A total of 8 students from different Ibero-American countries selected from more than 170 applicants will participate in the summer school of the Vatican Astronomical Observatory.
The countries they come from are Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay and they will share the experience with colleagues from Germany, Austria, Canada, China, Egypt, Greece, India, Italy, Lithuania, Morocco, New Zealand, Poland , Slovenia, Spain and the United States.
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The Vatican Astronomical Observatory summer school has been recruiting students from all over the world since 1986 and the majority of its participants come from developing countries.
As reported by the Holy See Press Office, “admission does not take into account financial need, since tuition is free and donors, through the Vatican Observatory Foundation, provide additional financial assistance for travel and accommodation.” .
In this 19th edition, the 25 students from 21 nations will explore the universe next June with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWTS) from the Papal Summer Gardens in Castel Gandolfo, just outside Rome .
Throughout the planned program, a global vision of the main results of the JWTS in its first three years of activity (2022-2025) will be presented, framed in four areas of specialized knowledge: First light and reionization; galaxy assembly and evolution; birth of stars and protoplanetary systems; and planetary systems and the origin of life.
Among the teaching staff of this summer school are the Jesuits Guy Consolmagno and David Brown, director and dean of the Vatican Observatory respectively, and the former students of the summer school Roberto Maiolino and Almudena Alonso-Herrero.
Since the launch of this program, more than 450 students have been able to enjoy the experience, of which 85% are dedicated to Astronomy professionally.
Dr. Alonso-Herrero emphasizes that attending the Vatican Astronomical Observatory summer school “has been one of the best experiences of my life, not only from the point of view of learning, but it has also allowed me to make friends and colleagues for life.”
During the four weeks of the summer course, students could have the opportunity to meet Pope Francis in an audience.
Nicholas de Cardenas
Born in 1980, I am a Spanish husband and father and journalist with more than 20 years of experience in print and digital media, specializing in sociopolitical and religious information. I have worked for more than 10 years in defense of human rights and have accreditations in Journalism and Comprehensive Communication. Since July 2022, I have been a correspondent for ACI Prensa and EWTN Noticias in Spain, covering international events of the Catholic Church.