Tag Archives: Specola Guestbook

Specola Guestbook | July 15, 1914: Caroline Furness

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This entry is part 49 of 49 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 15, 1914, when Caroline Furness made a visit. Next to her name, Caroline Ellen Furness (1869-1936) wrote, “Vassar College Observatory, N.Y.”  She was an astronomer who directed the Vassar observatory. She was the first woman to receive a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1896. She studied there under Harold Jacoby. At Vassar, she taught the first course on variable stars offered in any American university. She literally wrote the book on the subject, with her 1915 tome, Introduction to the Study of Variable Stars. In 1910, she became acting director of the Vassar observatory while the previous director, Mary Whitney, was on medical leave.  After Whitney’s retirement in 1915, Furness formally took the director’s title. She would hold the post until … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | July 4, 1914: William Wallace Campbell

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This entry is part 48 of 49 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 4, 1914, when William Campbell made a visit. Next to his name, William Wallace Campbell (1862-1938) wrote, “Lick Observatory, Calif.”  He was director of the Lick Observatory from 1901 to 1930. Why did he pass through the doors of the Vatican Observatory in the summer of 1914?  He was on his way to Russia, where he and a collaborator from the Berlin Observatory planned to photograph an eclipse to test Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity.  Alas, politics intervened. World War I broke out, with Germany and Russia on opposite sides. Campbell’s collaborator Erwin Freundlich was detained and his equipment confiscated. Campbell (an American) was permitted to continue his work, but with makeshift equipment.  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | May 23, 1914: Giovanni Silva

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This entry is part 47 of 49 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 May 23, 1914, when Giovanni Silva made a visit. Next to his name, Giovanni Silva (1882-1957) wrote, “R. Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova” (“Royal Astronomical Observatory of Padua”). He was an astronomer who would direct several observatories during his career. From 1911-1921, he was an astronomer at the observatory in Padua, which was associated with the University of Padua. In 1921, he became chair of geodesy at the University of Turin and in 1923 would become director of the Pino Torinese astronomical observatory. In 1926 he returned to Padua to become director of the observatory there, as well as take a chair in astronomy at the university.  He would remain in Padua the remainder of his life. In 1934, he envisioned a new … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | A few reflections

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This entry is part 46 of 49 in the series Specola Guestbook

At this point, the column Specola Guestbook has been going for more than a year, so I thought I would take a moment to reflect on it. First, a little background:  The guestbook is not just one book; there are several. The most recent sits on a table at our entrance where new visitors can sign in. (Unfortunately, that book shall remain untouched for the duration of the coronavirus shutdown, as we are not receiving visitors.)  The one beginning in 1907 sits in a nearby display cabinet, opened to a page that changes regularly.  I do not know if there is a separate book covering 1891-1907, the period of the directorship of Francesco Denza C.R.S.P. (a Barnabite). It was after Denza’s death in 1907 that the Observatory was restructured and entrusted to the Jesuits. The cabinet containing the book sits right outside my office. I spent many hours leafing through its pages, and was amazed at the names I came … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | May 18, 1914: Walter F. Gale

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This entry is part 45 of 49 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 May 18, 1914, when Walter Gale made a visit. Next to his name, Walter Frederick Gale (1865-1945) wrote, “Sydney, Australia.” He was an Australian banker and astronomer. His banking career eventually culminated in becoming manager and chief inspector at the head office of the Bank of New South Wales. On the side, he developed an avid interest in astronomy after the appearance of a comet in 1882. Technically an amateur astronomer, he was founder and organizing secretary (and eventually president) of the New South Wales branch of the British Astronomical Association. He built an observatory in Sydney, which he used every clear night to search for comets. He discovered seven, of which three bear his name. He also discovered a ring nebula … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | March 27, 1914: Radó von Kövesligethy

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This entry is part 44 of 49 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 27, 1914, when Radó von Kövesligethy made a visit. Next to his name, Prof. Radó von Kövesligethy (1862-1934) wrote simply, “Budapest.”  He was a Hungarian astronomer, physicist, and geophysicist. This was the first of at least two visits to the Specola. He made a return visit ten years later, on May 27, 1924. He is most notable for his work in blackbody radiation. He formulated a theory of blackbody radiation in 1886,  15 years before Max Planck. He also formulated a theory of the inverse relationship between the luminosity of a source and the peak wavelength in its blackbody spectrum (known as Wien’s Law). This was done in 1885, 8 years before Wilhelm Wien. Wien received a Nobel prize in 1911, … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook: January 19, 1914 – Frank Bigelow

