Included in the very first set of images released in 2022 from the magnificent Webb Telescope is one that was surely familiar to the many fans of the Christmastime movie, "It’s a Wonderful Life." In 1946, director Frank Capra used a special effect based on an image of the galaxy cluster called "Stephan’s Quintet" to portray the Heavenly dialog concerning one George Bailey on his crucial night. There’s an interesting bit of history as to how the image found its way to Capra’s attention, and we’ll explore what it contributes to the No. 1 movie on the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 most inspiring films of all time.
Rev. David Ross is a retired minister of the East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church, a longtime amateur astronomer and a volunteer at Camp Wanake in Beach City. Passionate about helping people explore the wonders of creation, he helped establish the camp’s observatory and telescope, which was dedicated in memory of Rev. Susan Brown and installed in 2024. Today, the observatory is a valued part of the camp’s summer and retreat programming.
His presentation about Stephan’s Quintet grew from a 2019 article he contributed to the Griffith Observer, the newsletter of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. That same year, he became a featured speaker at the It’s a Wonderful Life Museum Festival in Seneca Falls, New York, where he explored the theory that Stephan’s Quintet inspired Capra’s depiction of heaven. Ross hopes to return for the museum’s 80th Anniversary Festival this December, when a new theater featuring a celestial-themed ceiling inspired by Stephan’s Quintet will debut.
Ross served congregations throughout the Stark County area alongside his clergy spouse, Barbara Ross. Both are graduates of Hiram College and Vanderbilt University Divinity School.
