The Vatican Observatory has named four asteroids after prominent figures in its history. These include Pope Leo XIII, who re-established the institution in 1891.
The newly named asteroids were discovered by a Vatican-operated telescope in Arizona.
The asteroid “Gioacchinopecchi” honors Pope Leo XIII, born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci, whose legacy is closely linked to the papal certificate of Pope Leo XIV.
According to the observatory, Leo XIII reestablished the Vatican Observatory after the loss of the Papal States and important astronomical facilities, notably the observatory of Father Angelo Secchi located above the Church of St. Ignatius in Rome.
Photographs of the Vatican from the early 20th century show the domes of the observatory’s telescopes atop the Vatican walls and the Tower of the Winds.
In the 1930s, because electric lighting made Rome’s night sky brighter, telescopes were moved to the Apostolic Palace of Castell Gandolfo, south of Rome, whose domes can still be seen from miles away.
Later increases in light pollution from Rome led to the construction of the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope, or VATT, on Mount Graham in Arizona in the 1990s.
1891 via motu proprio ut mysticumLeo XIII established the Vatican Observatory, stating that it would help show the world that the Church’s current and historical attitude toward “true and solid science” was to “embrace it, encourage it, and promote it with the greatest possible dedication”, contrary to what its critics claimed.
In particular, he emphasized that the observatory would help to promote “a most noble science which, more than any other human discipline, raises the sentiment of mortals to the contemplation of heavenly phenomena.”
Leo XIII is the third Pope to have an asteroid named after him. Gregory XIII has recognition of his role in the reform of the calendar, as does Benedict XVI, to whom “(8661) Ratzinger” is dedicated.
In addition to Pope Leo XIII, another asteroid is named “Lice” in honor of the Italian priest and astronomer Giuseppe Laice, who served as deputy director of the Vatican Observatory for 30 years. The asteroids were also named after Pietro Maffei, an Italian cardinal, Archbishop of Pisa, and astronomer, and André Berteau, a Belgian Jesuit priest, astronomer, and former director of the Vatican Observatory.
Asteroids receive a provisional designation at the time of discovery based on the date of observation and are managed by the Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union.
When an asteroid’s orbit is determined with sufficient accuracy and its future path can be reliably predicted, it is given a permanent number. Currently, about 850,000 of the approximately 1.3 million known asteroids have received a permanent number.
Only after receiving this number, the observatory noted, can the discoverers propose a definitive name to replace the provisional designation.
The proposed name is then examined by a working group and must follow specific guidelines. Once approved, the asteroid is known by its official name, written as “(number) name”.
this story was first published By ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language affiliate of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
