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Tag Archives: Astronomy History

Religious Scientists: Fr. Roger Boscovich S.J., F.R.S. (1711-1787) – Atomic Theory

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on November 24, 2019 by Robert MackeNovember 23, 2019
This entry is part 10 of 10 in the series Religious Scientists of the Catholic Church

Fr. Roger Joseph Boscovich S.J. was one of the last great polymaths. His areas of study and work include physics, mathematics, atomic theory, celestial mechanics, geodesy, philosophy, theology, architecture, poetry, and more. Biographical Sketch Ruđer Josip Bošković was born May 18, 1711 to a merchant family in Dubrovnik, in what is today Croatia.  He attended the Jesuit school in Dubrovnik. In 1725, he traveled to Rome to study at the Roman College, and in 1731 entered the Jesuit order. He was ordained a priest in 1744. He showed aptitude for mathematics and the natural sciences, and from 1740-1759 served as a professor of mathematics at the Roman College.  It is during this time that he made many of his more significant scientific contributions.  In 1742, Pope Benedict XIV requested Boscovich’s input on a little problem. The dome of St. Peter’s Basilica was developing cracks.  Boscovich recommended securing the dome with iron bands, which was then implemented successfully. This led him … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, History, Mathematics, Moon, Priests and Religious of Science, Religion, Science, Uncategorized | Tagged Astronomy History, Atomic Theory, Boscovich, History of Science, Jesuit Scientists, Religious Scientists | Leave a reply

Specola Guestbook: March 20, 1911 – P. H. Cowell

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on November 10, 2019 by Robert MackeNovember 9, 2019
This entry is part 21 of 24 in the series Specola Guestbook

Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory.  A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from March 20, 1911, when P. H. Cowell made a visit. Next to his name, Philip Herbert Cowell F.R.S. (1870-1949) wrote, “Nautical Almanac Office, Gray’s Inn, London.” He was superintendent of the H.M. Nautical Almanac Office, part of the Royal Greenwich Observatory, from 1910-1930. As an astronomer, he was particularly dedicated to celestial mechanics, computing and refining the orbits of many comets and other solar system bodies. He developed a method for computing perturbations in an orbit that proved to be both relatively simple and robust.  He is known for refining the orbit of the moon and resolving a discrepancy between its observed orbit and its theoretical orbit. He also showed that the supposed perturbations of the orbit of Neptune–that suggested the existence … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, History, Moon, Uncategorized | Tagged Astronomy History, Greenwich, Nautical Almanac Office, P. H. Cowell, Specola Guestbook, Vatican Observatory | Leave a reply

Specola Guestbook: Oct 21, 1910 – Guido Horn d’Arturo

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on October 20, 2019 by Robert MackeSeptember 24, 2019
This entry is part 19 of 24 in the series Specola Guestbook

Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory.  A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from October 21, 1910, when Guido Horn made a visit. Next to his name, Guido Horn d’Arturo (1879-1967) wrote, “R. osservatorio astronomico di Torino” (Royal astronomical observatory of Turin). He was an astronomer who in 1921 would become the director of the Bologna observatory. Born in Trieste, he studied in Vienna and then worked at observatories in Trieste, Catania, Turin (where he was at the time of his visit to the Specola) and the Roman College, before ending up in Bologna. During World War I (i.e. after his visit to the Specola), Guido Horn added d’Arturo to his name to Italianize it. He served in the Italian army, though his native Trieste was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire at that time.  At the … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, History, Uncategorized | Tagged Astronomy History, Bologna, Guido Horn d'Arturo, Specola Guestbook, Vatican Observatory | Leave a reply

Specola Guestbook: July 11, 1910 – Anne Sewell Young

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on October 6, 2019 by Robert MackeOctober 7, 2019
This entry is part 17 of 24 in the series Specola Guestbook

Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory.  A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from July 11, 1910, when Anne Sewell Young made a visit. Next to her name, Anne Sewell Young (1871-1961) wrote, “John Payson Williston Observatory, South Hadley, Mass.” After finishing an M.S. at Carleton College, Young came to Mount Holyoke College in 1898 where she became director of the John Payson Williston Observatory. Meanwhile, she completed her Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1906. Her astronomical research involved many fields: her Ph.D. was a survey of stars in the constellation Perseus. She also supervised research on sunspots and a student expedition to observe a solar eclipse in 1925. Her primary interest was variable stars. She was a founding member of the American Association of Variable Star Observers and became its president in 1923.   … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, History, Uncategorized | Tagged Anne Sewell Young, Astronomy History, Mount Holyoke, Specola Guestbook, Vatican Observatory, Williston Observatory | Leave a reply

Religious Scientists: Fr. Francesco Grimaldi S.J. (1618-1663), Optics of Diffraction

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on September 29, 2019 by Robert MackeSeptember 21, 2019
This entry is part 8 of 10 in the series Religious Scientists of the Catholic Church

Today I present yet another Jesuit physicist/astronomer: Francesco Maria Grimaldi.  He made a number of contributions in physics and astronomy, many of which in collaboration with another Jesuit: Fr. Giovanni Battista Riccioli S.J. (1598-1671). I will deal with Riccioli in a future post. However, Grimaldi can take full credit for pioneering the study of diffraction of light, and in coining the term, “diffraction.” Biographical Sketch:   Grimaldi was born in Bologna in 1618. His father, a wealthy silk merchant, died when Francesco was still very young. In 1632 (at age 14) he entered the Jesuit order with his brother Vincenzo.  After two years as a novice, he studied rhetoric for a year in Novellara. In 1635 he traveled to Parma for philosophy studies at the college of S. Rocco, but after only one year transferred to Ferrara to begin studying physics. He returned to Bologna to finish his philosophy studies. In 1638 he he was missioned to be professor at … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, History, Moon, Priests and Religious of Science, Religion, Science | Tagged Astronomy History, Diffraction, Grimaldi, Moon, Optics, Religious Scientists | Leave a reply

Specola Guestbook: January 5, 1910 – Vincenzo Cerulli and Giorgio Abetti

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on July 7, 2019 by Robert MackeJune 28, 2019
This entry is part 8 of 24 in the series Specola Guestbook

Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory.  A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from January 5, 1910, when Vincenzo Cerulli and Giorgio Abetti made a visit. Next to his name, Vincenzo Cerulli (1859-1927) wrote “di Collurania.” He was the founder and director of the Collurania-Teramo Observatory, located in Teramo, Italy.  With the 40-cm refractor installed there, he made observations of the planet Mars, and concluded that the “canali” were optical illusions.  He discovered the asteroid (704) Interamnia. The Martian crater Cerulli is named after him, as are the asteroids (366) Vincentia and (31028) Cerulli. Next to his name, Giorgio Abetti (1882-1982) wrote “Istituto di Fisica Terrestre della R. Università – Napoli” (Institute of Terrestrial Physics of the Royal University of Naples).  He made many later visits, most of which were signed with the affiliation Collegio Romano, … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, History, Science | Tagged Astronomy History, Giorgio Abetti, Specola Guestbook, Vatican Observatory, Vincenzo Cerulli | Leave a reply

Religious Scientists: Fr. Giuseppe Piazzi C.R. (1746-1826), Discoverer of the First Asteroid

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on June 30, 2019 by Robert MackeJune 13, 2019
This entry is part 5 of 10 in the series Religious Scientists of the Catholic Church

Today, just under 800,000 asteroids and Trans Neptunian Objects are known and catalogued by the Minor Planet Center of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, with more being discovered every day.  However, before 1800 the existence of this entire class of objects was entirely unknown. The first asteroid, which today we know as (1) Ceres, was discovered by an astronomer who was also a priest: Fr. Giuseppe Piazzi C.R. Biographical Sketch Giuseppe Piazzi was born July 16, 1746 in Ponte in Valtellina, Italy.  He entered the Theatine order in 1765, and was ordained a priest in 1769.  While he taught philosophy, theology, and mathematics at various stages of his early life in the order, he also had an interest in astronomy. He came to Palermo in 1781 as a lecturer in mathematics at the Accademia dei Regi Studi. In 1787, he became professor of astronomy. King Ferdinand of Sicily named him to be the first director of the Palermo Astronomical Observatory. He obtained … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, History, Priests and Religious of Science, Religion, Science | Tagged Astronomy History, Ceres, Piazzi, Religious Scientists, Science and Religion | Leave a reply

