DETROIT – The co-author of the book, “Would you Baptize An Extraterrestrial?” Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ, a native of Detroit, will appear Saturday April 9 on the Internet Advisor radio show on WJR 760 AM to talk about his new job as Pope Francis’ Astronomer.
The “Catholic Astronomer,” will be on the show at 4 p.m. to discuss his role as director of the Vatican Observatory and president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. He was appointed to both positions in September 2015 by the Pope. The phone lines will be open for questions at 800-859-0957.
“The pope’s astronomer, Brother Guy Consolmagno, returns home for a visit with Internet Advisor this Sat. at 4 pm,” said Internet Advisor Producer and Co-Host Foster Braun. “Besides tackling thorny theological issues like whether to baptize an alien, Brother Guy is an internationally recognized authority on asteroids, the alleged means of extinction for the dinosaurs. Might be wise to keep an eye on the sky with Guy. Don’t miss this unique interview on the Internet Advisor this Saturday.”
At the Vatican Observatory since 1993, Brother Guy’s research explores connections between meteorites, asteroids, and the evolution of small solar system bodies, observing Kuiper Belt comets with the Vatican’s 1.8 meter telescope in Arizona, and applying his measure of meteorite physical properties to understanding 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 most recently, “Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial?” (with Father Paul Mueller, SJ). Brother Guy also has hosted science programs for BBC Radio 4, been interviewed in numerous documentary films, appeared on “The Colbert Report,” and for 10 years has written a monthly science column for the British Catholic magazine, The Tablet.
He attended Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic School, in Beverly Hills, from the first through eighth grade, graduating in 1966. Subsequently, he graduated from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School, in 1970. He earned undergraduate and masters’ degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a doctorate in Planetary Science, from the University of Arizona. Brother Guy was a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard and MIT, served in the U.S. Peace Corps (Kenya), and taught university physics at Lafayette College before entering the Society of Jesus, in 1989.
His work has taken him to every continent on earth. For example, in 1996 he spent six weeks collecting meteorites with a NASA team on the blue ice regions of East Antarctica. He has served on the governing boards of the Meteoritical Society; the American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences (of which he was chair in 2006-2007); and the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Commission 16 (Planets and Satellites). In 2000, the small bodies nomenclature committee of the IAU named an 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. He is the first cleric to receive this honor.
He regularly writes for the Vatican Observatory Foundation’s blog, “The Catholic Astronomer” http://www.vofoundation.org/blog/
The Internet Advisor airs each Saturday from 4-6 pm. You can learn more about the show, and listen to show archives, by clicking on http://internetadvisor.net/
On April 12, Brother Guy will visit his alma mater, Our Lady Queen Of Martyrs Catholic School, where he graduated in 1966. He will be there from 9 to 11:15 a.m.
