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On Saturday, September 7, the Jesuit University of Namur inaugurated its new astronomical observatory. It has returned to its historic place, where the former dome of the Jesuit Fathers' Observatory was erected in 1882.

The University Observatory is named after Antoine Thomas, a Jesuit missionary, astronomer and mathematician born in Namur in 1644 and who was an imperial astronomer in Beijing. By naming its observatory after the Jesuit Antoine Thomas, the University of Namur places this project at the heart of the scientific and educational history of Namur and associates with it the values of openness and sharing embodied by this symbolic figure of the region.

At the inauguration Naji Habra, Rector of UNamur, said: "This Jesuit missionary taught many students in college and university. He had an undeniable didactic sense and pedagogical ability, a curiosity and a willingness to meet others and share his culture, whether in Namur, Lille, Coimbra in Portugal or Beijing in China. These qualities are also found in our professors, who are not only outstanding researchers, but also teachers involved in their educational mission".

This local pedagogical observatory is now accessible to students, researchers, primary and secondary school students and all the curious who would like to learn about astronomy.

On the occasion of this inauguration, the exhibition "From the City to the Stars" was also launched, which will allow people in Namur to discover the history of the observatory in collaboration with the Jesuit astronomer and the university, until 7 December 2019.

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