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Italian Astronomers @ IAU: the Contribution and the Role of the Italian Astronomers Inside IAU from the Foundation to the Second Post-War Period

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Italian Astronomers @ IAU: the Contribution and the Role of the Italian Astronomers Inside IAU from the Foundation to the Second Post-War Period Italian astronomers @ IAU: the contribution and the role of the Italian astronomers inside IAU from the foundation to the second post-war period Antonella Gasperini - INAF Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory - [email protected] Valeria Zanini - INAF Astronomical Observatory of Padua - [email protected] Mauro Gargano - INAF - Astronomical Observatory of Naples - [email protected] Abstract: The Italian astronomers were involved in the birth of the IAU as early as 1919. Astronomers from all over the world met in Brussels for the first time on July 1919 and Annibale Riccò, the Director of Catania Obser- vatory, was appointed Vice-President of the Executive Committee. During the conference, Riccò invited the IAU Committee to hold its first General Assembly in Rome, the native country of Galileo Galilei and Angelo Sec- chi, pioneers of modern astronomy and astrophysics. Unfortunately, Riccò didn’t see realized his desire, because of his unexpected death; his role was entrusted to Antonio Abetti, Director of the Florence Observatory. After him Vincenzo Cerulli of the Teramo Observatory, Giorgio Abetti, son of Antonio and his successor at the direction of Florence Observatory, and Emilio Bianchi, Director of Brera Observatory, were appointed at the same office until 1952 when the VIII IAU General Assembly was again held in Italy, thirty years after the first one and in the same place: Rome. This presentation will analyze the contribution and the role of Italian as- tronomers to the development of the International Astronomical Union until the Second World War. Keywords: IAU, Italian Astronomers. 1. In preparazione della Conferenza di Bruxelles del 1919 L’Unione Astronomica Internazionale fu fondata nel 1919 nel corso dell’Assemblea Costitutiva dell’International Research Council (IRC) che si tenne a Bruxelles dal 18 al 28 luglio (Blaauw 1994, p.1), con il proposito di “facilitare le relazioni tra gli astronomi di differenti Paesi, laddove fosse necessaria o utile la cooperazione” (Fowler 1922, p. 3). La Conferenza di Bruxelles era la terza delle Conferenze Interalleate sulla organiz- zazione scientifica programmate dai Paesi dell’Intesa. Le prime due si erano tenute nell’anno precedente a Londra, presso la sede della Royal Society, dal 9 all’11 ottobre 206 Antonella Gasperini, Valeria Zanini, Mauro Gargano Atti del XXXVIII Convegno annuale SISFA – Messina 2018 207 1918, a guerra ancora in corso, e a Parigi, presso l’Academie des Sciences, dal 26 al 29 be divenuto poi il nucleo fondante del futuro CNR. Proprio nel corso della I Conferenza novembre, a pochi giorni dalla firma dell’armistizio tra Italia e Austria e la successiva interalleata di quel 1918 Volterra spinse “affinché l’intero processo messo in moto conclusione del primo conflitto mondiale. Queste Conferenze erano il risultato del lun- dall’istituendo IRC fosse guidato dalle grandi accademie nazionali, le quali avrebbero go percorso che, durante gli anni della guerra, aveva portato gli scienziati dei Paesi Al- dovuto creare un consiglio nazionale in quei paesi che ne erano sprovvisti” (Volterra leati a ripensare interamente i meccanismi dei rapporti scientifici internazionali, decre- 1918a, p. 278). Nel corso della I Conferenza si stabilì di costituire una specifica Commis- tando la “fine del cosmopolitismo pre-bellico e la conseguente dissoluzione sione per la redazione di “un piano generale di organizzazioni internazionali per soddisfa- dell’Associazione internazionale delle Accademie (AIA)” (Linguerri 2016, p. 84). re ai bisogni dei diversi rami delle ricerche scientifiche e industriali” (Volterra 1918a, p. Già a fine Ottocento, con il grande progetto della Carte du Ciel, gli astronomi ave- 278) e sempre Volterra sollecitò la necessità che “in questa Commissione [fossero] prese vano compreso come la cooperazione su larga scala tra osservatori di diversi Paesi risoluzioni immediate circa gli studi geodetici ed astronomici di carattere internazionale permetteva di ottenere risultati importanti e di grande respiro scientifico. Erano decenni che non possono per la natura loro essere interrotti o ritardati” (Volterra 1918a, p. 279). di grandi slanci economici, industriali e soprattutto scientifici, che troveranno il culmi- La Commissione per l’organizzazione scientifica interalleata costituitasi a Londra ne nel 1915 con le teorie di Einstein e Planck. La Grande Guerra pose però proseguì i suoi lavori nel corso della II Conferenza interalleata di Parigi. Questa volta all’attenzione delle società occidentali altre terribili sfide. Fu proprio durante il conflit- fu sancita l’istituzione