Tag Archives: Vatican Observatory

Specola Guestbook | May 10, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 11

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This entry is part 69 of 69 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 the past few weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.    Today’s visitors all came on May 10, 1922. They are George Dodwell, Jean Bosler, Jules Jaumotte, Henri Deslandres, and Joaquín Gallo. George F. Dodwell Next to his name, George Frederick Dodwell FRAS (1879-1963) wrote, “Adelaide S. Australia.” Dodwell, an Australian state astronomer from the Adelaide Astronomical Observatory, was accompanied by his wife, Annie Dodwell (also an astronomer), who also signed the guestbook. Dodwell is credited with using radio time signals to establish the 141st and 129th meridian lines that mark the borders between various states in Australia. He also photographed the 1922 eclipse that helped confirm Einstein’s general theory of relativity. … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | May 10, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 10

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This entry is part 68 of 69 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 the past few weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.    Today’s visitors all came on May 10, 1922. They are Annie Dodwell, Frank Littell, Cesare Bardeloni, Armand Baar, and Gustave Ferrié. M. P. (or O.) Stroobant There is a “M.P. Stroobant” who signed, possibly the spouse or family member of Paul Stroobant who signed on the next page. I have not been able to find any references for this person. Annie Dodwell Next to her name, Annie Louisa Virginia Dodwell (1870-1924) wrote, “Adelaide, South Australia.” She was an Australian government astronomer and worked with her husband, George Dodwell, who was also a career government astronomer for Australia. Her husband (an IAU … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | May 10, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 9

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This entry is part 67 of 69 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 the past few weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.    Today’s visitors all came on May 10, 1922. They are Jacques Liouville, Jules Baillaud, Oliver Justin-Lee, and Abbé Chauve-Bertrand. Jacques Liouville Next to his name, Dr. Jacques Liouville (1879-1960) wrote, “Directeur de’Institut Scientifique Chérifien (Maroc)” (“Director of the Chérifien Scientific Institute (Morocco)”). Dr. Liouville was the first director of the Chérifien Institute, which he directed from 1920 until 1937.  His areas of specialty were medicine and marine biology. He was also an explorer who participated in two antarctic expeditions in 1908 and 1910. These expeditions resulted in a study of Antarctic cetaceans. He was the son of the prominent French politician … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | May 10, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 8 – Delvosal, Armellini, Ferri, Roussilhe, and Krassowski

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This entry is part 66 of 69 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 the past few weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.    Today’s visitors all came on May 10, 1922. They are Jules Delvosal, Giuseppe Armellini, Francesco Ferri, Henri Roussilhe, and Jan Krassowski. J. Delvosal Next to his name, Jules Joseph Désiré Delvosal (1876-1960) wrote, “Uccle (Belgique).” This is a peculiar case where I have been unable to find any significant biographical information about the person, but his name appears in various publications, including the Transactions of the International Astronomical Union. He was an astronomer at Uccle, and professor at the Collège Notre Dame in Antwerp, and he directed Uccle’s involvement in the Carte du Ciel project. He was author of a 1905 … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | May 10, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 7 – Somigliana, Volta, Vercelli, Bauer, Baillaud, and Perrier

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This entry is part 65 of 69 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 the past few weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.    Today’s visitors all came on May 10, 1922. May 10 was the day of a formal, organized visit to the Specola.  I believe it may also have been the day when Pope Pius XI graced the Observatory with his presence, as seen in a photo posted a few weeks ago.  In attendance were not only the astronomers of the IAU, but also their guests and spouses. Today, we will highlight just a few of the visitors on that day.  They are Carlo Somigliana, Luigi Volta, Francesco Vercelli, Alfred Lacroix, Louis Bauer, and Georges Perrier. Capt. L. Beneš [Note: For the attendees … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | May 7-10, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 6 – Bemporad, Viaro, Turner, Russell, Philippot, and Vanderlinden

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This entry is part 64 of 69 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 the past few weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.    Today’s visitors all came between May 7-10, 1922. They are Azeglio Bemporad, Bartolo Viaro, Herbert H. Turner, Henry Norris Russell, Hector Philippot, and Henri Vanderlinden. Azeglio Bemporad Azeglio Bemporad (1875-1945) visited on May 7. Next to his name, he wrote, “Napoli Dirett. Osservatorio Capodimonte” (Naples, Director of the Observatory of Capodimonte). (Bemporad had also visited the Vatican Observatory on March 21, 1908, when he worked at the observatory of Catania. Unfortunately, I failed to produce a “Specola Guestbook” column on the occasion of that visit.) He was director of the observatory at Capodimonte from 1912-1934, then became director of the observatory … Continue reading →

