| George V. Coyne | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jan 19, 1933 USA Baltimore (Maryland) |
| Residence | USA Tucson (Arizona) |
| Fields | Astrophysics |
| Institutions | Vatican Observatory |
George V. Coyne, S.J. (born January 19, 1933) is a Jesuit priest, astronomer, and former director of the Vatican Observatory and head of the observatory’s research group which is based at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona.
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Professor Coyne completed his bachelor's degree in mathematics and his licentiate in philosophy at Fordham University, New York City, in 1958. He carried out a spectrophotometric study of the lunar surface for the completion of his doctorate in astronomy at Georgetown University in 1962. He spent the summer of 1963 doing research at Harvard University, the summer of 1964 as a National Science Foundation lecturer at the University of Scranton, and the summer of 1965 as visiting research professor at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (UA LPL).
A member of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) since the age of 18, he completed a licentiate in sacred theology at Woodstock College, Woodstock, Maryland, and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1965. Coyne was visiting assistant professor at the UA LPL in 1966-67 and 1968–69, and visiting astronomer at the Vatican Observatory in 1967-68.
Coyne joined the Vatican Observatory as an astronomer in 1969 and became an assistant professor at the LPL in 1970. In 1976 he became a senior research fellow at the LPL and a lecturer in the UA Department of Astronomy. The following year he served as Director of the UA's Catalina Observatory and as Associate Director of the LPL.
He became Director of the Vatican Observatory in 1978, and also Associate Director of the UA Steward Observatory. During 1979-80 he served as Acting Director and Head of the UA Steward Observatory and the Astronomy Department. As Director of the Vatican Observatory he has been a driving force in several new educational and research initiatives. He spends five months of the year in Tucson as adjunct professor in the University of Arizona Astronomy Department. Coyne was succeeded as Director of the Vatican Observatory by Fr. José Gabriel Funes in August 2006.[1]
Coyne's research interests have been in polarimetric studies of various subjects including the interstellar medium, stars with extended atmospheres and Seyfert galaxies, which are a class of spiral galaxies with very small and unusually bright star-like centers. Polarimetry studies can reveal the properties of cosmic dust and synchrotron radiation regions in galaxies and other astronomical objects. Most recently he has been studying the polarization produced in cataclysmic variables, or interacting binary star systems that give off sudden bursts of intense energy, and dust about young stars. He also has the asteroid 14429 Coyne, named for him.
He is an active member of the International Astronomical Union, the American Astronomical Society, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, the American Physical Society and the Optical Society of America.
| Author | Title | Journal/Book | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| COYNE G.V. and GEHRELS T. | Wavelength dependence of polarization. VIII. Interstellar polarization. | Astron. J., 71, 355-363 | 1966 |
| COYNE G.V. and GEHRELS T. | Wavelength dependence of polarization. X. Interstellar polarization. | Astron. J., 72, 887-898 | 1967 |
| COYNE G.V. and KRUSZEWSKI A. | Wavelength dependence of polarization. XI. Mu Cephei. | Astron. J., 73, 20-25 | 1968 |
| COYNE G.V. and KRUSZEWSKI A. | Wavelength dependence of polarization. XVII. Be-type stars. | Astron. J., 74, 528-532 | 1969 |
