Historical & Cultural Astronomy

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More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/15156 Ileana Chinnici • Guy Consolmagno Editors

Angelo Secchi and Nineteenth Century Science The Multidisciplinary Contributions of a Pioneer and Innovator Editors Ileana Chinnici Guy Consolmagno INAF Vatican Observatory Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo Vatican City State, Holy See Palermo, Italy

ISSN 2509-310X ISSN 2509-3118 (electronic) Historical & Cultural Astronomy ISBN 978-3-030-58383-5 ISBN 978-3-030-58384-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58384-2

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifcally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microflms 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 specifc 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, expressed 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 affliations. Cover image: Courtesy of the Rome Observatory, with modifcations by ilbusca/Getty Images/iStock

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Preface

Angelo Secchi is one of the most interesting fgures among the scientists of the nineteenth century. He is considered a pioneer of spectral classifcation of stars, a founder of modern astrophysics, and an innovator in spectroscopic techniques. Recent biographical studies have revealed many hidden aspects of his personality and research activities, showing his creative experimental approach, open-minded conceptual frame, and enthusiasm for the investigations. Though Secchi became well-known as an astronomer and astrophysicist, his background was in physics and he remained basically a physicist. He was interested to explore all natural phenomena, looking for their connections, and, consequently, extended his studies from astronomy and astrophysics to meteorology, geomagnetism, geophysics, etc. His contributions in these felds are less known, but extremely interesting. They show how many innovations he introduced in these disciplines, inventing methods and devices that in some cases are still in use or were prototypes of modern machineries. Secchi was convinced that science should be at the service of the public (he contributed to develop and apply fre safety devices, earthquake prevention measures, water distribution systems, etc.) and involved the public in collecting data (a fore- runner of what is today called “citizen science”). At the same time, he was a brilliant communicator, disseminating scientifc knowledge in all social classes and raising interest and enthusiasm for the advancement of sciences and techniques. Ultimately, Secchi is a model not only for scientists, but also for everyone who cares about safeguarding and promoting the commonweal. For this reason, on the occasion of the bicentenary of his birth, a national committee has been established and many initiatives has been organized to celebrate this anniversary: an international congress, an international workshop, a virtual exhibition, a stage performance, and many public lectures and conferences.

v vi Preface

This book is a spin-off result of that effort and will undoubtedly show to the read- ers that pioneer and innovator are attributions rightfully applied to Secchi in many disciplines. Nichi D’Amico President of Istituto Nazionale di Astrofsica (INAF), Rome, Italy President of the National Committee for the Bicentenary of the Birth of Angelo Secchi Prof. D’Amico died unexpectedly in September 2020. We mourn his loss and dedi- cate this book in his memory. Angelo Secchi: Biographic Notes (Chinnici 2019)

Figure: Drawing from a photographic portrait of Angelo Secchi (by Angelo Adamo; courtesy of INAF-OAPa) 1818 – Secchi is born at Reggio Emilia on June 28th into a middle-class family, the last son of Giacomo Antonio and Luigia Belgieri. 1833 – He enters the novitiate of the Society of Jesus in Rome; 4 years later, he studies philosophy at the Collegio Romano. His teachers of mathematics and physics are, respectively, Francesco De Vico and Giovan Battista Pianciani. 1841 – He teaches physics at the Jesuit Collegio Illirico at Loreto. 1844 – He returns to the Collegio Romano to study theology and becomes assistant to Pianciani. 1847 – He is ordained as priest.

vii viii Angelo Secchi: Biographic Notes (Chinnici 2019)

1848 – After the voluntary exile of the Italian Jesuits, he is a refugee at Stonyhurst College, in England, then at Georgetown College, near Washington, D.C., in the USA. 1849 – Once back in Rome, he becomes Director of the Collegio Romano Observatory, following the untimely death of De Vico. 1852 – He moves the Observatory in a new site on the roof of St. Ignatius church, where he installs a new Merz telescope, 22 cm aperture; it becomes the main instrument of the Observatory, which is mainly devoted to astrophysics. 1862 – He is appointed Director of the Meteorological Service of the Papal State and starts a daily telegraphic correspondence among the stations for weather forecast. 1870 – He declines the offer of a chair of astrophysics at La Sapienza, from Italian government, as a consequence of the deteriorated relationship between Italian and Papal States. 1873 – He risks confscation of his Observatory due to a law that expropriates all properties belonging to the Catholic Church. 1876 – He keeps the directorship of Collegio Romano Observatory thanks to the Bonghi decree for the reform of the Italian Observatories, which assigns a special status to the Collegio Romano Observatory. 1877 – He is elected President of the National Board for Italian Meteorology. 1878 – Secchi dies in Rome on February 26th due to stomach cancer, which was diagnosed a few months earlier.

