Tag Archives: Specola Guestbook

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

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This entry is part 19 of 19 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 →

Specola Guestbook: July 11, 1910 – Emily Dobbin

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This entry is part 18 of 19 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 Emily Dobbin made a visit. Next to her name, Emily Elisabeth Dobbin (1875-1949) wrote, “Inst. Math & Surveying, M.A.H.S., St. Paul, Minn.” (Instructor of Mathematics and Surveying, Mechanic Arts High School, St. Paul MN) Dobbin was trained as an astronomer, receiving a masters’ degree from the University of Chicago in 1903. She worked at Yerkes Observatory, resulting in two single-authored publications (one on the orbit of the Jovian satellite Amalthea and another on Orion-type stars). However, her astronomical career never really progressed past that point. She taught mathematics, first at the University of Missouri, and then at a high school in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dobbin is particularly notable for her work in an entirely different field: that of … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook: July 11, 1910 – Anne Sewell Young

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This entry is part 17 of 19 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 →

Specola Guestbook: June 20, 1910 – Arthur L. Day

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This entry is part 16 of 19 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 20, 1910, when Arthur Day made a visit. Next to his name, Arthur Louis Day (1869-1960) wrote, “Geophysical Laboratory, Washington D.C.” In 1907, Arthur Day became the first director of the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution in Washington D.C.  The founding of the laboratory was a direct result of his research on rock-forming minerals while he was with the U.S. Geological Survey.  He is most noted for research on the isomorphism and thermal properties of feldspars. He also contributed research in vulcanology, seismology and geothermal energy. He was vice president of the National Academy of Science from 1933-1941, and became president of the Geological Society of America in 1938. In 1941, the Geological Society of London awarded Day the Wollaston … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook: May 18, 1910 – Oskar Backlund

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This entry is part 15 of 19 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, 1910, when Oskar Backlund made a visit. Next to his name, Johan Oskar Backlund FRS (1846-1918) — known in Russia as Oskar Andreevich Backlund — wrote simply, “Pulkova.” Originally Swedish, Backlund moved to Russia in 1876. He worked at the Polkovo Observatory, becoming its director in 1895. His primary astronomical work was developing a very precise orbit for the comet Encke, including the effect of perturbations from planets and other significant objects. From this, he also attempted to estimate the masses of those objects; particularly Mercury. Other work included geodetic measurements of Spitzbergen at the end of the 19th century. The asteroid 856 Backlunda, the lunar crater Backlund, and the terrestrial mountain Backlundtoppen (near Spitzbergen) all are named for him. … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook: May 12, 1910 – Benjamin Baillaud

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This entry is part 14 of 19 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 12, 1910, when Benjamin Baillaud made a visit. Next to his name, Édouard Benjamin Baillaud (1848-1934) wrote simply, “Paris.”  This was his first of several visits to the Vatican Observatory over many years. From 1878 to 1907, he served as director of the Tolouse Observatory, and from 1907-1926 he was director of the Paris Observatory. When he became director of the Paris Observatory, he undertook the revitalization of the Carte du Ciel project, which had been flagging. Baillaud was the founding president of the International Astronomical Union in 1919. He was also the founding president of the International Time Bureau.  He was responsible for the time signal broadcast from the Eiffel Tower. There is a crater bearing his name on the … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook: May 4, 1910 – van de Sande Bakhuyzen

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This entry is part 13 of 19 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 4, 1910, when H. G. van de Sande Bakhuyzen made a visit. Next to his name, Hendricus Gerardus van de Sande Bakhuyzen (1838-1923) wrote simply, “Leiden.” He was the director of the Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands from 1872-1923. Most of his research dealt with asteroid observations. He also made the connection between the comet 3D/Biela and a meteor shower. There is a crater on Mars named Bakhuysen in his honor, due to his publication of drawings of Mars made by Johann Schroter.   … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook: April 8, 1910 – Three Scots

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This entry is part 12 of 19 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 April 8, 1910, when three notable Dunediners–George Chrystal, P. Hume Brown, and John Sutherland Black–made a visit. Next to his name, George Chrystal FRSE, FRS (1851-1911) wrote “Prof. Math. Univ. Edinb.” (Professor of Mathematics, University of Edinburgh). He was one of the founders of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society. His work on seiches (standing waves in ponds and other enclosed bodies of water) earned him a posthumous Gold Medal from the Royal Society of London. He was a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh as well as the Royal Society of London. He is also known for having written several books on algebra. Next to his name, Peter Hume Brown FBA (1849-1918) wrote “Historiographer-Royal, Edinburgh.” He published a definitive three-volume history of … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook: September 7, 1967 – Geoffrey and Margaret Burbidge

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This entry is part 11 of 19 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. For today’s guestbook entry, we jump out of sequence once again to September 7, 1967, when Geoffrey and Margaret Burbidge made a visit. They came with their daughter Sarah. Next to their names is written, “La Jolla, California.” Later, they signed the guestbook again in 1970 during a meeting on galactic nuclei at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. There is a timely reason to highlight these guests of the Specola this week. On Monday, August 12, 2019, Margaret Burbidge celebrates her 100th birthday. Geoffrey and Margaret Burbidge, along with collaborators William Fowler and Fred Hoyle, are most known for developing the theory of the nucleosynthetic origin of elements in stars. This ground-breaking theory was published in a 100-page journal article in 1957. This paper is referred to … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook: April 1, 1910 – Henry Drinker

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This entry is part 10 of 19 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 April 1, 1910 (no foolin!), when Henry Drinker made a visit. Next to his name, Henry Sturgis Drinker (1850-1937) wrote “President of Lehigh University, South Bethlehem Pa.” Drinker was an engineer and a lawyer. He got a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Lehigh University in 1871. As an engineer, he is most noted for the construction in 1875 of the Musconetcong Tunnel, a railway tunnel in the mountains of New Jersey. After completing the project, he studied law at Lafayette College and became the solicitor general of the Lehigh Valley Railroad from 1885 until 1905, when he became president of Lehigh University. He was the fifth president of Lehigh University, and the only alumnus to hold that position.  During his tenure, he … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook: February 15 and July 21, 1969 – Apollo related visits

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This entry is part 9 of 19 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, we take advantage of the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing to jump out of the usual sequence and go to 1969.  The first part of today’s guestbook entry is from February 15, 1969, when Frank Borman made a visit. Next to his name, Col. Frank Borman, USAF (1928–) wrote, “Houston, Texas”. He came with his wife Susan and his two sons, Edwin and Fred, who also signed the book. Frank was an astronaut with NASA. He was mission commander on the Gemini 7 mission. After the disaster of Apollo 1 that killed its crew, Borman’s testimony helped convince Congress to continue the Apollo program. On Christmas Eve of 1968, Col. Borman and his crewmates on Apollo 8, Jim Lovell and William Anders, became the first human … Continue reading →

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

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This entry is part 8 of 19 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 →