- Feb 5, 2002
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OSV News) — For those in the path of the April 8 astronomical event dubbed “the Great North American Eclipse” — the total solar eclipse that will occur when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, completely blocking the sun — glasses are a question of both practicality and safety. As NASA notes, “When watching the partial phases of the solar eclipse directly with your eyes … you must look through safe solar viewing glasses (‘eclipse glasses’) or a safe handheld viewer at all times.”
The total solar eclipse will be visible only along a slim corridor stretching from Texas to Maine, but a partial eclipse will be visible in other U.S. states. On average, NASA — which will hold a live online broadcast — says about 375 years elapse between the appearance of two total eclipses in the same place.
Father John Kartje — rector and president of the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Illinois, who also holds a doctorate in astrophysics from the University of Chicago — has been fielding a multitude of eclipse inquiries from fellow Catholics.
Those questions, he told OSV News, are sometimes informed by an underlying anxiety, “almost asking about, is there some portent to this or is this a sign — the way a question might have been asked centuries ago.”
Continued below.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
The total solar eclipse will be visible only along a slim corridor stretching from Texas to Maine, but a partial eclipse will be visible in other U.S. states. On average, NASA — which will hold a live online broadcast — says about 375 years elapse between the appearance of two total eclipses in the same place.
Father John Kartje — rector and president of the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Illinois, who also holds a doctorate in astrophysics from the University of Chicago — has been fielding a multitude of eclipse inquiries from fellow Catholics.
Those questions, he told OSV News, are sometimes informed by an underlying anxiety, “almost asking about, is there some portent to this or is this a sign — the way a question might have been asked centuries ago.”
An astrophysicist and priest discusses the eclipse
Continued below.
'Awe-inspiring' total solar eclipse offers chance 'to reflect on God's grandeur'
"As extraordinary as an eclipse is, it's simply the natural world behaving in the way the one and only God who created it set it up to behave," Father Kartje said. "But I think anything that can give us a little jaw-dropping awe and wonder to stop us in our tracks -- to quiet and silence the din...
www.oursundayvisitor.com
