

Calendar
Canada Day.
Canada Day (French: Fête du Canada) is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of July 1, 1867, the effective date of the Constitution Act, 1867 (then called the British North America Act, 1867), which united the three separate colonies of the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a single Dominion within the British Empire […]
Thomas Harriot, mapped the Moon with a telescope 4 months before Galileo (d. 1621)
Thomas Harriot was an English astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer and translator who made advances within the scientific field. Thomas Harriot was recognized for his contributions in astronomy, mathematics, and navigational techniques. Harriot worked closely with John White to create advanced maps for navigation. While Harriot worked extensively on numerous papers on the subjects of astronomy, mathematics and navigation, the amount of work that he actually […]
Independence Day (USA)
Independence Day is a U.S. federal holiday commemorating the Declaration of Independence of the United States, on July 4, 1776.
NASA’s Pathfinder lands on Mars, 1977
Mars Pathfinder was launched December 4, 1996 and landed on Mars' Ares Vallis on July 4, 1997.
Earth at Aphelion
Earth will be at the farthest point in its orbit around the Sun on this date
Mercury 3.2°S of Moon
Mercury will appear close to the crescent Moon in the west-northwestern sky before sunset.
Thomas Kuhn born 1922
Thomas Samuel Kuhn (1922–1996) is one of the most influential philosophers of science of the twentieth century,
J. G. Mendel born 1822
Gregor Johann Mendel (1822– 1884) was a biologist, meteorologist, mathematician, Augustinian friar and abbot of St. Thomas' Abbey in Brünn (Brno), Margraviate of Moravia.
St. Ignatius Loyola, Founder of the Jesuits.
Ignatius of Loyola (Basque: Ignazio Loiolakoa; Spanish: Ignacio de Loyola; Latin: Ignatius de Loyola; c. 23 October 1491 – 31 July 1556) was a Spanish Basque Catholic priest and theologian, who co-founded the religious order called the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and became its first Superior General at Paris in 1541. The Jesuit order served the Pope as missionaries, and they were bound by a vow of special obedience to the sovereign pontiff in […]
History of the Vatican Observatory: A Legacy of Faith and Science
Join VOF emeritus Board member James Renn for a discussion about the history of the Vatican Observatory at the Franciscan Renewal Center (The Casa)