| COYNE G.V. and WICKRAMASINGHE N.C. | Wavelength dependence of polarization. XVIII. Interstellar polarization and composite interstellar particles. | Astron. J., 74, 1179–1190 | 1969 |
| COYNE G.V. | Mass exchange in beta Lyrae. | Astrophys. J., 161, 1011–1014 | 1970 |
| CAPPS R.W., COYNE G.V. and DYCK H.M. | A model for the observed polarized flux for zeta Tauri. | Astrophys. J., 184, 173-179 | 1973 |
| COYNE G.V. and SHAWL S.J. | Polarimetry of R Coronae Borealis at visual light minimum. | Astrophys. J., 186, 961-966 | 1973 |
| COYNE G.V. | Wavelength dependence of polarization. XXV. Rotation of the position angle by the interstellar medium. | Astron. J., 79, 565-580 | 1974 |
| COYNE G.V., GEHRELS T. and SERKOWSKI K. | Wavelength dependence of polarization. XXVI. The wavelength of maximum polarization as a characteristic parameter of interstellar grains. | Astron. J., 79, 581-589 | 1974 |
| COYNE G.V. | Polarimetric observations of R Coronae Borealis stars. | IAU Inform. Bull. Var. Stars, 914, 1-2 | 1974 |
| GEORGE V. and COYNE G.V. | Polarimetry in the emission lines of shell stars. | Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 169, part no 16, 7-11 | 1974 |
| COYNE G.V. | Intrinsic polarization of faint members of the Pleiades. | Mem. Soc. Astron. Ital., 45, 445-455 | 1974 |
| COYNE G.V., LEE T.A. and DE GRAEVE E. | A survey for H alpha emission objects in the Milky Way. | Vatican Obs. Publ., 1, 181-195 | 1974 |
| COYNE G.V. | Wavelength dependence of polarization. XXX. Intrinsic polarization in phi Persei. | Astron. J., 80, 702-710 | 1975 |
| COHEN M., ANDERSON C.M., COWLEY A., COYNE G.V., FAWLEY W., GULL T.R., HARLAN E.A., HERBIG G.H., HOLDEN F., HUDSON H.S., JAKOUBEK R.O., JOHNSON H.M., MERRILL K.M., SCHIFFER F.H., SOIFER B.T. and ZUCKERMAN B. | The peculiar object HD 44179 ("The Red Rectangle"). | Astrophys. J., 196, 179-189 | 1975 |
| COYNE G.V., WISNIEWSKI W. and CORBALLY C. | A survey for H alpha emission objects in the Milky Way. II Cygnus. | Vatican Obs. Publ., 1, 197-212 | 1975 |
| COYNE G.V. | Polarization in the emission lines of Be stars. | Astron. Astrophys., 49, 89-96 | 1976 |
| KRUSZEWSKI A. and COYNE G.V. | Wavelength dependence of polarization. XXXI. Cool stars. | Astron. J., 81, 641-649 | 1976 |
| COYNE G.V. and VRBA F.J. | Polarization from a dust ring surrounding the peculiar Be star HD 45677. | Astrophys. J., 207, 790-798 | 1976 |
| WISNIEWSKI W. and COYNE G.V. | A Survey for H alf emission objects in the Milky Way. III. Cyg. | Vatican Obs. Publ., 1, 225-236 | 1976 |
| WISNIEWSKI W. and COYNE G.V. | A Survey for H-alpha emission objects in the Milky Way. IV. Cyg. | Vatican Obs. Publ., 1, 245-256 | 1976 |
| COYNE G.V. and MAGALHAES A.M. | Wavelength dependence of polarization. XXXII. Narrow-band polarization effects in cool stars. | Astron. J., 82, 908-915 | 1977 |
| McLEAN I.S. and COYNE G.V. | Spectropolarimetry of omicron Ceti (Mira): discovery of polarized Balmer emission. | Astrophys. J., 226, L145-L148 | 1978 |
| COYNE G.V., WISNIEWSKI W. and OTTEN L.B. | A survey for Half emission objects in the Milky Way. V. Perseus. | Vatican Obs. Publ., 1, 257-265 | 1978 |
| COYNE G.V., TAPIA S. and VRBA F.J. | Wavelength dependence of polarization. XXXIII. The alpha Persei star cluster. | Astron. J., 84, 356-369 | 1979 |
| COYNE G.V. and MAGALHAES A.M. | Wavelength dependence of polarization. XXXVI. Changes in polarization across TiO bands in cool stars. | Astron. J., 84, 1200–1210 | 1979 |
| McLEAN I.S., COYNE G.V., FRECKER J.E. and SERKOWSKI K. | High-resolution polarization structure of hbet in Be shell stars measured with a new digicon spectropolarimeter. | Astrophys. J., 228, 802-808 | 1979 |