Specola Guestbook: June 5, 1909 – George Ellery Hale

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on June 16, 2019 by Robert MackeJune 28, 2019
This entry is part 6 of 24 in the series Specola Guestbook

Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory.  A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from June 5, 1909, when George E. Hale made a visit. Next to his name, George Ellery Hale (1868-1938) wrote “Mt. Wilson Solar Observatory, California.” The year prior to his visit, he used the Zeeman effect–(see the previous post on H. A. Lorentz)–to discover magnetic fields in sunspots. He also found that, between sunspot cycles, the magnetic polarity of fields through sunspots in northern vs southern hemisphere switches orientation – what is today known as Hale’s Law (or the Hale-Nicholson Law). In 1913, Hale advised Albert Einstein of the possibility of observing the effects of general relativity on starlight passing near the Sun, which he suggested might be possible during a total solar eclipse.  This led to the eclipse observing expeditions of Arthur … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, History, Science, Uncategorized | Tagged Astronomy History, George E Hale, Specola Guestbook, Vatican Observatory | Leave a reply

Specola Guestbook: January 15, 1909 – Herbert H. Turner

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on June 10, 2019 by Robert MackeJune 28, 2019
This entry is part 5 of 24 in the series Specola Guestbook

Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory.  A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from January 15, 1909, when Herbert H. Turner made a visit. Next to his name, Herbert Hall Turner F.R.S. (1861-1930) wrote “University Observatory, Oxford.” H. H. Turner visited the Vatican Observatory more than once. He also signed our book on May 12, 1910 and during the first IAU General Assembly on May 9, 1922. Director of the Radcliffe Observatory at Oxford University, he was an astronomer and a seismologist. In seismology, he discovered deep-focus earthquakes (more than 300 km deep), which occur in subduction zones. In astronomy, he coined the word “parsec.” (A parsec is a unit of distance for a star subtending 1 arcsecond of parallax shift due to 1AU of motion from the observer, or 3.26 light-years.  The term became the … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, History, Science | Tagged Astronomy History, Herbert Turner, Specola Guestbook, Vatican Observatory | Leave a reply
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Specola Guestbook: July 21, 1911 – Joel Metcalf

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on December 8, 2019 by Robert MackeNovember 29, 2019
This entry is part 24 of 24 in the series Specola Guestbook

Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory.  A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from July 21, 1911, when Joel Metcalf made a visit. Next to his … Continue reading…

Posted in Astronomy, History | Tagged Asteroids, comets, Metcalf, Specola Guestbook, Vatican Observatory | Leave a reply

The Darkest Evening of the Year

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on December 7, 2019 by Christopher M. GraneyNovember 20, 2019

Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The … Continue reading…

Posted in Astronomy | Leave a reply

Across the Universe: Astronomy domine

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on December 5, 2019 by Br. Guy ConsolmagnoNovember 28, 2019
This entry is part of 187 in the series Across the Universe

This column from The Tablet was first run in December 2018 December 2018 was a busy month in space. The Japanese Hayabusa II mission was orbiting Ryuku, a tiny near-Earth asteroid. A Chinese probe was about to place a lander on the far side of the Moon. NASA’s Insight mission … Continue reading…

Posted in Across the Universe, Space Exploration, Space resources | Tagged Asteroids, OSIRIS REx, space resources | Leave a reply

In the Sky This Week – December 3, 2019

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on December 3, 2019 by Bob TrembleyDecember 3, 2019
This entry is part 125 of 125 in the series In the Sky This Week

