LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Astronomer: Comets
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Consolmagno, a Jesuit brother for the past ten years, has spent 25 years as an astronomer. He is now at the Vatican Observatory, where he curates one of the largest meteorite collections in the world. Consolmagno's book is an uneven mix of memoir, science, and religion; four large sections cover meteorites and comets, the perceived rift between science and theology, his life's path leading up to the decision to join the Jesuits, and his recent participation in a scientific mission to the Antarctic. The threads connecting these disparate topics are clear, deft writing and a mind at home with science and faith. However the four sections, while interesting in themselves (the last one on Antarctica is especially wonderful), do not make a cohesive whole. In addition, parts of the text were conference presentations or previously published articles, adding to the book's cut-and-paste feel.
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Gerard P. Kuiper was a Dutch-American astronomer who who predicted the existence of the Kuiper belt in 1951. The Kuiper belt is a region beyond Neptune in which at least 70,000 small objects orbit. This belt is located from 30 to 50 (?) A.U.'s and was discovered in 1992. It is a region where the planet-building process was stopped in before any large objects were formed; there are only primitive remnants from the early accretion disk of the solar system, 4.5 billion years ago. The Kuiper belt may be the source of the short-period comets (like Halley's comet).
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THE Mackenzie Country skies have provided a shining success for astronomer Alan Gilmore. The University of Canterbury's Mt John Observatory resident superintendent now has a comet in his name following a recent discovery. Mr Gilmore said while it was not that uncommon to discover a comet, it was a nice feeling.
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