May 6, 2014: On June first, the Vatican Observatory will open its fourteenth biennial
summer school in Observational Astronomy and Astrophysics at its headquarters in the
Papal Summer Gardens of Castel Gandolfo, outside Rome. This year’s topic is “Galaxies,
near and far, young and old.” “Galaxy formation and evolution is at the forefront
of modern astronomy research,” noted Fr. José Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory,
and himself an expert in galaxy observations. “New space and radio telescopes and
sophisticated numerical modeling are challenging our views of galaxies, young and
old.” Twenty five university and post-graduate students will be arriving from
twenty two nations, from Argentina to Thailand, to spend four weeks at the Vatican
Observatory. In addition, two seminarians who are also astronomers, from Italy and
Canada, will also participate in the school. The students will attend lectures and
work on projects related to their research. The final enrollment includes participants
from every continent (including three from Africa, six from South America, and eight
from Asia), and an almost even split of 13 men, 12 women.