astronomy
For the Maya, solar eclipses were a sign of heavenly clashes − and their astronomers kept sophisticated records to predict them
By Kimberly H. Breuer — April 3, 2024
(The Conversation) — The skies and the gods were inseparable in Maya culture. Astronomers kept careful track of events like eclipses in order to perform the renewal ceremonies to continue the world’s cycles of rebirth.
A volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island is sacred to spiritual practitioners and treasured by astronomers
By Audrey Mcavoy and Deepa Bharath — December 13, 2023
MAUNA KEA, Hawaii (AP) — Mauna Kea is a dormant 14,000-foot shield volcano. In Native Hawaiian lore, it is the first-born son of the sky father and earth mother.
Why winter solstice matters around the world: 4 essential reads
By Molly Jackson — December 21, 2022
(The Conversation) — The dead of winter, when the longest night of the year takes place, has also traditionally been celebrated as a time of renewal and reverence.
Earth: One of God’s failed experiments?
By Thomas Reese — January 5, 2022
(RNS) — God gives us every chance, but we may be blowing it.
Do you see what I see? Planetary alignment to create a ‘Christmas star’
By Emily McFarlan Miller — December 7, 2020
(RNS) — Astronomers have floated the idea that a similar conjunction of planets could be a scientific explanation for the star of Bethlehem in the Christmas story.
Signs and wonder: How people of different faiths view the total solar eclipse
By Emily McFarlan Miller — August 18, 2017
(RNS) — On Monday, a solar eclipse will darken skies across the United States, crossing from coast to coast for the first time since 1918. Some people of faith see it as a sign warning of God's judgment on America; others, as cause to wonder at the glory of God in creation.
Faith and the cosmos: An astrophysicist fields the big questions
By Lauren Markoe — July 13, 2017
(RNS) 'I have my own personal rule, which is I never, ever tell people what to believe. And I never, ever tell people they’re wrong,' says Paul M. Sutter, an astrophysicist who fields questions from the public — some of them religious — on the cosmos.
Vatican stargazers look for divine inspiration
By Josephine McKenna — May 24, 2017
(RNS) — 'The observatory exists to show the world that the Catholic Church supports science,' says Brother Guy Consolmagno, an astronomer from Detroit who is also the observatory’s director.
Pope urges scientists ‘never to fear truth’
By Josephine McKenna — May 12, 2017
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Francis sent a personal greeting to researchers discussing black holes, gravitational waves and assorted scientific questions at the Vatican Observatory.
New planets raise old questions
By Emily McFarlan Miller — March 6, 2017
(RNS) The discovery of seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a nearby dwarf star, Trappist-1, is raising lots of questions with religious implications.
The ‘Splainer: Is the star of Bethlehem for real?
By Kimberly Winston — December 22, 2015
(RNS) Was it "a star, a star dancing in the night," or was it something more dramatic, like a supernova or even a UFO? There is science behind the manger story. Let us ‘Splain ...
Meet the pope’s astronomer, who says he’d baptize an alien if given the chance
By David Gibson — December 3, 2014
NEW YORK (RNS) “The thing that really bothers me is the creeping fundamentalism among Catholics who think that they have to sacrifice their reason to follow God. And that is exactly the opposite of what God wants.”
Science, religion, humanism, STEM — and a child’s imagination
By Rachel Marie Stone — August 4, 2014
Science and the humanities -- including religion -- should not be pitted against each other in our kids' education.
Nick Sagan on ‘Cosmos,’ Carl, and his “strange childhood”
By Chris Stedman — March 16, 2014
Carl Sagan's son Nick talks with RNS about his father's impact, memories from his "strange" and "surreal" childhood, the new "Cosmos," and what it was like to record a greeting for potential extraterrestrials at six years old.
As Fox-TV re-creates ‘Cosmos’ series, Carl Sagan’s following grows
By Kimberly Winston — March 5, 2014
(RNS) Many atheists, agnostics and humanists credit Carl Sagan and his “Cosmos” TV series with instilling in them skepticism of the supernatural and a sense of wonder about the universe. Both, they say, encouraged their rejection of institutional religion.
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