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.