Scientifc Activity

Positional Astronomy

His frst astronomical works were in the feld of astrometry: he revised the measurements of double stars included in the catalogue Mensurae Micrometricae by Friedrich Wilhelm Struve; this revision work was completed by Secchi’s assistant, G. S. Ferrari S. J. (Chinnici 2019: 63–65)

Solar Physics

This was his main research feld (Chinnici 2019:180–190; Ermolli and Ferrucci, Chap. 7, in this volume). He contributed to the study of solar radiation, photospheric features, spectroscopic analysis of chromospheres, and prominences, and wrote Le Soleil, one of the main nineteenth-century treatises about the Sun. In 1858, he installed a geomagnetic station at the Observatory in order to systematically observe Angelo Secchi: Biographic Notes (Chinnici 2019) ix geomagnetic perturbations and study their correlation with solar activity cycles; in 1863, he designed and built the thermoheliometer, a prototype of the bolometer.

Stellar Spectroscopy

Between 1863 and 1867, Secchi formulated one of the frst spectral classifcations of stars, dividing them into three classes (α-Lyrae type, α-Herculis type, sunlike type) and adding a fourth in 1869 (No. 152 Schjellerup type) and a ffth in 1872 (γ-Cassiopeiae type). He suggested the use of spectral analysis for measuring radial velocities in star proper motions via measurement of the Doppler shift of the spectral lines. In 1872, he extended his classifcation by using an objective prism (Lorenzo Respighi claimed priority in the use of this method). Secchi’s classifcation was the basis for all the later well-known classifcations carried out at the Harvard College Observatory (USA) at the end of the nineteenth century (Chinnici 2019: 167–177; Hearnshaw 1987: 57–66).

Solar System Astronomy

Thanks to the excellent optics of his Merz telescope, Secchi carried out detailed observations of planets, satellites, and comets. He paid special attention to planets Mars (McKim and Sheehan, Chap. 6, in this volume), Saturn, and Jupiter (trying to photograph them), and was the frst to observe the spectrum of Uranus, in 1869. In 1857, Secchi also obtained very detailed photographs of the Moon, which collected in the frst photographic atlas of the Moon (Chinnici 2019: 61–62). Regarding cometary astronomy, in 1852 he recovered the two parts of the periodic comet Biela, which split in 1846, and, one year later, he discovered a comet, Secchi (1853-I) (Chinnici 2019: 67–69). Secchi was also one of the frst astronomers to examine cometary spectra: in 1866, he observed the spectrum of the comet Tempel-Tuttle (1866-I), confrming the results of the frst observation of a cometary spectrum in 1864, and later carried out other interesting studies on comets (Chinnici 2019: 164–167).

Geodesy

In the years 1854–1855, he was charged by Pope Pius IX to measure a geodetic base on Via Appia, to be used for linking the triangulation network of the Papal States, a work initiated by Ruggiero Boscovich S. J. in the 1840s (Aebischer, Chap. 12, in this volume). x Angelo Secchi: Biographic Notes (Chinnici 2019)

Meteorology

He established, the frst in Italy, a daily telegraphic exchange connecting the main towns of the Papal States (Rome, Ancona, Bologna and Ferrara) for weather fore- casting. He invented the meteorograph, a spectacular device recording meteorological data which was awarded at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1867. He contributed to the dissemination in Italy of the theories of Matthew F. Maury on atmospheric currents (Iafrate and Beltrano, Chap. 9, in this volume).

Physics

His main contribution was the treatise Sull’unità delle forze fsiche (On the Unity of Physical Forces), where he disseminated new theories (aether, kinetics of gases, etc.) which were not yet found in physics books in Italy. The treatise had a wide distribution, with many editions and translations, but provoked a clash with neo- Thomists like Giovanni Maria Cornoldi S. J. (Chinnici 2019: 262–269; Capuzzo Dolcetta, Chap. 11, in this volume).

Other

He invented a method now called the “Secchi disk” to measure water transparency, during an oceanographic campaign headed in 1865 by Alessandro Cialdi, com- mander of the Pontifcal Navy (Zielinski, Chap. 13, in this volume). Amateur of archaeology and paleontology, he published some works in these felds (Tuscano, Chap. 15, in this volume).