di un Comitato Esecutivo dell’IRC di cinque membri che aveva to, che oppose principalmente gli europei gli uni contro gli altri, che ci si rese conto di anche il compito di valutare la formazione delle nuove associazioni internazionali e di come una nuova base di convivenza e di progresso poteva arrivare proprio dagli am- intraprendere tutte le azioni necessarie per portarle a compimento. Presidente di questo bienti scientifici, purché vi fosse il ripudio da parte dei governanti e degli scienziati Comitato fu nominato il matematico francese E. Picard (1856-1941), il fisico A. Schu- degli orrori che la Grande Guerra aveva generato. In particolare, i promotori dell’IRC ster (1851-1934) ne divenne Segretario, mentre Volterra, Hale e G. Lecointe (1869- miravano a costruire una rete di istituzioni scientifiche nazionali e internazionali che 1929) furono nominati Vice-Presidenti (Blaauw 1994, p.49). A Parigi fu anche formal- avessero anche un riconoscimento governativo – a differenza dell’AIA, che era un or- mente “istituita, sotto il nome di Unione Astronomica, una associazione internazionale ganismo privato senza personalità giuridica – ma nella quale trovassero rappresentanza avente per oggetto il progresso generale della astronomia e delle Scienze ed arti con- solamente le nazioni Alleate. Gli Imperi centrali sarebbero rimasti esclusi fintanto che nesse” (Volterra 1919, p. 93). Per la formazione dell’Executive Committee incaricato di non avessero sconfessato “la loro adesione ai metodi politici la cui applicazione ha pro- prepararne la costituzione, oltre al presidente indicato nella persona di B. Baillaud dotto le atrocità che hanno indignato il mondo civile” (Inter-Allied Conference on In- (1848-1934), direttore dell’Osservatorio di Parigi e Principal Investigator del monu- ternational Organisations, 1918, p. 415). mentale progetto della Carte du Ciel, e al segretario generale, A. Fowler (1868-1940), Nell’ottobre 1918 a Londra, in rappresentanza dell’Italia, era presente il matemati- co Vito Volterra (1860-1940) che nella primavera di quello stesso anno aveva preso parte anche alla ristretta riunione tenutasi sempre a Londra tra i rappresentanti dell’Academie des Sciences, della Royal Society e dell’Accademia dei Lincei, di cui Volterra era membro. Da queste “conversazioni preparatorie private”, poi integrate con le proposte del delegato americano George E. Hale (1868-1938) “circa la costituzione nei vari Paesi alleati di un consiglio nazionale di ricerche, comprese quelle riferentesi alla difesa nazionale, analogo a quello già funzionante negli Stati Uniti” (Volterra 1918, p. 276), si diede avvio al processo di creazione dell’IRC. Vito Volterra, matematico di origine ebraica dalla grande reputazione internazionale, fu un celebre scienziato in Italia e all’estero, come testimoniano le sue 16.000 lettere scambiate con 1500 corrispondenti di tutto il mondo, conservate presso l’archivio storico dell’Accademia dei Lincei. Egli fu anche un’importante figura politica; nel 1905, divenu- to Senatore, fu coinvolto “nella creazione di molte istituzioni scientifiche, affinché l’Italia potesse svolgere un ruolo importante nella scienza mondiale” (Mazliak, Tazzioli 2009, p.10). Già nel 1897 aveva fondato la Società Italiana di Fisica e nel 1907 istituì la Società Italiana per il Progresso delle Scienze. Nel 1910 creò il Comitato Talassografico Italiano e nel 1917, ispirato dai colleghi stranieri e dall’esperienza bellica che egli stesso stava vivendo come volontario, seppur cinquantacinquenne, fondò l’Ufficio per le Invenzioni e Fig. 1. Il Palais des Académies di Bruxelles in una cartolina postale del 1919. la Ricerca (UIR), per utilizzare le conoscenze tecnologiche a scopi militari. L’UIR sareb- 206 Antonella Gasperini, Valeria Zanini, Mauro Gargano Atti del XXXVIII Convegno annuale SISFA – Messina 2018 207 1918, a guerra ancora in corso, e a Parigi, presso l’Academie des Sciences, dal 26 al 29 be divenuto poi il nucleo fondante del futuro CNR. Proprio nel corso della I Conferenza novembre, a pochi giorni dalla firma dell’armistizio tra Italia e Austria e la successiva interalleata di quel 1918 Volterra spinse “affinché l’intero processo messo in moto conclusione del primo conflitto mondiale. Queste Conferenze erano il risultato del lun- dall’istituendo IRC fosse guidato dalle grandi accademie nazionali, le quali avrebbero go percorso che, durante gli anni della guerra, aveva portato gli scienziati dei Paesi Al- dovuto creare un consiglio nazionale in quei paesi che ne erano sprovvisti” (Volterra leati a ripensare interamente i meccanismi dei rapporti scientifici internazionali, decre- 1918a, p. 278). Nel corso della I Conferenza si stabilì di costituire una specifica Commis- tando la “fine del cosmopolitismo pre-bellico e la conseguente dissoluzione sione per la redazione di “un piano generale di organizzazioni internazionali per soddisfa- dell’Associazione internazionale delle Accademie
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