Stephen Freeland is an evolutionary biologist and director of interdisciplinary studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He studies the interface of science and religion and gave a joint lecture in exoplanets for the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion.

David Weintraub is a professor of astronomy at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and the author of Religions and Extraterrestrial Life: How Will We Deal With It?.

The Rev. Paul Gabor is a Catholic priest and vice director for the Vatican Observatory Research Group in Tucson, Ariz. He is a frequent contributor to the Vatican Observatory’s blog. Contact via Katie Bannan Steinke, development coordinator for VORG.

The Rev. James Kurzynski is a Catholic priest in the Diocese of LaCrosse, Wis., and a hobby astronomer. He writes frequently for the Vatican Observatory blog.

Brother Guy Consolmagno is a Jesuit and director of the the Vatican Observatory, as well as president of its foundation. He is a frequent commentator on religion and science and wrote the pamphlet “Intelligent Life in the Universe: Catholic belief and the search for extraterrestrial life.” The observatory is in Tucson, Ariz.

Marc Kaufman is a science writer and author of First Contact: Scientific Breakthroughs in the Hunt for Life Beyond Earth. He writes the blog “Many Worlds.”

The Rev. Thomas O’Meara is a Catholic priest and professor emeritus at Notre Dame University. He is the author of Vast Universe: Extraterrestrials and Christian Revelation.

Robert Lawrence Kuhn is an investment banker, public intellectual and the creator of “Closer to Truth,” a PBS television show, website and series of videos and podcasts that examine the “big questions” of existence. Contact via his Facebook page.

Jennifer Wiseman is an astronomer and director of the Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is also an astrophysicist and studies the formation of stars and planets.