Vatican astronomer discusses discovery of Kepler-452b

July 27, 2015

Father José Gabriel Funes, the director of the Vatican Observatory, said he was "very skeptical" that the discovery of Kepler-452b will lead to an encounter with extraterrestrial life in the near future.

Writing in the Vatican newspaper, the priest reviewed the positions of St. Albert the Great, Nicholas of Cusa, and others on the possibility of extraterrestrial life and said that Jesuit Father Angelo Secchi, a pioneer in astrophysics, thought that there were other inhabited worlds.

"It seems that the vast majority of stars in our galaxy ... at least potentially can have planets where life could develop," Father Funes added.

 

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Further information:

• Solo noi nell’universo? (L'Osservatore Romano, p. 5)
• Kepler-452b (Wikipedia)