Public Works

1852 – Improvement of the time measurement service (Chinnici 2019: 79–81) 1854–55 – Measurement of the geodetic base at Via Appia (Aebischer, Chap. 12, in this volume) 1856–1862 – Directorship of the meteorological service of the Papal States (Iafrate and Beltrano, Chap. 9, in this volume) 1858 – Improvement of the lighthouses system in the Papal States ports (APUG, Fondo Secchi, 110.I; Chinnici 2019: 92–95) 1865–1875 – Improvement of the water distribution pipelines around Rome (APUG, Fondo Secchi, 112.II and 3.IV; Chinnici 2019: 90–91) Angelo Secchi: Biographic Notes (Chinnici 2019) xi

1867–1869 – Installation of fre-preventing system in Roma basilicas (see APUG, Fondo Secchi, 2.XI; Calzolari and Marsella, Chap. 16, in this volume) 1876 – Installation of lightning rods in Roman main monuments (see APUG 82A. 12; Calzolari and Marsella, Chap. 16, in this volume)

Publications of Journals and Treatises

1853 onward – Memorie dell'Osservatorio del Collegio Romano (Collegio Romano Observatory Memoirs) 1862 onward – Bullettino Meteorologico dell'Osservatorio del Collegio Romano (Meteorological Bulletin of the Collegio Romano Observatory) (Iafrate- Beltrano, Chap. 9, in this volume) 1864 – Sull’unità delle forze fsiche (On the Unity of Physical Forces) (Capuzzo Dolcetta, Chap. 11, in this volume) Other editions: 1869 (in French); 1872 and 1873 (in Russian); 1874 (in Italian and in French, revised and extended, in 2 vols.); 1876 (in German, in 2 vols.); posthumously: 1880 (in Russian); 1885 (in Italian, in 2 vols.); 1884–1885 and 1891 (in German, in 2 vols.). 1870 – Le Soleil (The Sun), in French Other editions: 1872 (in German); 1875–77 (revised and extended, in 2 vols.), still in French; posthumously: 1879 (in Spanish); 1884 (in Italian) 1877 – Le stelle. Saggio di astronomia siderale (The Stars: Treatise of Sidereal Astronomy) Other editions: 1878 (in German); posthumously: 1879, 1884 and 1895 (in French) 1879 – Lezioni di fsica terrestre (Lessons of terrestrial physics) (Argentieri and Parotto, Chap. 14, in this volume) Other editions: 1885 (in German); 1886 (in Spanish) Secchi bibliographic production also includes about 770 papers in the most renowned scientifc journals of his time (Fioravanti 2012)

International Scientifc Expeditions and Commissions

Total Solar Eclipse, 18 July 1860, Desierto de Las Palmas (Spain)

He was among the frst astronomers to photograph totality. The comparison of these photographs and those taken by Warren De la Rue defnitely confrmed that solar prominences belong to the sun and are not optical illusions. (Chinnici 2019: 117–125; 183–186) xii Angelo Secchi: Biographic Notes (Chinnici 2019)

Universal Exhibition, Paris, 1867

Secchi presented his meteorograph, which achieved a great public success and was awarded with the Grand Prix (Brenni, Chap. 10, in this volume; Chinnici 2019: 125–133; 201–204)

Total Solar Eclipse, 22 December 1870, Augusta (Sicily)

Secchi’s participation in this scientifc expedition, the frst organized by the new Italian government, provoked diplomatic problems, cleverly solved by Pietro Tacchini. Secchi again used photography but the results were poor due to unfavorable weather conditions (Chinnici 2019: 147).

International Conference of the Meter (Paris, 1870–72)

Secchi participated as a delegate of Papal States, and this caused a diplomatic inci- dent with the Italian delegation. The protests of the latter were not accepted by the Commission, and this was an important personal success for Secchi and a proof of the high esteem he enjoyed in the international community (Chinnici 2019: 149–159).

Congress of the Italian Scientists (Palermo, 1875)

On that occasion, a reform project for the Italian Observatories was discussed; Secchi succeeded in avoiding the confscation of the Collegio Romano Observatory, which instead obtained a special status in recognition of the value of the illustrious Jesuit scientist (Chinnici 2019: 312–313). Introduction

In Dr. Ileana Chinnici’s excellent biography of Angelo Secchi, Decoding the Stars: A Biography of Angelo Secchi, Jesuit and Scientist, Secchi’s scientifc achievements were treated as milestones in his personal life. Now in this volume, a series of experts in Secchi’s many different felds of interest expand on the details what he accomplished. But in addition to describing his science, the authors of the papers that follow have extended this study of Secchi’s activities in three fascinating dimensions. The frst is an examination of how Secchi’s philosophy and theology interacted with both the Jesuit tradition in which he was educated and the controversial philosophical and theological currents that surrounded the 1860s and 1870s. This epoch, the period of Secchi’s most intense activity, was also the time sur- rounding the First Vatican Ecumenical Council. As other historians have described (see John W.O’Malley’s 2018 book, Vatican I: The Council and the Making of the Ultamontane Church), one might argue that this council in many ways failed spec- tacularly in responding to the intellectual currents of its time. The reason behind this failure was fundamentally that the currents themselves were not yet mature. But it was exactly out of those frst false steps that the progress leading to the Second Vatican Council was made possible. And in seeing how they played out in Secchi himself, we can appreciate both the causes of those problems and the ways that they would eventually be addressed. The second dimension is to explore how science in Italy developed after Secchi. It is fascinating to see how the politics and personalities of those times effectively strangled the growth that one might have expected in the felds of spectroscopy and astrophysics, in geomagnetism, or in meteorology, in spite of the excellent founda- tions that Secchi had laid. By contrast, however, his often-neglected contributions to science for the public good, from the timekeeping system to public health and environmental concerns, did take root in Italy so completely that today they are taken for granted, and thus generally unremarked. The third dimension, refected in the title of this volume, is the fundamental change in the nature of science itself during the quarter century of Secchi’s greatest activity, from 1850 to 1875. Though for all that we honor Galileo and Newton as the

