Br. Robert Macke SJ
banner
brbobmackesj.bsky.social
Br. Robert Macke SJ
@brbobmackesj.bsky.social
Planetary Scientist/Maker/Meteorite Curator at Vatican Observatory
DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily represent the Vatican Observatory, the Jesuits, the Vatican, or the Catholic Church.
Ate at a restaurant I haven't been to in quite some time (half a year or more). The waitress started writing down my order before I even said anything. Am I predictable or what?
October 18, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Reposted by Br. Robert Macke SJ
#PPOD: The official names of asteroid 52246 Donaldjohanson’s surface features — as identified by the Southwest Research Institute-led Lucy Mission — have been approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Credit: NASA/SwRI/Goddard/JHUAPL 🧪 🔭
October 9, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Temporal context can affect interpretation of literature. Take for example William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984): “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.”
October 3, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Reposted by Br. Robert Macke SJ
Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno is retiring after 10 years as director of the Vatican Observatory. He leaves a legacy of bridging faith and science, teaching that humility and collaboration are key to discovery. Thank you, Brother Guy!
www.americamagazine.org/faithinfocus...
Five lessons learned as director of the Vatican Observatory
After a delightful 10 years in the post, Sept. 19 is my official retirement date as the director of the Vatican. As I depart, I thought I would pass along a few words of advice based on my experience.
www.americamagazine.org
September 17, 2025 at 7:35 AM
New toy (um, I mean valuable scientific instrument) in the lab.
September 13, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Totally didn't expect to take this photo today.
September 6, 2025 at 8:17 PM
I watch a fair amount of YouTube and so get inundated with YouTube ads. Today I just got an ad for the meteorites at the natural history museum at Abu Dhabi. Ludovic Ferriere, this is your fault! :)
July 31, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Reposted by Br. Robert Macke SJ
In its current issue, the NEW YORKER profiles the Director of the Vatican Observatory, Brother Guy Consolmagno.

Quoted: sage editor @pnh.nielsenhayden.com.

Mentioned: Emperor Domitian, @brbobmackesj.bsky.social, various Popes.

🔭🧪
Rebecca Mead visits the Vatican Observatory and spends time with the Pope’s astronomer, Guy Consolmagno, who oversees a team of scientists employed by the Holy See.
The Vatican Observatory Looks to the Heavens
It’s run by a Michigan-born Jesuit—and a meteorite expert—known as the Pope’s Astronomer.
www.newyorker.com
July 30, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Hello, I'm a scientist in a film. I will run one lab test, the results of which immediately appear in full 3D on my holographic display (complete with sound effects). I will take one glance at it and make a groundbreaking discovery. All before coffee.
Hello, I'm an author in a film. I will be seen doing anything but writing a book, because typing is boring. Then I will have a 30-second montage of clicking away at a keyboard, I will hand a ream of paper to my editor who will declare it to be genius and a week later I will be atop the NYT list.
Hello, I'm an attorney in a film. I have a pure and perfect knowledge of every area of practice in every jurisdiction. Nevertheless, I will be corrected by a plucky law school grad who just passed the bar. After some stubborn resistance, I will silently nod and take her under my wing.
July 29, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Another interesting find in the Specola guestbook.
July 26, 2025 at 7:07 AM
View from my front door this morning
July 20, 2025 at 9:37 AM
“Keyboard missing. Press any key to continue.”
I know I put the keyboard here somewhere…
July 16, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Reposted by Br. Robert Macke SJ
Today CBS SUNDAY MORNING ran a 5-minute story on the Vatican Observatory, highlighting the astrophysics Summer School at @specola.bsky.social, the old telescopes, and the meteorite collection.

Interviewees: @specolations.bsky.social & @brbobmackesj.bsky.social.

(Clip below has obligatory ads.)
Scanning the heavens at the Vatican Observatory
Perched in the hills outside Rome sits the Palace of Castel Gandolfo, the centuries-old lakeside summer home for popes, which is also home to the Vatican Observatory, established in 1891 to help bridg...
www.cbsnews.com
June 29, 2025 at 6:27 PM
VOSS visitors today included Sr. Raffaella Petrini FSE (President of the Vatican Governatorate), Fr. General Arturo Sosa SJ (General Superior of the Society of Jesus), Vatican Secretary General Giuseppe Pugliesi-Alibrandi, Fr. Delegate Johann Verschueren SJ* and Fr. Socius Gian-Giacomo Rotelli SJ*
June 25, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Summary of my encounter with Pope Leo XIV
June 24, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by Br. Robert Macke SJ
Astronomer Vera C. Rubin to appear on U.
Vera Rubin to be featured on 2025 U.S. Quarter - Vatican Observatory
Astronomer Vera C. Rubin to appear on U. S. Quarter as part of the American Women Quarters Program
www.vaticanobservatory.org
June 17, 2025 at 4:22 PM
As of today, I have been alive for 6 popes, have been in the same room (in close proximity) with four of them, and have personally met three of them. For the two odd ones out, they passed away before I was even aware that there was such a thing as a pope, let alone who they were.
June 16, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Not sure if this is “minor celebrity” or “minor interaction,” so I’ll assume the latter. There was that time I didn’t get interviewed by Morgan Freeman. He was scheduled but there was a big storm that day and he couldn’t make it. (We also lost power. )
Right folks. Feeling rather down at the moment so bringing back an oldie

Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
June 14, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Thanks to a visit from @larrynittler.bsky.social, I am rich! Much coinage! And I didn't even have to lose a tooth. Oh, and the design is pretty cool too. One of the founding faculty of the very first Vatican Observatory Summer School (1986).
June 13, 2025 at 5:10 PM
From this morning’s walk
May 10, 2025 at 6:50 AM