician Christopher Clavius to help reform the calender. Over the next 300 years the papacy founded three observatories in Rome and one of the highlights of those early efforts came in the mid 1800s when another famous Jesuit, Angelo Secchi, became the first astronomer to classify stars by their spectra. A very good brief article about the Vatican Observatory and its work can be found at Space.com http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/vatican_observe_000716.html Coincidentally, just a few days ago here in Australia, our ABC TV screened a fascinating program about the Vatican Observatory and its Jesuits scientists entitled "Galileo's Sons". At one point in the film we see Guy Consolmagno talking to visitors about meteorites in front of one of the display cases of meteorites in the Vatican collection (unfortunately,an all too brief glimpse of the collection) So, at least some of the collection is on display and visitors can get to see it (there are guided tours of the observatory).I can highly recommend this film. For more information about the film see http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/gal.html. A DVD is available (but is expensive - maybe you can convince your local library to acquire it). Regards Richard Depledge Received on Wed 17 Aug 2005 09:32:52 PM PDT |
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