Speaker: Mr. James Renn, Member of the Vatican Observatory Foundation Board of Directors, Staff at the Walker Star Barn Planetarium in Cave Creek.
Topic: “The Vatican Observatory and the Big Bang”: The presentation begins with a short history of the legacy of the Vatican Observatory, which dates to 1582. It identifies notable members connected to the Observatory, beginning with Christopher Clavius and the 1582 calendar reform, The talk refers to the trial of Galileo as an example of conflict between faith and science, and mentions Angelo Secchi, a founding father of astrophysics. The lecture then discusses Fr. George LeMaitre, who used Einsteins equations to propose a theory of the origin of the Universe we now call “The Big Bang”. This is followed by a short overview of the present state of the Universe and how how the name “Big Bang” was coined by Professor Fred Hoyle in 1949. Finally, the presenter discusses philosophical concepts that personal at the Vatican encounter when they discuss the evolution of the Universe.