Br. Guy Consolmagno, Vatican scientist, to visit St. Scholastica

The College of St. Scholastica is excited to welcome Br. Guy Consolmagno, Vatican astronomer and director of the Vatican Observatory, to the main campus as part of his visit to Duluth next week. His stop at the College will include the presentation “Adventures of a Vatican Scientist” on Thursday, April 20 from 12:15-1:15 p.m. in the Mitchell Auditorium. The presentation, which is open to the public, will be followed by a Q&A session and potential opportunities for informal discussion.

During his visit to Duluth, Br. Guy will also present on campus at The University of Minnesota-Duluth.

About Br. Guy

Br. Guy Consolmagno obtained his Bachelor of Science in 1974 and Master of Science in 1975 in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his PhD in Planetary Science from the University of Arizona in 1978. He entered the Jesuit order in 1989, taking his vows as a Jesuit brother in 1991. He then studied philosophy and theology at Loyola University Chicago and physics at the University of Chicago before his assignment to the Vatican Observatory in 1993.

Br. Guy’s research explores the connections between meteorites and asteroids, and the origin and evolution of small bodies in the solar system. He has observed Kuiper Belt objects with the Vatican’s 1.8 meter telescope in Arizona, and measured meteorite physical properties to understand asteroid origins and structure. Along with more than 200 scientific publications, he is the author of a number of popular books including Turn Left at Orion (with Dan Davis), and Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? (with Paul Mueller). In 2000, the IAU named asteroid 4597 “Consolmagno” in recognition of his work. In 2014 he received the Carl Sagan Medal from the American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences for excellence in public communication in planetary sciences.

Learn more about Br. Guy and the Vatican Conservatory by visiting the Vatican Observatory.