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This entry is part 43 of 49 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 19, 1914, when Frank H. Bigelow made a visit. Next to his name, Frank Hagar Bigelow (1851-1924) wrote, “Oficina Meteorologica Argentina, Cordoba, Argentina” (Argentine Office of Meteorology, Cordoba, Argentina). He was a meteorologist and astronomer, as well as an Episcopal minister. He had served in the United States Weather Bureau before moving to Argentina to work in the office of meteorology there. In 1915, he became director of the Solar Physics and Magnetic Observatory in Cordoba. He was the editor of the Monthly Weather Review from 1909-1910. His astronomical research included studying transits of stars as well as the connection between magnetic phenomena on the Sun (in particular its corona) with variations of the Earth’s magnetic field and aurorae.    

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Specola Guestbook: November 29, 1913 – John Parkhurst

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This entry is part 42 of 49 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 November 29, 1913, when John Parkhurst made a visit. Next to his name, John Adelbert Parkhurst FRAS (1861-1925) wrote, “Yerkes Observatory, Williams Bay Wis. U.S.A.”  He was an astronomer who had been at Yerkes Observatory since 1898. Parkhurst’s astronomical specialty was stellar photometry. Bear in mind that this was an era before C.C.D.’s or even photomultiplier tubes–you had to determine brightness based on the image of a star on a photographic plate. He published more than 100 papers over his career. In 1912, he published the “Yerkes Actinometry” in the Astrophysical Journal. This was a catalog of the magnitudes, color indices, and spectral classification of every star brighter than magnitude 7.5 between declination 73 degrees and the celestial north pole. [Author’s note: … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook: November 14, 1913 – William Maxwell

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This entry is part 41 of 49 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 November 14, 1913, when William J. Maxwell made a visit. Next to his name, William John Maxwell (1859-1934) wrote, “Captain U.S. Navy, comdg [commanding] U.S.S. Florida, c/o Navy Department, Washington D.C.”  He was a career naval officer. He was an inaugural member of the General Board of the U.S. Navy. He captained two vessels: the battleships USS Mississippi (from 1911-1912) and USS Florida (1913). From 1914 until 1916, he served as the 18th Naval Governor of Guam. During his term, he established the Bank of Guam and the Guam Insular Patrol Force.   He petitioned Franklin D. Roosevelt to grant U.S. citizenship status for Guam islanders, which was rejected. (Citizenship for Guamanians was finally granted in 1950.)    

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Specola Guestbook: August 31, 1913 – Edward Pickering

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This entry is part 40 of 49 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 August 31, 1913, when Edward Pickering made a visit. Next to his name, Edward Charles Pickering FMRS HFRSE (1846-1919) wrote “Director of Harvard College Observatory, Cambridge Mass, USA.” He was director of the Harvard College Observatory from 1877 until 1919. Pickering made significant advances in stellar spectroscopy. Building on early work by Fr. Angelo Secchi, he and his team of astronomers and computers (including Annie Jump Cannon) developed the Harvard Stellar Classification scheme that is still widely used today. (This is the “O.B.A.F.G.K.M.” sequence that you may have had to memorize if you ever took an introductory astronomy course.) The team produced the Henry Draper Catalog, a stellar catalog with spectroscopic classifications for more than 200,000 stars. Pickering also discovered the first … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook: August 21, 1913 – Giovanni Zappa

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This entry is part 39 of 49 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 August 21, 1913, when Giovanni Zappa made a visit. Next to his name, Giovanni Zappa (1884-1923) wrote, “Capodimonte, Napoli” (“Capodimonte, Naples”) He worked at several different observatories, including those of the Roman College, of Catania, of Capodimonte, and Collurania.  His research was primarily involved with calculating orbits of asteroids and comets. In 1919 he would become director of the observatory at Collurania, and in 1922 the director of the observatory at the Collegio Romano. The asteroid 16745 Zappa is named for him.  

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Specola Guestbook: August 6, 1913 – Sergei Blazhko

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This entry is part 38 of 49 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 August 6, 1913, when Sergei Blazhko made a visit. Next to his name, Sergei Nikolaevich Blazhko (1870-1956) wrote, “Observ. astron. de l’univ. de Moscou” (“Astronomical observer of the University of Moscow.” [n.b. The discrepancy in spelling of his name is due to transliteration from the Russian: сергей  блажко.] He studied RR Lyrae variable stars. In his research, he discovered that they have a secondary variation in amplitude and period. This is now known as the Blazhko effect. He also studied binary stars, developing methods for computing their orbits. There is a crater on the moon named for him.  

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