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Historical & Cultural Astronomy Series Editor: W. Butler Burton Ileana Chinnici Editor Merz Telescopes A Global Heritage Worth Preserving Historical & Cultural Astronomy Historical & Cultural Astronomy EDITORIAL BOARD Chairman W. BUTLER BURTON, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA ([email protected]); University of Leiden, The Netherlands, ([email protected]) JAMES EVANS, University of Puget Sound, USA MILLER GOSS, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, USA JAMES LEQUEUX, Observatoire de Paris, France SIMON MITTON, St. Edmund’s College Cambridge University, UK WAYNE ORCHISTON, National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, Thailand MARC ROTHENBERG, AAS Historical Astronomy Division Chair, USA VIRGINIA TRIMBLE, University of California Irvine, USA XIAOCHUN SUN, Institute of History of Natural Science, China GUDRUN WOLFSCHMIDT, Institute for History of Science and Technology, Germany More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/15156 Ileana Chinnici Editor Merz Telescopes A Global Heritage Worth Preserving 123 Editor Ileana Chinnici INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo Palermo Italy ISSN 2509-310X ISSN 2509-3118 (electronic) Historical & Cultural Astronomy ISBN 978-3-319-41485-0 ISBN 978-3-319-41486-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41486-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017930282 © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Preface It is undeniable that Merz telescopes played an important role in the development of astronomy and astrophysics in the nineteenth century. The reliability of these instruments, whose excellent optical qualities were universally recognized, is pro- ven by their widespread use: in the second half of the nineteenth century, there were no observatories devoid of a Merz instrument, be it a large or a medium-size one, depending on the scientific program and/or the budget of that establishments. Merz telescopes were installed in almost all the most important observatories, in Europe, but also in India, the Philippines, Japan, Ecuador, and many other countries: their contribution to the diffusion of the practice of astronomy is unquestionable. Moreover, these instruments were active for incredibly long periods of time, having been used for over a century in many cases, sometimes even recycled, modernized, or combined with other telescopes, especially in regard to their optical parts. This happened in Italy, for example, where Merz telescopes or lenses were used until the 1970s. Actually, Italy was one of the main commissioners of the Merz Company, due to the fact that, after the political unity reached in 1861, and the annexation of Rome in 1870, the Italian government had to sustain most of the astronomical observatories in existence in the territories of the previous Italian States. Many of these observatories had acquired or were already equipped with Merz telescopes. In the second half of the nineteenth century, early spectroscopic studies on stellar and solar physics were carried out in some Italian observatories, with Merz instruments being of primary use for this kind of research. In the twentieth century, as the financial resources allocated by the Kingdom of Italy for the renewal of astronomical equipment were scarce, Merz instruments still in use were often modernized, in order to continue to exploit their excellent optical per- formances. Sometimes, the disassembled lenses were mounted in other telescopes or given on loan for scientific purposes: many cases of “cannibalization” have been recorded but many others have probably been forgotten and, consequently, many pieces have been lost. In order to preserve this important and unique heritage, actions have been taken in the past 20 years, by some Universities and astronomical institutions, for inventorying, restorying and displaying these instruments in museums. Little by v vi Preface little, in Italian astronomical observatories, an increasing awareness of the impor- tance of preserving this heritage has developed among astronomers, and today, the risk of destroying or throwing away old instruments, books and papers—as often happened in the past—has been almost completely eliminated. This book intends to reinforce the consciousness of the scientific community about the value of this heritage and stimulate initiatives aimed at preserving Merz telescopes in other observatories and countries. It offers a perspective about the results of these actions in Italy and the research work requested for this purpose. The initial chapters provide a general view of the Merz Company and the building of large refractors in the nineteenth century, while the subsequent chapters deal with specific aspects, collections and instruments and the studies carried out with them, up to recent times. The contributors are experts in the field and often curators of the collections herein described. As a final remark, it is important to stress that the importance of this heritage is sometimes underestimated. Historical instruments are often regarded as a mere resource for popularizing astronomy. This is certainly a part of their value, since they represent a powerful tool for inducing people to engage with science, by means of storytelling, and a visualization of how science has advanced thanks to new ideas and technologies. Nonetheless, this is a restrictive perspective. Scientific material heritage, above all, consists of cultural goods to be preserved, and is a tool for historical research. Around every old instrument, in fact, there is an intertwined context of ideas, persons, situations, and institutions. Knowing this background is crucial to fully understanding the evolution of science, and adjusting the mistakes that have sometimes occurred because of an overly facile approach to history; correct contextualization of these objects enables everyone, scholars and public, to gain the right perspective about a theory, a discovery, or a way of engaging with science. Retaining memory also means preserving identity: indeed, looking at the past and studying scientific heritage is itself most assuredly a contribution to science. Palermo, Italy Ileana Chinnici Contents Big Is Beautiful: A Few Considerations About the Making of the Large 19th Century Refractors ............................ 1 Paolo Brenni The Merz Company: A Global Player of 19th Century .............. 19 Gudrun Wolfschmidt and Jürgen Kost The Maker and the Scientist: The Merz-Secchi Connection .......... 39 Ileana Chinnici The Padua Observatory and the Merz Workshop Under the Austro-Hungarian Empire .................................. 69 Valeria Zanini The Merz Refractors at the Brera Astronomical Observatory ........ 87 Mario Carpino Merz Telescopes in Rome ...................................... 101 Aldo Altamore, Francesco Poppi and Sabino Maffeo On the Collection of Merz Instruments at the Naples Observatory .... 115 Mauro Gargano A Merz Telescope on Mount Etna: The Catania Astrophysical Observatory................................................. 137 Andrea Orlando Double Star Measurement with the Merz Refractors at the Padova and Torino Observatories.......................... 157 Giuseppe Massone vii viii Contents Appendix A: A List of Extant Large Merz Telescopes (aperture => 150 mm) Worldwide.................... 171 Appendix B: List of Astronomical Instruments by Merz (1826–1932) .............................. 173 Index of Names .............................................. 177 Index of Places .............................................. 181 Index of Celestial Objects...................................... 185 Abbreviations AAVSO American Association of Variable Star Observers APUG Archivio Pontificia Università Gregoriana ASO Attività Scientifica, Osservazioni ASS Attività Scientifica, Strumenti C Correspondence FA Fondo degli Astronomi FS Fondo Secchi GBD Giovanni Battista Donati HAOA Historical Archives of Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory HAOC Historical Archives of the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte HAOPd Historical Archives of Padua Observatory INAF National Institute for Astrophysics MPI Ministero