Jesuit Astronomers

There is a short article on the Vatican observatory in Arizona scans the heavens">Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope in Arizona which gets about one million dollars a year for research "with no strings attached". As the Rev. Chris Corbally states, "The whole realm of the heavens is part of our Christian lives" and part of Christianity is to understand how the universe works.

Famous Jesuit Astronomers

Maximilian Hell, S.J. (1720 - 1792) the first to observe a transit of Venus, diirector of the astronomy observatory in Vienna. A lunar crater is named after him.

Roger Boscovich, S.J. (1711-1787) tracked solar eclipses, invented the ring micrometer and an achromatic telescope. A lunar crater is named after him.

Christopher Clavius, S.J. (1538-1612) a very large lunar crater is named after Clavius who had immense influence on his contemporaries. He has been referred to as the "most influential teacher of the Renaissance."

Angelo Pietro Secchi, S.J. (1818-1878) perfected the meteorograph, the spectroscope and the telescope. Astronomers call him "the Father of Astrophysics".