At last night’s meeting of the Warren Astronomical Society, the topic of the Starlink satellite constellation came up during the “In the News” segment, and a groan of dismay could be heard from the entire audience. If you are unfamiliar with Starlink, it is a constellation of potentially tens of … Continue reading…

Posted in Astronomy, Commentary, Outreach | Tagged #GivingTuesday, Andromeda, Hera Mission, International Space Station, Juno, Juputer, light pollution, M31, Moon, OSIRIS REx, Pegasus, Saturn, Starlink, Sun, Venus | Leave a reply

Specola Guestbook: June 21, 1911 – Robert S. Woodward

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on December 1, 2019 by Robert MackeNovember 29, 2019
This entry is part 23 of 24 in the series Specola Guestbook

Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory.  A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from June 21, 1911, when Robert S. Woodward made a visit. Next to … Continue reading…

Posted in History, Uncategorized | Tagged AAAS, American Mathematical Society, Carnegie Institution, Specola Guestbook, Specola Vaticana, Woodward | Leave a reply

Across the Universe: The New Paganism

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on November 28, 2019 by Br. Guy ConsolmagnoOctober 27, 2019
This entry is part 98 of 187 in the series Across the Universe

The following column was published in The Tablet in November 2009; we ran it again here in 2016. This is the version I finally submitted of the column posted here yesterday… You will know the end-times by their signs, we’re told in the Gospel readings at this time of year. … Continue reading…

Posted in Meteorites, Popular Culture | Tagged Asteroids, Astrobiology, End of the World | Leave a reply
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Recent Comments