| McLEAN I.S., COYNE G.V., FRECKER J.E. and SERKOWSKI K. | Detection of polarization structure across the emission lines of the Wolf-Rayet star HD 50896. | Astrophys. J., 231, L141-L145 | 1979 |
| TOMASZEWSKI L., LANDSTREET J.D., McLEAN I.S. and COYNE G.V. | Spectropolarimetry of omicron Ceti around the 1978 maximum. | Astrophys. J., 238, 935-940 | 1980 |
| VRBA F.J., COYNE G.V. and TAPIA S. | Observations of grain and magnetic field properties of the R Coronae Australis dark cloud. | Astrophys. J., 243, 489-511 | 1981 |
| MacCONNELL D.J. and COYNE G.V. | A survey for H-alpha emission objects in the Milky Way. VI. Revised catalogue of part I-V. | Vatican Obs. Publ., 2, 63-72 | 1983 |
| COYNE G.V. and MacCONNELL D.J. | A survey for H-alpha emission objects in the Milky Way. VII. Final zones. | Vatican Obs. Publ., 2, 73 | 1983 |
| WHITE R.E., SHAWL S.J. and COYNE G.V. | Discovery of intrinsic polarization in the apparent light of globular cluster red giant stars. | Astron. J., 89, 480-486 | 1984 |
| ASPIN C., McLEAN I.S. and COYNE G.V. | CCD observations of bipolar nebulae. III. R Mon/NGC 2261. | Astron. Astrophys., 149, 158-166 | 1985 |
| MAGALHAES A.M., COYNE G.V., CODINA-LANDABERRY S.J. and GNEIDING C. | Polarimetric evidence for an evolving circumstellar cloud in L2 Puppis. | Astron. Astrophys., 154, 1-7 | 1986 |
| BOYLE R.P., ASPIN C., COYNE G.V. and McLEAN I.S. | CCD spectropolarimetry of a sample of cool variable stars. | Astron. Astrophys., 164, 310-320 | 1986 |
| MAGALHAES A.M., COYNE G.V. and BENEDETTI E.K. | Time-dependent spectropolarimetry of the red variable V CVn. | Astron. J., 91, 919-924 | 1986 |
| PIIROLA V., REIZ A. and COYNE G.V. | Five-colour (UBVRI) polarimetry of H 0139-68 = BL Hydri. | Astron. Astrophys., 185, 189-195 | 1987 |
| PIIROLA V., REIZ A. and COYNE G.V. | Simultaneous five-colour (UBVRI) polarimetry of EF Eri. | Astron. Astrophys., 186, 120-128 | 1987 |
| PIIROLA V., REIZ A. and COYNE G.V. | Simultaneous five color (UBVRI) polarimetry of EF Eri. | Astrophys. Space Sci., 130, 197-201 | 1987 |
| PIIROLA V., REIZ A. and COYNE G.V. | Simultaneous five color (UBVRI) polarimetry of VV Puppis. | Astrophys. Space Sci., 130, 203 | 1987 |
| MAGALHAES A.M. and COYNE G.V. | The circumstellar environment of L2 Puppis. | 122nd Symposium of the IAU held in Heidelberg, F.R.G., June 23–27, 1986 Ed. by I. Appenzeller and C. Jordan. Circumstellar matter, 122, 555-556 | 1987 |
| COYNE G.V., PIIROLA V. and REIZ A. | Simultaneous multicolor polarimetry of cataclysmic variables. | Bull. American Astron. Soc., 20, 1098 | 1988 |
| PIIROLA V., COYNE G.V. and REIZ A. | Simultaneous UBVRI polarimetry of VV Puppis during an active phase. | Astron. Astrophys., 235, 245-254 | 1990 |
| MINNITI D., COYNE G.V. and TAPIA S. | Interstellar polarization in the field of the globular cluster M 22. | Astron. Astrophys., 236, 371-377 | 1990 |
| PIIROLA V., COYNE G.V. and REIZ A. | Multicolour photopolarimetry of magnetic cataclysmic variables. | Astrophys. Space Sci., 169, 133 | 1990 |
| VRBA F.J., COYNE G.V. and TAPIA S. | Grain properties in the rho Ophiuchi dark cloud. | Bull. American Astron. Soc., 23, 1369 | 1991 |
| MINNITI D., COYNE G.V. and CLARIA J.J. | Linear polarization of stars in seven metal-poor globular clusters. | Astron. J., 103, 871-890 | 1992 |
| PIIROLA V., SCALTRITI F. and COYNE G.V. | Circumstellar disks deduced from sub-arcsecond polarization observations of two young stars. | Nature, 359, 399 | 1992 |
| SCALTRITI F., PIIROLA V., COYNE G.V., KOCH R.H., ELIAS N.M. and HOLENSTEIN B.D. | UBVRI linear and circular polarization of RS CVn type binaries. | Astron. Astrophys., Suppl. Ser., 102, 343-360 | 1993 |
| VRBA F.J., COYNE G.V. and TAPIA S. | An investigation of grain properties in the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud. | Astron. J., 105, 1010–1026 | 1993 |
