Father José G. Funes, S.J., former Director of the Vatican Observatory has gotten an asteroid named after him!
IAU Citation
(824655) Funes = 2017 DG71
Discovery: 2012-11-24 / K. Černis, R. P. Boyle / Mount Graham / 290
José G. Funes, S.J. (b. 1963), Argentine Jesuit, served as Director of the Vatican Observatory (2006–2015). An expert in extragalactic research, focusing on galaxy formation and stellar evolution. José oversaw the Observatory’s HQ relocation from the Apostolic palace to its new premises and championed multidisciplinary faith-science outreach.
Source: https://www.wgsbn-iau.org/files/Bulletins/V006/WGSBNBull_V006_003.pdf
About Fr. José G. Funes, S.J.
Father José Gabriel Funes, S.J. (born January 31, 1963) is an Argentine Jesuit priest and astronomer. He was the Director of the Vatican Observatory from August 19, 2006, until September 18, 2015, when he was succeeded by Brother Guy Consolmagno, S.J. Funes serves on the Advisory Council of METI (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence).
Funes specializes in extragalactic astronomy. His field of research includes the kinematics and dynamics of disk galaxies, and star formation in nearby galaxies. He studied kinematic properties of the ionized-gas component in their inner regions of disk galaxies for his doctoral thesis.
Fr. Funes on the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
Fr. Funes on Wikipedia
Asteroid (824655) Funes’ Orbit
Asteroid (824655) Funes is a main-belt asteroid with an orbital period of 3.77 years, and an inclination of 1.57 degrees.
JPL Small Body Database: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=Funes
Asteroids Named for Jesuits
Br. Bob Macke, S.J., Curator of Meteorites at the Vatican Observatory in Rome, maintains a graphic showing an ever-growing list of Jesuits who have asteroids named after them – he’s quickly running run out of room!
About the Asteroid Discoverers
Dr. Kazimieras Černis
(born November 11, 1958, Vilnius) is a Lithuanian astronomer and astrophysicist, active member of the IAU, and a prolific discoverer of minor planets and comets. He is a chief researcher at the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy (ITPA).
In 2012, he discovered 420356 Praamzius, a trans-Neptunian object and dwarf planet candidate. – Wikipedia
In IAU WGSBN Bulletin V004_006, there were six named asteroids with Černis listed as the discoverer, including (191775) Poczobut.
Rev. Richard P. Boyle, S.J.
Rev. Boyle specializes in observational astronomy, in studies of stellar populations in Milky Way Galaxy star clusters and in research of the atmospheres of giant red stars. By making observations at VATT he collaborates with astronomers pursuing research on various objects like brown dwarfs, sdB stars for astroseismology, and discovery of solar system asteroids.
Posts About Jesuit Asteroids
-
Pope Leo XIII Gets an Asteroid Named After Him!
Pope Leo XIII, was responsible for the re-establishment and reform of the Vatican Observatory in 1891, gets an asteroid named after him!
-
Father José G. Funes, S.J. Gets an Asteroid Named After Him!
Father José G. Funes, SJ, former Director of the Vatican Observatory gets an asteroid named after him!
-
Rev. Pavel Gabor, S.J. Gets An Asteroid Named For Him!
Rev. Pavel Gabor, SJ, Vice Director of the Vatican Observatory Gets An Asteroid Named After Him!
-
Spanish Jesuit Astronomer Luis Rodés Campdera Gets an Asteroid Named for Him
Fr. Luis Rodés Campdera, SJ, director of the Ebro Observatory, gets an asteroid named after him.
-
Jesuit Priest Józef Andrasz Gets An Asteroid Named For Him!
IAU Citation (722063) Andrasz = 2005 CO83Discovery: 2013-05-03 / K. Černis, R. P. Boyle / Mount Graham / 290Józef Andrasz (1891–1963) was a Polish Jesuit…
