Dear friends of the Vatican Observatory,

since 1986, the Vatican Observatory has held a prestigious biennial month-long summer school (which we affectionally call VOSS) for young astronomy students from around the world, with a particular focus on helping students from developing countries launch into academic careers. The schools remain a memorable event in the lives of all our students. Today, the network of ex-students from these schools extends all around the world: they are well inserted in academic and university positions, and this in turn earns a lot of goodwill for the Observatory and the Church. Not only has the model of these schools been replicated by other institutions, but today we are witnessing the phenomenon in which many of our successful ex-students return to lead future schools as faculty and resource persons – in some way passing on to the next generation what they so freely have received in the past. Above all, the summer schools train students not only to be the best in their field but also help them to concentrate on relationships and building networks.

The summer school VOSS 2025 was a great success. It is now time to start planning for VOSS 2027. Thus, I am officially opening the call for proposals for the next Vatican Observatory Summer School, VOSS 2027.

We need to determine the faculty and topic by spring 2026 so as to prepare the call for students by the summer. Students will apply in the fall of 2026, be selected in early November, and notified before Christmas, giving them (and us) time to make all the necessary travel arrangements in the spring of 2027.

Proposals for VOSS 2027 can come from the full astronomy community: Vatican Observatory staff; from VOSS alumni; and indeed from any scientist including those outside the VOSS community who might have a wonderful idea to share with us. Therefore, please feel free to forward this email to any colleagues who might interested in organizing VOSS 2027. 

The summer schools have enjoyed an illustrious history since their inception in 1986. Vera Rubin was among the first instructors at VOSS. What distinguishes VOSS from other programs is its intensity and duration: four weeks during which strong relationships are formed among students, and between students and faculty. Alumni of the summer schools often remain in contact for many years afterward. The summer schools are made possible by the generous contribution of our benefactors through the Vatican Observatory Foundation based in the US.

The DEADLINE for submitting VOSS 2027 proposals to Questo indirizzo email è protetto dagli spambots. È necessario abilitare JavaScript per vederlo. is April 1, 2026. The dates for VOSS 2027 will (probably) be May 30 - June  25, 2027.

Your proposal should include:

1. A title identifying your topic. It should be something exciting, which we can use to advertise the school to potential students

2. A list of proposed faculty. This should indicate the chairperson, who will have responsibility for the final academic program, and also two or three other faculty members who will be available for most if not all of the 4 weeks of the program. 

The faculty should include a wide variety of backgrounds, both scientific and personal. Students are not all going to have a complete background in your proposed topic, so having faculty whose expertise goes beyond the topic in several different dimensions increases the odds that the students can find someone they can go to for questions. 

In addition, our faculty act as role-models for the students, so it strengthens the proposal (and the school) to have a variety of ages, nationalities, etc. among the proposed faculty.

We can’t pay a stipend. However, we are happy to handle the travel and lodging expenses for the faculty. For the chair we will take care of travel and lodging expenses for their family as well.

3. A short description of the range of the topic, including a justification for why it is timely, why the faculty are especially appropriate, why students from around the world will particularly benefit from attending the school, etc.

4. A list of individual topics likely to be covered in the morning lectures. We don’t need a full syllabus, simply an idea of the depth and range of the material to be covered.

5. A list of the possible afternoon research projects that can give students some hands-on experience in the subject at hand. Let us know if special equipment (e.g. computers with NVIDIA cards, etc.) might be needed.

6. A list of potential evening guest speakers (including colleagues or family members who might be likely to be available in person or via Zoom) to make the program all the more enriching.

Note that we generally get several excellent proposals, and they get even better when they are proposed a second or third time! So just because you were turned down previously, please don’t be discouraged. And if you are just thinking of a school for the first time, feel free to propose now with the thought that even if you aren’t chosen, the experience will make for a better proposal (and school) the next time!

Now is the time to talk up the idea with your colleagues and come back with a proposal. If yours is selected, I can promise months of hard work, but also a chance to meet incredible students in a fabulous setting, and an experience that will affect not only their lives and careers, but yours as well! We would be also very grateful if you could pass on this request to your astronomy colleagues in your home country.

Thank you for your consideration!

— Fr. Richard D’Souza SJ

Padre Sabino Maffeo, gesuita della Specola Vaticana, è stato una figura di grande spessore umano, spirituale e scientifico. Scienziato appassionato e uomo di grande fede, nel suo lavoro di astrofisico ha sempre cercato di unire lo studio dell’Universo con una profonda attenzione alla dimensione spirituale, vivendo la scienza come forma di servizio.

Nel suo lungo impegno alla Specola Vaticana ha offerto un contributo significativo alla ricerca astronomica, lasciando al tempo stesso un ricordo vivo per la sua umanità, la discrezione e la capacità di ascolto e dialogo. Chi lo ha conosciuto ne ricorda non solo il valore scientifico, ma anche la gentilezza e l’entusiasmo con cui sapeva trasmettere la passione per la conoscenza.

Per ricordare la sua figura e la sua eredità, il 30 gennaio si terrà un evento commemorativo dal titolo “Un secolo di luce e di amore”. L’incontro sarà un’occasione preziosa per riflettere sulla sua vita, sul suo lavoro e sul segno che ha lasciato nella comunità scientifica ecclesiale.

