The “Vatican Observatory Summer School 2025” (VOSS 2025) has officially begun, hosting 24 brilliant young astronomers from around the world. The students, representing 22 countries, were welcomed on the evening of June 1 with a welcome dinner and began classes the following morning at the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo. From June 1 to 27, they will attend lectures given by some of the world’s leading experts in astronomy, work on projects related to their research, and participate in field trips and excursions (Subiaco, Florence, Orvieto, Ostia Antica).

The theme of this year’s Summer School – the nineteenth since its inception in 1986 – is “Exploring the Universe with the James Webb Space Telescope: The First Three Years.” The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was launched on Christmas Day 2021. Since it began publishing data in July of the following year, it has revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos. This year’s Summer School will provide a comprehensive overview of JWST’s major achievements in its first three years (2022–2025), divided into four key areas: 1) Primordial Light and Reionization; 2) Galaxy Formation and Evolution; 3) Star Birth and Protoplanetary Systems; and 4) Planetary Systems and the Origin of Life. Since these topics are closely related to much of the research the students are currently working on, the summer school offers a series of hands-on exercises on JWST data processing and analysis.

Building a Community and Promoting Astronomy

The summer school is led by Dr. Eiichi Egami (University of Arizona), a JWST/NIRCam member. In his opening remarks, Egami, a 1990 summer school alumnus, emphasized that a groundbreaking project like JWST occurs only once in a century. “We are living in a very special time for astronomy,” he observed. He also emphasized that the purpose of the summer school is not only to update students on the latest astronomical discoveries, but also to build a community and promote collaboration among the next generations of astronomers.

Other faculty members include Brother Guy Consolmagno, S.J., Director of the Vatican Observatory, and Father David Brown, S.J., who serves as Dean for this year’s program; Almudena Alonso-Herrero of the Madrid Astrobiology Center, JWST MIRI team; Tom Greene (IPAC/Caltech, USA, JWST/NIRCam, and MIRI teams); Roberto Maiolino (University of Cambridge, JWST/NIRSpec team); Maria Drozdovskaya (Physical Meteorological Observatory Davos and World Meteorological Center – PMOD/WRC, CH). In addition to the faculty members, the summer school will also host several guest lecturers and instructors for data analysis and processing.

More than 400 students have attended the summer school

The summer school was established in 1986 as part of the Vatican Observatory’s commitment to astronomical research and education, particularly in creating professional opportunities for young scientists. Since then, more than 400 students have completed the program and made significant contributions in their respective fields of research. Participation is free of charge, thanks to the support of generous benefactors through the Vatican Observatory Foundation. Participants in this edition come from Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Italy, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Morocco, Poland, Peru, New Zealand, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, the United States, and Uruguay.