Article 1300 words Level: all audiences This article from Br. Bob Macke, S. J. (an astronomer at the Vatican Observatory) is from the web page of the International Society of Limnology (SIL), the oldest and only international society devoted to the study of inland waters.  The SIL maintains a listing of Notable Limnologists, and Fr. Secchi is one of these, as well as being an astronomer. This article focuses on his work studying water while aboard the papal naval vessel Immacolata Concezione. Click here to access this article from SIL.    

Article 13 pages Level: university A well-illustrated article about the work of Angelo Secchi, S. J. in 19th-century Rome, published in History of Geo- and Space Sciences in 2012. The authors are N. Ptitsyna (Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radiowave Propagation, Russian Academy of Science, St. Petersburg Filial, Russia) and A. Altamore (Physical Department “E. Amaldi”, University “Roma Tre”, Rome, Italy). Ptitsyna and Altamore write: The permanent observatories monitoring geomagnetic phenomena in the early decades of the 19th century have contributed greatly to our understanding of the dynamics of the Earth’s magnetic field. According to a guide on the organization of a geomagnetic observatory (Wienert, 1970): “The creation of a geomagnetic observatory is an ambitious enterprise which entails considerable financial commitments. Even more of a burden is the maintenance of the installation and the processing of data.” Seen in these terms, Father Secchi’s ambitious project was wholly successful. Secchi’s contributions to geomagnetism from the observational, theoretical, organizational and educational points … Continue reading →