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One Century of Solar Physics in Italy 1850-1950

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One Century of Solar Physics in Italy 1850-1950 Mem. S.A.It. Vol. 74, 556 °c SAIt 2003 Memorie della One century of Solar Physics in Italy 1850-1950 A. Righini Dipartimento di Astronomia e Scienza dello Spazio, Universit`adi Firenze, Largo E. Fermi, I-50125 Firenze e-mail: [email protected] Abstract. In this paper we briefly describe the story of Solar Physics in Italy during one century and we try to evaluate its international impact. At the begin- ning, in the serendipitous phase, we have e relevant contribution of italian solar physicist like Secchi and Tacchini. The choice of the Abetti father and son to build in Arcetri a Solar Tower, under the technical supervision of George Ellery Hale, could have given to italian solar physics the trust to compete in the inter- national arena. However the lack of necessary technology, the war, and the choice to use the tower for patrol of the solar chromosphere kept italian solar physics from developing at the level of its competitors at the end of the first half of the XX century. Key words. History of science– Solar Physics – Italy 1. Introduction 2. Solar science in Italy in the XIX century Science should have no borders. However At the beginning of the XIX century as- the difficulties in communications, differ- tronomers had very good tools (theoretical ent political regimes and research policies and observational) to speculate about solar gave rise to national sciences at least until apparent motion in the sky, solar distance the end of the second World War. We can and all the mechanical parameters involved therefore speak of an Italian Solar Physics in the orbital motion of the Earth, but were which merges in the global science in the lacking of tools for the physical study of second half of the XX century. In this pa- our nearest star. Knowledge was a privilege per we briefly review its history from the of few, and among those we may consider first works of Secchi and Donati trying to Antonio Cagnoli. evaluate how the work of the italian scien- tists has been evaluated abroad. Send offprint requests to: A.Righini Correspondence to: Largo E. Fermi 2, I-50125 Firenze A. Righini: One century of Solar physics in Italy 1850-1950 557 2.1. The physics of the sunspots reviews the results obtained in this field 1 in a fortunate book edited first in French, Cagnoli , in his handbook of Astronomy ti- in Paris, and than in Italian in Florence tled Notizie Astronomiche (Cagnoli 1827) (Secchi 1884). This book was interna- writes: Pende ancora fra gli astronomi la tionally appreciated and it may be consid- soluzione del problema: cosa sieno le mac- ered the first textbook in solar physics. In chie del Sole; e forse pender`aper non breve this book we may find a lot of interest- tempo avvenire........Non `equindi appieno ing details, as the description of the the inverisimile per quanto riguarda la conget- structure of several spots and the discov- tura, che le macchie siano scorie o sostanze ery that sometime clouds, pink in color, poco gravi fluttuanti nella materia ignea del were present on the spots. The obvious Sole. conclusion was that these clouds could be The Notizie astronomiche were written the same red prominences observed at the for a cultivated reader (nobles or officers of limb of the Sun during total solar eclipses. the army), but we may consider these words Interesting results were obtained in the as representative of the general ignorance year 1852 on March 19 by Angelo Secchi about the facts of the Sun. The situations with a thermopile placed behind the projec- deeply changes in about fifty years thanks tion plane of the Cuchoix telescope of the 2 also to the work of Angelo Secchi who Osservatorio del Collegio Romano. Secchi was able to diaphragm the pinhole down 1 Antonio Cagnoli, astronomer, meteorolo- to one arc minute, obtaining a ratio about gist (1743-1816), as secretary of venetian am- two in potere calorico between the center bassador in Paris was able to meet Lalande and the limb (Secchi 1884). Secchi remarks who introduced him to astronomy. He de- that his measurements were the first of this veloped his astronomical interests using his type. own instrument first in Paris and than in his hometown, Verona where he built an observa- tory. In the year 1796 he was appointed presi- 2.2. Solar Corona and the prominences dent of the Societ`aItaliana delle Scienze. The Repubblica Cisalpina, formed in northern Italy Another problem on stage in the middle of by Napoleone, transferred the Society in Milan the XIX century was the nature of Solar and the instruments of Cagnoli were moved corona and the location (Sun or Moon) of to the Brera