(January 19, 1933 – February 11, 2020) was an American Jesuit priest and astronomer who directed the Vatican Observatory and headed its research group at the University of Arizona from 1978 to 2020.

His career was dedicated to the reconciliation of theology and science, while his stance on scripture was absolute: "One thing the Bible is not," he said in 1994, "is a scientific textbook.

He entered the Jesuit novitiate in Wernersville, Pennsylvania, after attending Loyola High School in Blakefield, Maryland, on scholarship and graduating in 1951.

He recruited young astronomers worldwide and established a program for non-resident adjunct appointments that allowed women to participate.

Women accounted for almost half the participants in the biennial Vatican Observatory Summer School he established for astronomy graduate students.

In the 1990s he organized conferences at the Observatory's headquarters in Castel Gandolfo, including one titled "God's Action in the Universe" sponsored jointly with the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences of Berkeley, California.

"[2] In 2002, he co-authored with Alessandro Omizzolo, a priest-astronomer on the staff of the Observatory, Wayfarers in the Cosmos: The Human Quest for Meaning.

In August 2005, he sharply critiqued an op-ed column in which Cardinal Christoph Schönborn appeared to question that position.

Polarimetry studies can reveal the properties of cosmic dust and synchrotron radiation regions in galaxies and other astronomical objects.

Coyne's tenure at the Vatican Observatory ended with the appointment of Argentine astronomer José Gabriel Funes to succeed him on August 19, 2006.

[12] In retirement, Coyne discussed that he did not, and other Christians should not, have problems reconciling his faith in Christ with contemporary scientific topics.

It presents itself as science, and it's not.In 2015 Coyne applauded Pope Francis for discussing the importance of caring for the environment and addressing the need for Christians to tackle the issue of climate change caused by human activity.