Florida Catholic | Stargazing And Hurricane Watching

Stargazing and hurricane watching

Belen Jesuit Prep’s astronomical observatory turns 150 years old.

YÉDICA LEAL | SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA CATHOLIC

Published: 04.11.08

Jesuit Father Pedro Cartaya descends the stairs which lead to a 12-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, a key piece of Belen Jesuit Prep's unique astronomical and meteorological observatory. The observatory dates back 150 years, to the original Colegio de Belen in Havana, Cuba.
YÉDICA LEAL | LA VOZ CATOLICA

MIAMI | Every year during hurricane season, south Florida residents keep watch by their television sets, attentive to the latest meteorological advisory.

Residents of Havana did the same thing in 1858, but instead of turning on their televisions, they opened their newspapers to read the meteorological advisories issued by Jesuit priests from the observatory of Colegio de Belén.

“Many victims and much material damage were prevented at a time when there were no satellites or (hurricane hunter) airplanes to gather that type of information,” said Jesuit Father Agustín Udias, a well-known seismologist, professor emeritus of the Pontifical University Comillas in Madrid, Spain, and professor of geophysics at the Universidad Computense in Madrid.

He noted that the Jesuit observatory in Havana was the first to predict the arrival of a hurricane.

Father Udias visited Miami in mid-March to take part in the 150th anniversary of the foundation of that observatory, which, in a sense, was exiled to Miami along with the priests who staffed it and the school that housed it: In 1961, Fidel Castro, a Belen alumnus, shut down all Catholic schools and expelled priests and religious from the island.

While in Miami, Father Udias lectured at Florida International University and at Belen Jesuit Prep, tracing the scientific contributions of Jesuits throughout history.

“My talk centered on meteorology and seismology, emphasizing the contributions of Jesuit Father Benito Viñes, director of the observatory of the Colegio de Belén in Havana,” Father Udias said.

Father Viñes’ studies were crucial to understanding the circular rotation and pattern of movement of hurricanes.

“He is credited with the historical prediction of a hurricane that hit Cuba on Sept. 12, 1875,” said Father Udias, a graduate in geophysics of the University of St. Louis.

Father Viñes devoted his life to studying the trajectories of tropical hurricanes, and he established monitoring stations in the Lesser Antilles to track their passage.

“At that time, there was no scientific theory regarding hurricanes,” said Father Udias, who was assigned to work at the observatory in Havana while studying for the Jesuit priesthood.

Today, all meteorological centers use the hurricane prediction techniques developed by Father Viñes in 1888.

The staff of the Havana observatory also studied astronomical activity, earth’s magnetic pull and seismology. At that time, similar Jesuit observatories were located in Asia and Africa.

The first Jesuit observatories date back to the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe.

“Jesuits introduced modern European astronomy to China and worked as directors of the Peking (now Beijing) observatory for 200 years,” said Father Udias.

Although a decrease in the number of government-run observatories has diminished the presence of Jesuits in the field of meteorology, they continue to direct observatories in Manila, Philippines; Bogotá, Colombia; La Paz, Bolivia; St. Louis and Boston College.

Unlike the observatory in Havana, the one at Miami’s Belen Jesuit Prep is used by the students. Every Tuesday, middle and high school students attend classes in astronomy. On Wednesdays, the classes are on meteorology.

“These are extracurricular courses with no academic credit,” said Jesuit Father Pedro Cartaya, chaplain at Belen and director of the observatory.

The astronomy and meteorology clubs are part of the Belen Academy for Space and Earth Sciences, and members have access to professional instruments and scientists.

“We have an astronomer who works part time, and a full-time meteorologist. The astronomy students have had the opportunity to visit installations at NASA and observatories in Arizona and Puerto Rico,” said Father Cartaya, himself a graduate of Colegio de Belen in Havana.

Belen Jesuit Prep’s observatory is on the top floor of the school. Inside its cupola, accessible via stairway, is an advanced 12-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope.

Students learn to study hurricane charts, make their own predictions for the season — which are included in Belen’s official meteorological advisory — and some even have the opportunity to report live from the observatory’s radio studio for a number of local radio stations.

“The clubs have produced astronomers, scientists and even an Air Force pilot currently training to be an astronaut,” said Father Cartaya.

“I feel very proud to be part of this group and of a tradition such as that of the observatory,” said sixth-grader Javier Gonzalez, a member of the astronomy club.

“I’m very lucky to be able to take part in a program that many schools don’t offer,” said Javier, adding that he hopes to continue his scientific studies.

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