Observatory. Cagnoli ended his solar prominences. Also in this field italian scientific career as professor of Matematica scholars, with Donati3 and and Secchi were Sublime at the military Academy in Modena. well in the front of the research. During 2 Angelo Secchi S.J. (1818-1878) born in Reggio Emilia, was educated by the Jesuits. the solar eclipse 1842 Arago extensively de- In 1835 he is at the observatory of Collegio scribed the Corona end prominences ob- Romano, the Jesuit main house in Rome, as served during the total solar eclipse, sim- student. In the year 1848 he is in Georgetown, close to physics. He was too modest, his contribution Washington working with Curley director of was outstanding and his fame rapidly spread that astronomical Observatory. Back to Rome out the narrow borders of Italy (Righini 1978). he succeeded in building a new and origi- 3 Giovan Battista Donati (1826-1873) stud- nal meteorological instruments which was ap- ied in Pisa and in 1852 is in Florence as as- praised with the Gold Medal at the Universal sistant of Giovan Battista Amici, His major Expo in 1867. Due to the poor mechanical sta- achievement is the first attempt of spectral bility of the astronomical instruments at the classification of stars. In 1860 he is in Spain to Observatory of the Collegio Romano Secchi, as observe a total solar eclipse and again in Sicily he writes, decided to study the physics of the for the eclipse of 1870. In 1872 he was able to Sun, and few months before his death, writ- dedicate the new observatory build in Arcetri, ing about his studies, he recognizes to have on a small hill south of Florence. (Bonelli given a contribution to the new science of Solar 1971) 558 A. Righini: One century of Solar physics in Italy 1850-1950 ilar observations were reported also by find that the maxima of the auroral phe- Vassenius since 1733 but Arago’s descrip- nomena propagated from east to west but tion had a worldwide resonance. The so- they were observed at about the same lo- lar eclipse in Spain, in 1860, was an ex- cal time. The conclusion of the paper was cellent occasion for the astronomers com- that a a new meteorology was needed that ing from all Europe to observe the black Donati defined as cosmic meteorology (we sun and among them we find Secchi and now would translate in space weather). Donati. Donati confirms the correspon- dence, between sunspots and prominences (Donati 1866). Secchi brought in Spain 2.4. The solar spectroscope and the the Chauchoix objective of the Collegio Memorie degli spettroscopisti Romano and, very wisely, did not use italiani any anlarging device for obtaining photo- graphic pictures of the eclipsed Sun. The It was october 20, 1868 when the news ar- focal lenght was of about two meters just rived in Europe that Janssen observed with allowing a good resolution on the plate. A the spectroscope the C line at the limb of comparison of these pictures with those ob- the solar disk where the day before dur- tained by De la Rue at Rivabellosa on the ing a solar eclipse there was an outstanding Atlantic side of eclipse path, clearly showed prominence. This result opened new per- the parallax effects on the Moon but the spectives in prominence observations, each identity of the position of the prominences, small refractor with just a simple spectro- confirming that they were solar in origin. scope, mounted at the focal plane, could be used to observe prominences both for 2.3. Space weather physical purposes and for just recording the geometrical parameters of the phe- The cyclic character of solar activity was nomenon. The two roman observatories: well known when a large aurora was the Collegio Romano and the Campidoglio, observed in 1872 in the night between were between the first institutions to be February 4 and 5 in a large part of equipped with the spectroscope (Monaco the northern hemisphere also at low lat- 2000). Obviously a new observation device itudes. Donati was persuaded that the triggered a large amount of observational causes of the aurora were solar (Donati routine work not very different from that 1873) or at least cosmic. In the first of the meteorologists and consequently the printed contribution the recently inaugu- need of keeping a log. Therefore the ital- rated Arcetri Observatory he published the ian community was forced to start a new results of an inquiry on the local time scientific society and a new journal: the of occurence of the maximum of the phe- Memorie degli spettroscopisti Italiani which nomenon as observed in diferent part of was mainly intended for the publication the world. He had the support of the ital- of the result of the spectroscopic measure- ian ministry of foreign affairs which sent to ments performed on the Sun, but not only.
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