Student Astronomy Club Members to Witness Super Blue Moon Total Eclipse
MIAMI— Students in the Belen Jesuit Astronomy Club will have the unique opportunity to watch the Super Blue Moon Total Eclipse on Wednesday, January 31st from the school’s Fr. Benito Vieñes, SJ Observatory.
Participating students will gather on the rooftop beginning at 4 a.m., along with astronomer enthusiast Jesuit Father Pedro Cartaya and Astronomer Dan Del Rio. The Blue Moon – the second of two full moons in one calendar month – will pass right through the Earth's shadow, to stage a total eclipse of the moon during the nighttime hours on January 31. The Blue Moon occurs every 2.5 years.
Unlike for the solar eclipse, no special viewing glasses are needed. The observatory will open at 4 a.m. and will have three telescopes for viewing: our 12.5 inch dobsonian, 9.5 inch Cassegrain reflector and 14.5 inch Cassegrain reflector, which will be transmitting live video to our HD plasma screen.
** This viewing is NOT open to the public. Media are welcome. Please contact Belen Jesuit’s Director of Communications Teresa Martinez if you are interested in covering this event at 786-621-4173. **
“This lunar eclipse provides our students with a unique opportunity to utilize the observatory,” said Mr. Jose E. Roca, Principal. “Although the umbra eclipse, which we will be able to view, will be very dim, the super moon will look brighter and closer. What makes this event interesting is that all three events will be occurring at the same time – lunar eclipse, super moon, and blue moon. As if that wasn’t enough, Jupiter, Mars and possibly Saturn, will be very close to the horizon, and will be visible early that morning. This will surely be an unforgettable experience for those attending.”
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the School property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit sits on a 30-acre site in western Dade County, only minutes away from downtown Miami.