Ohio State planetarium to feature show on Catholic priest who suggested Big Bang theory

Oftentimes, science and faith may be seen as opposing forces, but a new planetarium show debuting this month at the Ohio State University Arne Slettebak Planetarium highlights the fact that one Catholic priest thought the opposite.

Belgian priest and astronomer Georges Lemaitre was the first to propose that the universe was created from a single point and then expanded to the size it is now and is still expanding to this day. This theory, developed by Lemaitre in 1927, is called the Big Bang theory and is accepted today as the leading theory of the evolution of the universe.

Lemaitre was younger than Albert Einstein, but the two knew one another and worked together. The priest proposed his theory using Einstein's theory of relativity and after studying American astronomers' work on the expanding universe, according to Britannica.

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Chris Orban, an associate professor of physics at Ohio State University's Marion campus, was fascinated by the intersection of faith and science here and created the 20-minute planetarium show about the late scientist that will show Sept. 8 and 9 at 7 p.m. Tickets are free and available to be reserved beginning Thursday at planetarium.osu.edu.

'Georges Lemaitre and the Discovery of the Expanding Universe' show coming to Ohio State University Arne Slettebak Planetarium

For the past six years, Orban has been working on the show, titled "Georges Lemaitre and the Discovery of the Expanding Universe," with funding in part from a Battelle endowment. It is the first show of its kind to feature Lemaitre, Orban said, and the first in-person show at Ohio State's planetarium since COVID-19 hit the state in March 2020.

"I thought it would be good and interesting and helpful to highlight how a person of faith was able to make important contributions to the development of Big Bang cosmology," Orban said. "It's not widely known in the United States that that happened."

He was motivated to create the show following a visit to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, which depicts the story of the biblical book of Genesis and God creating the Earth in six days as scientific fact. Orban said he was determined to show an alternate theory of how the universe was created, and, it turns out, he didn't have to look outside the realm of faith to do so.

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Studying Lemaitre has helped Orban navigate his beliefs in both faith and science. He grew up in a Baptist church and was troubled by feelings that his faith rejected large swaths of the science that fascinated him. He now identifies as a progressive Christian and worships at a local Methodist church.

"Faith is a mystery to me, but I know it's important," Orban said. "It's pleasing to me that I'll be able to connect sort of a whole sphere of people who are of faith to planetariums."

The show, he said, is "going to highlight an interesting moment where some of the world's best science is being done by a Catholic priest."

'There's not a lot of other shows like it'

Many scientists in history have believed in God, and some were and are priests, said professor Jonathan Lunine, chair of the department of astronomy at Cornell University.

Lunine helped to found the Society of Catholic Scientists in 2016, a lay organization that works to show the harmony between faith and science, including the history of that harmony.

"The most important lesson is belief in God; one's religious faith, (is) not relevant to the ability of somebody to accomplish enormous amounts in science," Lunine said.

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Lemaitre's views are concordant with Catholic teachings, Lunine said. In fact, in 2014, Pope Francis said that the Big Bang theory doesn't contradict the role of God. During Lemaitre's lifetime, in the early 1950s, then-Pope Pius XII also validated the theory.

The planetarium show includes a simulation of the Big Bang, meant to be a "God's-eye view of how the universe was expanding," created by Orban.

The program is meant for those interested not only in science, but in its history, Orban said.

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"There's not a lot of other shows like it," he said, adding that many planetarium programs are about current discoveries and the latest scientific knowledge. "This is about going back to an earlier time where things were a bit simpler. The question is, did the universe have a beginning? Is the universe finite? Is it infinite?"

After the show, Orban will present more information on the topic and answer audience questions.

"The plan is for other planetariums to be able to use it," Orban said. "My hope is that people across the country will see it, and it will spark conversations across the country."

dking@dispatch.com

@DanaeKing

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State planetarium show details priest's Big Bang theory discovery