(4597) Consolmagno


Consolmagno. Consolmagno? Where have I heard that name before? Oh, yeah! That's the Vatican Observatory guy, right? 

Right!!

Guy Consolmagno, according to Wikipedia, "is an American research astronomer, physicist, religious brother, director of the Vatican Observatory, and President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation."

He has quite the pedigree. Wikipedia says that he "attended the University of Detroit Jesuit High School before he obtained his S.B. (1974) and S.M. (1975) degrees at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. (1978) at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, all in planetary science."

You can look him up on Wikipedia yourself, but I'll add here that Wikipedia says, "Known as 'The Pope's Astronomer,' he was named by Pope Francis to be the Director of the Vatican Observatory in September 2015."

Oh, and one more thing from Wikipedia, "An asteroid was named in his honour by the International Astronomical Union, IAU in 2000 - 4597 Consolmagno."

And if you scroll down to his bibliography, you'll see "Turn Left at Orion (with Dan M. Davis, Cambridge University Press, 1989)."

Man! I forgot all about that! He co-authored the book, "Turn Left at Orion"! I have that book!

As one who hunts for supernovae and tracks down asteroids for a hobby, I naturally wanted to target (4597) Consolmagno. The picture at top from the other night is my offering with congratulations and warm regards to Brother Consolmagno, SJ! I don't know him at all, but I respect and appreciate his work and contributions to both professional and amateur astronomy.


The book, Turn Left at Orion, offers a unique experience in observing the night sky. On page 6, under the subheading, "Finding your way," the authors write, "Once you've got your telescope, where do you point it? Answering that question is what this book is all about." Thereafter, they show you how to find your way around the night sky, starting with the moon, then the planets, and finally, to the deep sky.

Rather than your typical star atlas that is all up to you to figure out, Turn Left at Orion is a virtual mentor that shows you how to see your targets starting from the big picture on the sky, then zooming in with your finderscope, and finally seeing them through the eyepiece of the main tube assembly. It's a low-pressure, casual walk through the stars, at your own leisurely pace, sorted out by time of year. 

Whether you're using a small refractor or an 8-inch Dobsonian, you'll find Turn Left at Orion to be a capable guide to viewing the night sky. I highly recommend it for backyard visual astronomy.


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