Jesuit Guy Consolmagno, director of the Vatican Observatory, commented on the first images of the deep universe taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, saying they reveal God’s “amazing power” and “his love of beauty.”
“I am really excited about the new images from the Webb telescope! The images are beautiful, as everyone can see for themselves. It’s a tantalizing glimpse of what we can learn about the universe with this telescope in the future,” said Jesuit brother Guy Consolmagno, director of the Vatican Observatory since 2015, in a July 14 statement.
On Monday, July 11, NASA revealed the first full color images and the first scientific data from the James Webb Space Telescope, which is considered its most powerful space observatory ever built.
NASA images revealed thousands of galaxies in the deep universe, the deepest infrared image of the universe to date, cosmic precipices and glowing landscapes of star birth, the final spectacle of a dying star, the evolution of galaxies and holes blacks, and more.
For Consolmagno “such images are a necessary food for the human spirit”, since “we do not live on bread alone, especially in these times”.
“The science behind this telescope is our attempt to use our God-given intelligence to understand the logic of the universe. The universe wouldn’t work if it wasn’t logical”, explained the scientist.
He added: “As these images show, the universe is not only logical, it is also beautiful. This is God’s creation that is being revealed to us, and in it we can see both His amazing power and his love for beauty”.
Consolmagno said he is personally delighted with the success of the James Webb telescope because he is friends with many of the scientists who built the instruments and planned the observations.
“I know how long and hard they and their colleagues have worked to get this amazing machine up and running. It is a tribute to the power of the human spirit, what we can do when we work together“, said.
Finally, Consolmagno claimed to be “amazed and grateful that God has given us humans, His creation, the ability to see and understand what He has done”.
With roots dating back to 1582, Consolmagno’s Vatican Observatory is one of the oldest active astronomical observatories in the world. Its headquarters are in Castel Gandolfo, a town just outside of Rome and the location of the popes’ summer residence.
The Vatican Observatory also operates the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope, located in rural Arizona, about 200 miles southeast of Phoenix, USA.