Skip to content
Vatican Observatory
  • About
    • Overview
    • Team
    • FAQ
  • Telescopes
    • Overview
    • Telescope Images
  • Tours
    • Castel Gandolfo
    • U.S.
  • Latest
    • Overview
    • Resources
    • Press
    • Audio
    • Video
    • Research
    • Authors
      • FAQs
    • Newsletter
    • Tucson Meteor Cameras
  • Podcast
  • Education
    • Overview
    • Resource Center
    • Image Gallery
    • Summer School
    • Books
    • Software
    • Additional Resources
    • ACME
  • Shop
  • Calendar
    • View our Event Calendar
  • Donate
    • Donate Now
    • Smart Ways to Give
    • Sacred Space Astronomy
      • View Content
    • Bequests / Trusts
    • The Foundation
      • Newsletters
      • Annual Reports
  • Press
    • VO in the News
    • Press Kit
  • Specola Vaticana
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • About
      • Overview
      • Team
      • FAQ
    • Telescopes
      • Overview
      • Telescope Images
    • Tours
      • Castel Gandolfo
      • U.S.
    • Latest
      • Overview
      • Resources
      • Press
      • Audio
      • Video
      • Research
      • Authors
        • FAQs
      • Newsletter
      • Tucson Meteor Cameras
    • Podcast
    • Education
      • Overview
      • Resource Center
      • Image Gallery
      • Summer School
      • Books
      • Software
      • Additional Resources
      • ACME
    • Shop
    • Calendar
      • View our Event Calendar
    • Donate
      • Donate Now
      • Smart Ways to Give
      • Sacred Space Astronomy
        • View Content
      • Bequests / Trusts
      • The Foundation
        • Newsletters
        • Annual Reports
    • Press
      • VO in the News
      • Press Kit
    • Specola Vaticana
    • Contact
      • Contact

Stupid Astronomer Tricks #15: The importance of good optics

By Br. Guy Consolmagno  |  27 Jan 2020

Share:
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email

This entry is part [part not set] of 18 in the series Stupid astronomer

We’re running a membership drive this month – our goal is 150 new members – and as a part of it we’re including this blatant clickbait series… Besides, it’s a chance to tell some of the funny stories that come up during cloudy nights at the VATT!

The old astronomer tells the tale… We described yesterday the absorption tube that once upon a time ran the length of the Lunar Lab… a meter wide, several hundred meters long, filled with the sorts of gases that might be found in the atmosphere of Jupiter… scary stuff like phosphine, silane, hydrogen sulfide, not to mention various wicked organics that people like Carl Sagan touted as evidence of life but which were, in fact, quite toxic to most life.

What chemicals make all the colors that the Juno spacecraft has seen in the clouds of Jupiter. Ummm… maybe you don’t want to know. (NASA Juno image via cnn.com)

How did the residents of this building feel about sharing their space with several hundred cubic meters of this nasty stuff? Nobody talked about it… though it’s notable that the floor with the tube was otherwise used for the offices of graduate students and untenured faculty. (The tube was encased by wooden panels; enterprising grad students put sleeping bags on top of the enclosed tube, making use of what was otherwise unusable space.)

One day, one of the untenured faculty stepped out of his office across the hallway from the spectra lab, only to find the professor in charge of the lab standing in the hallway, peering into his lab. With a pair of binoculars.

“What are you doing?” asked the young prof.

“Checking the pressure gauge to see if it is safe to go into the lab,” replied the senior researcher.

(A chamber containing hot gases representing Jupiter’s interior, at the relevant high temperature and high pressure, is located on the roof of the space science building at Georgia Tech. It’s used by the principle investigator for the microwave telescope of NASA’s Juno mission orbiting Jupiter. It is outdoors, housed only by a canvas tent. “If it explodes?” I asked him. “Not if, but when…” he replied.)

Why should you click on our donate button and help support our site? Your money supports the work of the Vatican Observatory, including our research, our telescope, our biennial summer schools, our educational outreach… and our mission to serve as a living sign of how science and religion are not enemies but work together without preconceptions in search of the truth. About a third of our budget comes from donations. And rather than just being at the mercy of one or two big donors or foundations, we want to show that our mission has a broader appeal. So we’re asking for lots of people willing to send us $10 a month as a sign that they support our mission..and enjoy reading our stories. Can you join us?

Share:
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email

Sacred Space Astronomy

The Vatican Observatory’s official digital community and online magazine.

Become a Member

Recent Posts

Ellerman Bomb

11 May 2025  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

AI and the Vatican Observatory: Looking GOOD!

By Mr. Christopher Graney  |  10 May 2025  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

ⓜ Full Moon-th Meetup with Bob Trembley – May 12, 2025

By Robert Trembley  |  9 May 2025  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

How to Pray with the Stars with Br. Guy Consolmagno, SJ – AMDG Podcast

By Robert Trembley  |  7 May 2025  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

Archives

      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • August
      • June
      • March
      • January
      • November
      • October
      • December
      • November
      • April
      • May
      • January
      • December
      • September
      • May
      • March
      • December
      • November
      • February

Newsletter

Upcoming astronomical events, scientific breakthroughs, philosophical reflections… just a few reasons to subscribe to our newsletter!

Vatican Observatory
  • About
  • Telescopes
  • Tours
  • Latest
  • Podcast
  • Education
  • Shop
  • Calendar
  • Donate
  • Press
  • Specola Vaticana
  • Contact
Privacy Policy  |   Cookie Policy  |   Disclosure Statement  |   This website is supported by the Vatican Observatory Foundation

Podcast:

  • Apple Podcasts Listen onApple Podcasts
  • Spotify Listen onSpotify
  • Google Podcasts Listen onGoogle Podcasts
  • Stitcher Listen onStitcher
  • Amazon Alexa Listen onAmazon Alexa
  • TuneIn Listen onTuneIn
Made by Longbeard

Notifications