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The Vatican Observatory is an astronomical
research and educational institution at Castel Gandolfo.
Where did the Observatory establish a second research center in 1981?

   Cologne, Germany
   Hilo, Hawaii
   Tucson, Arizona
   Melbourne, Australia

Your answer was: Tucson, Arizona.
You are correct!!


Answer: The Vatican Observatory is an astronomical research and educational institution supported by the Holy See. In 1936 the smoke and sky-glow of the city had made it impossible to conduct useful observations in Rome. Pope Pius XI relocated the Observatory to Castel Gandolfo, which is 16 miles southeast of Rome.

In 1981, for the first time in its history, the Observatory established a second research center, the Vatican Observatory Research Group (VORG), in Tucson, Arizona, one of the world's largest and most modern centers for observational astronomy. The Observatory staff have offices at Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona. From here they have access to all of the modern telescopes located in the Tucson area.

CLICK HERE to view the interesting article on
'Vatican Observatory' on VaticanObservatory.va.


Aerogramme - Transfer of Vatican Observatory to Castel Gandolfo
50th Anniversary
A24 (1986)