The latest bulletin of IAU’s(International Astronomical Union) Working Group for Small Body Nomination has some exciting news for the scientists at the Vatican Observatory. Several asteroids co-discovered by Vatican Astronomer Fr. Richard P. Boyle SJ along with his long-time collaborator K. Černis (from Vilnius, Lithuania) using the Vatican Observatory telescope VATT on top of Mount Graham have received official names. Among the names featured are those of Don Matteo Galaverni and Fr. Bayu Risanto SJ, staff members of the Vatican Observatory. Furthermore, other asteroids discovered at the Vatican Observatory by Černis and Boyle have been named after St. Faustina Kowalska and St. Ursula Ledóchowska, another polish nun who founded the Congregation of the Agonising Heart of Jesus. Furthermore, another asteroid was named after a Jesuit García Alabiano (1549–1624) a Spanish Jesuit theologian who taught at the University of Vilnius. This list adds to the nearly 40 odd asteroids named after Jesuits.

The list of the recent asteroids named are:

(591000) Galaverni = 2013 AB189
Discovery: 2012-12-08 / K. Černis, R. P. Boyle / Mount Graham / 290
Matteo Galaverni (b. 1981) is an Italian diocesan priest and physicist. He works in theoretical cosmology, including the cosmic microwave background, dark matter, dark energy, and alternative theories of gravity. Matteo is also interested in the relationship between faith, philosophy, and science.

(752403) Bayurisanto = 2015 PZ114
Christoforus Bayu Risanto (b. 1981) is an Indonesian Jesuit priest whose research focuses on meteorology. He improves weather forecasts by combining physical-based models with data assimilation, especially in areas with limited observation data. His work utilizes moisture data from GPS meteorology alongside traditional datasets from weather stations.

(798737) Faustina = 2012 VZ114
Discovery: 2012-11-13 / K. Černis, R. P. Boyle / Mount Graham / 290
Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938) was a Polish nun and mystic known for her visions of Jesus and the message of Divine Mercy. Her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul, inspired the Divine Mercy devotion practiced worldwide. She was canonized in 2000 and is honoured as the “Apostle of Divine Mercy.”

(798772) Ledochowska = 2012 WH32
Discovery: 2012-11-20 / K. Černis, R. P. Boyle / Mount Graham / 290
Ursula Ledóchowska (1865–1939) was a Polish nun. She founded the Congregation of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus, whose mission is to proclaim the love of the Heart of Jesus, primarily through education and teaching, as well as service to the most needy and the wronged. She was canonized in 2003

(763533) Alabiano = 2012 EN6
García Alabiano (1549–1624) was a Spanish Jesuit theologian who taught at the University of Vilnius, where he served as its second rector from 1585 to 1592. After acting as adviser to cardinal Jurgis Radvila and returning to Spain following the cardinal’s death in Rome, he held two terms as rector of the College of the Immaculate Conception in Saragossa.

How do asteroids get their names?

The asteroid naming process is managed by the International Astronomical Union’s Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature.

When an asteroid is first discovered, it is given a ‘provisional designation’ based on the date of discovery. For the asteroid 2021 FE40, for example, ‘2021’ indicates the year of discovery. The letter ‘F’ indicates the half-month of discovery within that year. ‘A’ indicates the first half of January, ‘B’ indicates the second half of January, and so on, with the letter ‘I’ skipped to avoid confusion with the number 1. ‘F’, therefore, corresponds to the 6th half-month of the year – the second half of March.

‘E40’ indicates how many other asteroids had already been discovered during this half-month. The first 25 discoveries in a half-month receive the letters A—Z (the letter ‘I’ is again skipped). The next 25 are assigned A1—Z1, the next 25 receive A2—Z2, then A3—Z3 etc. 2021 FE40 was therefore the 1005th asteroid discovered in the second half of March 2021.

Once the asteroid’s orbit is well known and its future trajectory can be reliably predicted, it receives a permanent number. Roughly 850 000 of the 1.3 million known asteroids have received permanent numbers: (1) Ceres was the first to be numbered, while (810657) 2021 FE40 was the 810 657^th.

Once an asteroid has received its permanent number, its discoverers are invited to propose a name to replace the provisional designation. The proposed name is reviewed by the Working Group and must follow certain IAU guidelines. Names should be no longer than 16 characters and typically written as one word.

Asteroid names must be pronounceable in at least one recognised language, and they must not be offensive. The names of personal pets, commercial products, and recent political or military figures are generally not allowed.

Some classes or families of asteroid have naming traditions: Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids are named after figures associated with the Trojan War, for example, while the Centaur family of asteroids are named after mythological centaurs.

Once approved, the asteroid becomes known by its official name, written as ‘(number) Name’, like the recently named (763533) Alabiano.

Dal 22 al 26 giugno 2026, presso la Specola Vaticana, si terrà la Vatican Observatory Lectures on Quantum Gravity 2026, una scuola avanzata dedicata al tema “Domande aperte sulla Gravità Quantistica”. L’evento, organizzato da Padre Gabriele Gionti SJ e Don Matteo Galaverni, affronterà uno dei problemi più complessi della fisica moderna: capire come lo spazio e il tempo possano essere descritti in modo quantistico, come previsto dalla teoria della relatività generale.

Il programma prevede quattro corsi per un totale di 20 ore di lezione, tenuti da docenti di primo piano nel panorama internazionale: Sergio Cacciatori, Claus Kiefer, Pierpaolo Mastrolia e Roberto Percacci. Le lezioni esploreranno diversi approcci alla gravità quantistica, tra cui la gravità quantistica canonica, il problema del tempo, le ampiezze e la teoria dei campi efficace, nonché la gravità quantistica covariante.

La scuola è rivolta a dottorandi, postdoc e giovani ricercatori in matematica e fisica e favorirà un intenso confronto scientifico tra partecipanti e docenti. Le candidature sono aperte: è possibile iscriversi tramite il sistema Indico, entro il 15 aprile 2026, al seguente link: https://indico.global/event/16082