Vatican astronomer on Webb space photos: ‘God’s creation’
Vatican astrophysicist Brother Guy Consolmagno has praised the crisp images of the cosmos recently delivered by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope as “food for the human spirit,” according to a Religion News Service report.
“The science behind this telescope is our attempt to use our God-given intelligence to understand the logic of the universe,” Consolmagno wrote, adding that “the universe wouldn’t work if it weren’t logical.”
The Webb telescope, the product of an international collaboration of scientists that cost over $10 billion, is the largest optical telescope in space, and astrophysicists are optimistic about the clarity it could provide on many unanswered questions about the universe.
“As these images show, the universe is not only logical, it is also beautiful. This is God’s creation being revealed to us, and in it we can see both his astonishing power and his love of beauty,” he said.
Consolmagno is the director of the Vatican space observatory known as the Specola Vaticana, which has existed since the late 1500s. He is also president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. According to Smithsonian Magazine, he was raised in Detroit and studied Earth and Planetary Sciences at MIT for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and at the University of Arizona for his doctorate.
During a break in his studies, he spent two years teaching astronomy in Nairobi for the Peace Corps. Having attended a Jesuit high school, Consolmagno contemplated joining the church at several points in his career before joining the order in 1989. Two years later, he was called to serve at the Vatican Observatory where he has been ever since.
Take a look at these images from NASA’s Webb telescope:
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