  • Christopher M. GraneyChristopher M. Graney November 25, 2019 at 7:11 am on Transit of Mercury CHEOPS and ExoplanetsNice representation of the sun! Maybe only three dots but still cool.
  • Richard HillRichard Hill November 23, 2019 at 8:46 pm on Agassiz’s mentorI will think about that!
  • Richard HillRichard Hill November 23, 2019 at 8:45 pm on Agassiz’s mentorIf you go to my webpage at: https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~rhill/moonobs.html you will see at the top of the page a link to an article on the minimum size crater that is detectable (as a dot). I have done the theoretical minimum of 1km with this telescope at perigee. Most of the time...
  • Jim Cook November 23, 2019 at 7:42 am on Smart Phones from EelsI often carry around something smaller than a smart phone that would not be possible without the work all four gentlemen: my car's key fob. It contains a small coin-sized battery, which powers the signal it emits that my car detects, within a certain distance, and lets me unlock it...
  • Jim Cook November 21, 2019 at 9:15 am on The Story Telling Universe.If the point was the difference between an ordinary astrophotograph and a good one is the extent to which it tells a story, I took from your comments that “story” was something the photographer should try to include in a photograph or make an effort to try to capture somehow,...
  • Christopher M. GraneyChristopher M. Graney November 19, 2019 at 8:47 am on The Story Telling Universe.Well I particularly like both of the windmill pictures.
  • Fr. James KurzynskiFr. James Kurzynski November 18, 2019 at 4:51 pm on The Story Telling Universe.Jim, Thank you for a very engaging response! And thank you for the links to your wonderful pictures! I'm always inspired by the work of others. In that spirit, thank you for inspiring me! Your initial paragraph cuts right to the heart of the struggle I faced a few months...
  • Jim Cook November 18, 2019 at 9:01 am on The Story Telling Universe.My own experience as an astrophotographer is, well, less experienced than I would like. But my sense is the images taken by experienced astrophotographers rarely tell stories. More often, they are simply portraits — say, a high magnification photo of Saturn, or lunar craters, or the Orion Nebula. And really...
  • Bob ProkopBob Prokop November 12, 2019 at 7:23 pm on In the Sky This Week – November 12, 2019I had much better luck on Monday. I wrote up my impressions of the event here: https://theobserverschair.blogspot.com/
  • Christopher M. GraneyChristopher M. Graney November 6, 2019 at 2:06 pm on Agassiz’s mentorP.S. Can you give us an estimate of the size of the smallest features visible in these shots?
  • Christopher M. GraneyChristopher M. Graney November 6, 2019 at 1:59 pm on Agassiz’s mentorThese are great lunar shots that you post. Write a post about this 8" f/20 telescope that you use for these shots. Or have you done that, and I just missed that post?
  • Richard Gabrielson November 4, 2019 at 9:20 pm on Navy Jets Harassed by Magical Mermaid Tic Tac UFOs!Bravo, Prof. Graney! Seeing this published under a Church connection reminded me immediately of an aphorism attributed to GK Chesterton: "When a man [sic] stops believing in God he doesn’t then believe in nothing, he believes anything." (According to https://www.chesterton.org/ceases-to-worship/ it's a repeated theme in Chesterton's works but never in...
  • Fr. James KurzynskiFr. James Kurzynski October 31, 2019 at 6:00 am on From The Back Yard: Know Thyself.And thanks for the complement!
  • Fr. James KurzynskiFr. James Kurzynski October 31, 2019 at 6:00 am on From The Back Yard: Know Thyself.Sadly, there are. The yellowish light on the right side is from the west - creeping light pollution from the cities of Plover and Stevens Point. I'm not 100% sure where the blue came from. Part of me thinks it might be a result of the light from my parents...
  • Christopher M. GraneyChristopher M. Graney October 30, 2019 at 11:11 am on From The Back Yard: Know Thyself.That is a nice Milky Way panorama! They are all nice. At each end of the panorama there is some skyglow. Are there a lot of artificial lights around?
  • Christopher M. GraneyChristopher M. Graney October 16, 2019 at 10:22 am on Putting the Space Station Where You Want ItThanks for the comments. A funny thing happened at the observatory: the ISS did not show up. A visitor there had an app on his phone, and that app did not show the ISS as passing by Saturn. I later went back to Stellarium, and Stellarium did not show the...
  • Jim Cook October 12, 2019 at 12:06 pm on Putting the Space Station Where You Want ItTwenty years ago, give or take, I had my telescope set up for a stargazing program at my local park. Earlier in the day, I had checked to see if there would be any bright satellites passing overhead. Back then, before there were satellite pass web sites like heavens-above.com, I...
  • Ed Yepez October 11, 2019 at 9:46 pm on ⓜ The day I almost met Buzz… Diary of 11 October, 2019I have enjoyed John Scalzi's work, but I must admit I would not recognize him. Let me know if you ever attend an orthodontic meeting. They won't know me either, but it would definitely encourage me to attend! The motion of planets and teeth?
  • Tracy Lunquist October 11, 2019 at 1:19 pm on ⓜ The day I almost met Buzz… Diary of 11 October, 2019I've had dinner with Buzz Aldrin -- a long-time friend of mine was dating him for a little while (yes, you can imagine my reaction to hearing that little tidbit of news). He is certainly a unique character, and I'm sorry you didn't get to meet him. But indeed, of...
  • Christopher M. GraneyChristopher M. Graney October 4, 2019 at 10:34 am on ‘Hot Jupiter’ Exoplanet Found with 18-Hour OrbitWow. Do we know *anything* about planet formation any more? Obviously, everything I was ever taught has turned out to be WRONG. This is such a cool area of discovery.

Top Posts

  • The Darkest Evening of the Year
    The Darkest Evening of the Year
  • Specola Guestbook: July 21, 1911 - Joel Metcalf
    Specola Guestbook: July 21, 1911 - Joel Metcalf
  • In the Sky This Week – December 3, 2019
    In the Sky This Week – December 3, 2019
  • Georges Lemaitre - Father of the "Big Bang"
    Georges Lemaitre - Father of the "Big Bang"
  • Specola Guestbook: June 21, 1911 - Robert S. Woodward
    Specola Guestbook: June 21, 1911 - Robert S. Woodward
  • Across the Universe: Astronomy domine
    Across the Universe: Astronomy domine
  • Nibiru, Kepler, and some basics on orbits
    Nibiru, Kepler, and some basics on orbits

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