Specola Adjunct Scholar Chinnici Wins Osterbrock Book Prize

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In addition to the full-time Jesuits of the Vatican Observatory, we support several adjunct scholars who are primarily based at other institutions but who use resources of the Vatican Observatory.  These people are all very accomplished scholars in their respective fields–which cover a range of subjects from astronomy to philosophy. Recently, the Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society chose to honor one of our adjunct scholars, Ileana Chinnici, with the Osterbrock Book Prize for her biography of Fr. Angelo Secchi SJ.  The prize, named for the astronomer-historian Donald E. Osterbrock, is awarded every other year for a book “judged to advance the field of the history of astronomy or to bring history of astronomy to light.” (Quote from AAS-HAD web page.) Ileana Chinnici is a research astronomer at INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Palermo, in Sicily.  She specializes in the history of astronomy and astrophysics, with current areas of research including Fr. Angelo Secchi SJ, Pietro Tacchini, and Fr. Giuseppe … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | May 9, 2017: Sir Roger Penrose

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This entry is part 63 of 69 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. We’re going to interrupt the usual chronological order this week, due to an interesting development in current events.  It may have slipped your attention in the midst of other breaking news bulletins, but this week the Nobel committee announced the recipients of the 2020 Nobel prize in physics.  They are Roger Penrose “for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity” and Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez “for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy.” [Special mention should be made for Andrea Ghez, a professor at UCLA.  Women are woefully underrepresented among Nobel laureates. She is only the fourth woman to receive the physics prize. She joins ranks with Marie Curie, Maria Goeppert-Mayer, … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | May 5-6, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 5 – St. John, Fowler, Banachiewicz, Lockyer, Rodes, and Pigot

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This entry is part 62 of 69 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 the past few weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.  This event will continue to occupy the next several entries in this column.  Today’s visitors all came on May 5 or 6, 1922. They are Charles E. St. John, Alfred Fowler, Tadeusz Banachiewicz, William Lockyer, Luis Rodés, and Edward Pigot. Charles E. St. John Next to his name, Charles Edward St. John (1857-1935) wrote, “Mt. Wilson Calif, U.S.A.” He was a professor at Oberlin College from 1899-1908, serving as dean of the college of arts and science 1907-1908.  In 1908, George Ellery Hale offered him a post at Mount Wilson Observatory, which he took. Much of his research was focused on solar … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | May 5, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 4 – Miller, Markwick, Newbegin, Parr, and Shapley

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This entry is part 61 of 69 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 the past few weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.  This event will continue to occupy the next several entries in this column.  Today’s visitors all came on May 5, 1922. They are John Miller, Col. E. Markwick, A. M. Newbegin, W. Alfred Parr, and Harlow Shapley. John A. Miller Next to his name, John Anthony Miller FRAS (1859-1946) wrote, “Sproul Observatory, Swarthmore Penna.” He was a professor of Mathematics and Astronomy at Swarthmore College, and directed the Sproul Observatory. From 1913-1926, he was vice-president of the college. Miller used the 24-inch Sproul telescope mostly to study stellar parallax, which he measured for several hundred stars. He also participated in several eclipse … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | May 2-5 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 3 – Phillips, Stratton, de Roy, Davies, Ginori, and Hertzsprung

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This entry is part 60 of 69 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 the past couple weeks, we have been highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.  This event will continue to occupy the next several entries in this column.  Today, in order to finish off this page of the guestbook, we will highlight six names instead of five. They are T. E. R. Phillips, F. J. M. Stratton, Felix de Roy, Charles Davies, Nello Venturi Ginori, and Ejnar Hertzsprung. T. E. R. Phillips Rev. Theodore Evelyn Reece Phillips FRAS (1868-1942) visited on May 2, 1922. Next to his name, he wrote, “Headley, Epsom, England.” An Anglican cleric, he was vicar of Headley from 1916 until his death in 1942.  He was also an accomplished amateur astronomer and meteorologist. … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | April 29-May 2, 1922: IAU 1st General Assembly part 2 – Bigourdan, Belot, Donitch, Hough, and Crommelin

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This entry is part 59 of 69 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. Last week, we began highlighting visitors who came on the occasion of the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.  This event will occupy the next several entries in this column.  The visitors for today’s column include Guillaume Bigourdan, Émile Belot, Nicholas Donitch, Sydney Hough, and Andrew Crommelin. Guillaume Bigourdan Camille Guillaume Bigourdan (1851-1932) visited on April 29. Next to his name, he wrote, “Paris, Observatoire national France.” His research primarily involved the study of nebulae, of which he measured the positions of thousands. He also attempted (mostly unsuccessfully) to measure their proper motions. He was director of the international bureau of time (Bureau International de l’Heure) from 1919-1928. He was vice president of the French Academy of Sciences in 1923, and its president in 1924. … Continue reading →