Richard D'Souza (43), who made headlines for a study on the "long-long sibling" of our galaxy, the Milky Way, is to speak on Wednesday night at an online event in Goa. D'Souza, a Goan Jesuit priest, is part of the prestigious Vatican Observatory in Rome and has been doing his post-doctoral research at the University of Michigan.
In December 2018, the Indian media headlined his work. The Week magazine wrote: "Meet [the] Indian Catholic priest leading [a] study on [the] Milky Way's 'sibling' galaxy". The Times of India wrote of "the Goa native", "Fr Richard D'Souza SJ is not a typical scientist that one would hear about. To start with, he is an ordained Catholic priest with the Jesuit Mission." The astronomer-priest, in the first major event to be held in Goa, will speak at two online events on Wed June 16, and Thu June 17, between 9 pm and 10 pm at night. Registrations can be done via www.collaborativelearningcafe.org During the talk, the priest-astronomer will discuss questions of how big the Universe is, how did it originate, what is its future, and are we alone in the Universe. Last month itself, the Vatican Observatory tweeted the news that Goa's little-noticed but rising-star in astronomy had been "granted time on the Hubble Space Telescope to observe galaxies relevant to his theoretical research on galaxy collisions and evolution." The Hubble Space Telescope (HST or Hubble) is a was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and is one of the largest and most versatile, renowned as a vital research tool and as a public relations boon for astronomy. "Fr Richard D'Souza will highlight and explain in a simple way some key ideas about our Universe," organisers of the event said. The event is free and open, subject to availability of seats, but registration is necessary. D'Souza has his family roots in Poona and Kuwait, but studied at the Jesuit school in Mapusa, St Britto, besides at the also Jesuit-run St Xavier's in Mumbai, apart from overseas. Teachers in Goa have been impressed by what he has achieved at the global level. This event is being organised by the Friends of the Jesuits of the Goa Province, which has launched the CLC to promote career information, lifelong learning and hobby courses to all. Its talks on entrance to the IAS and another course of an Introduction to Konkani by Dr (Fr) Pratap Naik SJ have been very well received. See links at: Meet Richard D'Souza, the Indian priest-astronomer who discovered the long lost sibling of the Milky Way https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/meet-richard-d-souza-the-indian-priest-astronomer-who-discovered-long-lost-sibling-of-milky-way-350286.html Meet Indian Catholic priest leading study on Milky Way's 'sibling' galaxy https://www.theweek.in/news/sci-tech/2018/07/25/indian-catholic-priest-milky-way-sibling-galaxy.html Vatican observatory where priests are also astrophysicists https://www.bbc.com/news/av/magazine-31051635
