Winona State University hosts astronomer from the Vatican

Winona State University will host Brother Guy J. Consolmagno, S.J., a planetary astronomer from the Vatican Observatory, Feb. 14-15.

Br. Consolmagno, will present “Pluto and Planets X: Is Pluto a Planet? And Why Does It Matter?” at 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 14, in Room 120, Science Laboratory Center, as part of the Geoscience Department’s Earth Talks Speaker Series. The lecture will address the 2006 International Astronomical Union decision to demote Pluto, in which Br. Consolmagno, cast an official vote. The discussion will also address recent discoveries of other “trans-Neptunian Objects” and what they mean, and the science and politics of planetary astronomy.

At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 15, the Big Sky series will feature “Astronomy, God, and the Search for Elegance” in Somsen Auditorium. Br. Consolmagno, will examine the intersections of science and religion, exploring how one proceeds from an emotional appreciation of the beauty of the stars and planets to a deeper understanding that satisfies both reason and emotion.

Br. Consolmagno, earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his doctorate from the University of Arizona. He entered into the Jesuit order in 1989 and was assigned to the Vatican Observatory in 1993. He has co-authored five books and serves as curator of the Vatican meteorite collection, one of the largest in the world.

Both events are free and open to the public.

For more information, call Jennifer Anderson at (507) 457-2457 or e-mail: jlanderson@winona.edu.