| PIIROLA V., HAKALA P. and COYNE G.V. | The discovery of variable polarization over the 13.9 minute spin period of the intermediate polar RE 0751+14. | Astrophys. J., 410, L107-L110 | 1993 |
| PIIROLA V., COYNE G.V., TAKALO S.J., TAKALO L., LARSSON S. and VILHU | UBVRI polarimetry of AM Herculis-type binaries. V. The asynchronous (?) polar BY Camelopardalis (H0538+608). | Astron. Astrophys., 283, 163-174 | 1994 |
| RODRIGUES C.V., COYNE G.V. and MAGALHAES A.M. | Dust in the SMC: dust models from interstellar polarization and extinction data. | Bull. American Astron. Soc., 26, 1391–1392 | 1994 |
| RODRIGUES C.V., MAGALHAES A.M., COYNE G.V. and PIIROLA V. | Dust in the Small Magellanic Cloud: interstellar polarization and extinction. | Astrophys. J., 485, 618-637 | 1997 |
| PIIROLA V., BERDYUGIN A., MIKKOLA S. and COYNE G.V. | Polarimetric study of the massive interacting binary W Serpentis: discovery of high-latitude scattering spot/jet. | Astrophys. J., 632, 576-589 | 2005 |
| PIIROLA V., BERDYUGIN A., COYNE G.V., EFIMOV Y.S. and SHAKHOVSKOY N.M. | UBVRI polarimetry of the massive interacting binary SX Cassiopeiae: modeling the electron-scattering circumstellar envelope. | Astron. Astrophys., 454, 277-286 | 2006 |
Coyne has been a vocal opponent of intelligent design since at least August 2005, when his was published in The Tablet.[2] This opposition was further publicized in November 2005, when he was quoted by the ANSA news agency as saying "Intelligent design isn't science even though it pretends to be. If you want to teach it in schools, intelligent design should be taught when religion or cultural history is taught, not science."[3] He was also interviewed for the BBC documentary A War On Science where he criticised intelligent design as being unscientific,[4] and suggested that the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn was pressured by the think-tank the Discovery Institute to publish an article in the New York Times critical of evolution.[5]
Coyne has been forthright in criticizing the Church's lukewarm admission of responsibility for its prosecution of Galileo in the early seventeenth century.[6]
He retired from the position in 2006 and was replaced by the Argentinean astronomer José Gabriel Funes. As this followed closely Coyne's prominence in the debate over intelligent design, speculation arose that he was replaced due to his criticism of it and its supporters, particularly Cardinal Schönborn, a friend of Pope Benedict XVI.[7] During a 2008 interview with Richard Dawkins, Coyne praised a pre-publication version of a new book by Schönborn. Coyne summarizes the book as a distinction by Schönborn between evolution and "evolutionism", the latter of which extends evolution beyond the science and into reductionist judgements of human worth. Coyne states that the controversy would not have arisen had Schönborn shared those views before.[8]
In a statement to the Arizona Daily Star, Funes publicly rejected the idea that Coyne's retirement relates to his views on Intelligent Design.[9] Coyne himself has said the idea was "simply not true".[10]
Coyne was featured in the movie Religulous, by political commentator Bill Maher, commenting that all of the scriptures are written around/between 2000 BC and 200 AD, and modern science has only come into existence in the last couple hundred years, and thus the scriptures in no way contain any science and should not be taught as such.
Coyne was granted an honorary doctorate by Le Moyne College of Syracuse, NY, a Jesuit institution, on May 17, 2009 in recognition of "his tireless effort to promote an open dialogue between philosophy, theology, and the sciences" as part of his work "to bridge the gap between faith and science."[11]