By Adrianna Astudillo, Contributing Writer
Just as the sun set on the evening of Feb. 28, the Saint Leo Astronomy Club hosted a spectacular “Cosmic Alignment” event in the bowl behind the dining hall.
The event, set against our beautiful Lake Jovita, allowed students to observe a planetary alignment that hadn’t occurred in over 100 years, allowing them to see Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter, and Mars.
“This alignment hasn’t happened in over a century,” said Luis Gomez, a senior studying biomedical and health sciences and president of the Saint Leo Astronomy Club.
He continued, “It was a gracious help to have the St. Petersburg Astronomy Club bring multiple telescopes to our event, allowing multiple students to experience the cosmos in such an up-close way since we aren’t able to see Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn to the naked eye like the rest of the four planets.”
The event occurred during Saint Leo’s Alumni Weekend, providing a unique opportunity for current students and alumni to share in the experience. Seven telescopes were set up around the bowl, with students and alumni eagerly gathering to peer into the universe.
Through the lenses, participants could observe distant galaxies, different colored stars, and even the red giant star Betelgeuse, “which is much larger than our Sun,” Luis exclaimed.
“This is an event to get people together, share knowledge, and take in the vastness of space,” explained Noah Pruszinski, a senior studying business management at Saint Leo. “I got to converse with the members of the St. Pete Astronomy Club, and it was really amazing for them to come to our school and share their passion about astronomy with us, and it was extremely nice for them to bring their telescopes.”
As a free event, “Cosmic Alignment” was a perfect opportunity for students to connect with the cosmos. The night felt like a piece of history—an event that will be remembered for years. The event was promoted across campus through flyers on different bulletin boards on campus, to follow more events relating to the stars, keep an eye out around campus for flyers!
