Just a reminder for those of us on campus today, Monday, April 8, that you can celebrate the Total Solar Eclipse with the Jesuit Community.
At noon today, we will broadcast a one-hour webinar, “The Great American Eclipse: A Jesuit Conversation” sponsored by the Vatican Observatory and hosted by Rev. James Martin, SJ.
Yes, the Vatican has an observatory and, yes, it is staffed by Jesuit astronomers!
The webinar features Br. Guy Consolmagno, SJ, director of the Vatican Observatory and himself a planetary scientist, and historian Christopher Graney. They will discuss the history of the Jesuits in astronomy, the current work of the Vatican Observatory, and, of course, the eclipse.
If you are on campus and wish to view the webinar together, we will gather in Churchill Tower 207 at 11:45 a.m. Christopher Kennedy, executive director of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, is on campus for the eclipse and will introduce the webinar, which will begin at noon.
If you will not be on campus or wish to view the webinar on your computer, you can sign up for the link at https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/eclipse/
For the eclipse itself, Chris Kennedy and I will be hosting a table with some materials, goodies, and eclipse-themed music in front of Loyola Hall on the Quad from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (although the major part of the eclipse will be from 3:00 to 3:30). If you wish, and are able to do so, bring your eclipse glasses and perhaps a folding chair or blanket and join us. If you have any extra eclipse glasses, bring those, too, so we can share with anyone who does not have them. You won’t be able to view the eclipse without the appropriate glasses.
Wherever you will be on Monday, enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Submitted by: Sandy Estanek, interim vice president, Mission Integration