xiii xiv Introduction founders of modern science, actually science as we know it is, for better or worse, a nineteenth-century invention. And Secchi was a key fgure in how that came about. Secchi altered the nature of the questions that science would ask: from “how are things arranged?” to “what are things made of and how do they work?” This is seen most clearly in his pioneering studies of stellar spectroscopy, done in the face of opposition from the traditional astronomers who saw only the measurement of star positions as their appropriate work. Secchi embraced the new technologies of electricity and steam to change the way that data were collected. He pioneered the use of telegraphy to produce synop- tic weather maps; and with newly devised batteries, wires, and electrical relays, he created his famous device to automatically record climate and weather data. At the same time, he took advantage of the ease of travel (and postal delivery) that steam- powered ships and trains provided to correspond regularly with scientists from Sicily to Paris to Berlin, and to travel routinely across Europe to observe eclipses and attend scientifc congresses. This began with his own journeys to England and the United States in 1848–1850, which transformed his own understanding of the scientifc enterprise. Finally, and perhaps most radically, he found ways to integrate his own scientifc interests with the needs of his national government (the Holy See), providing it with the expertise to deal with the challenges of the times. This included the response of the government to the growth of urban areas, with its concomitant issues of public health, and the systemization of its cartography and timekeeping. He also demon- strated to his government, and to the Church, how important and useful it was to have a visible and credible presence in the world of science. The natural philosopher of 1801—toiling before even the word scientist had been coined—would not recognize the life of a scientist of 1860. By contrast, Secchi’s day-to-day activities are not all that unrecognizable to a scientist of today. From his time forward, science would be the enterprise of collaborations tied together by modern communication technology; the collection of data would depend more and more on complex instruments of a sort that would require a team of sup- porting engineers; and its support would be closely tied to government funding of both universities and national observatories. Because Secchi’s work was so wide-ranging, we can fnd refected in his life so many of the changes that stormed the intellectual world of the mid-nineteenth century. Seeing how Secchi himself was personally touched by these changes, and how in turn he affected them, we can help relive and appreciate those developments. In him we fnd the roots of contemporary science. Director, Vatican Observatory Br Guy Consolmagno SJ ([email protected]) Abbreviations

A-GHIS Archivio Ghisalberti AMF Archivio Museo di Fisica ANL Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei APUG Historical Archive of the Pontifcal Gregorian University, Rome ASPEM Historical Archive of the Jesuit Euro-Mediterranean Province AS Archivio Storico ASV Historical Archive of Specola Vaticana, Albano Laziale (Rome) DAUB Department of Astronomy, University of Bologna FSG Fondazione Sella San Gerolamo INAF Istituto nazionale di Astrofsica (National Institute for Astrophysics) OAA Arcetri Astronomical Observatory, Florence OAB Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera OAC Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte OACt Osservatorio Astrofsico di Catania OAPa Palermo Astronomical Observatory OAPd Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova OAR Rome Astronomical Observatory, Monte Porzio Catone (Rome) MAC Museo Astronomico e Copernicano

xv Contents

Part I The Historical and Cultural Context 1 An Introduction to Angelo Secchi and his Collegio Romano Observatory �� 3 Aldo Altamore, Matteo Galaverni, and Christopher J. Corbally 2 The Scientific Tradition of the Society of Jesus and the Formation of Angelo Secchi �� 23 Ugo Baldini 3 Between Science and Religion: Angelo Secchi and his Time �� 43 Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti 4 Angelo Secchi: Portrait of a “Multi-versed” Jesuit Scientist �� 65 Ileana Chinnici

Part II Secchi’s Scientifc Contributions 5 Angelo Secchi, Stellar Spectroscopy, Solar Physics, and Visual Science Culture �� 83 Klaus Hentschel 6 Planetary Observations by Angelo Secchi �� 105 Richard McKim and William Sheehan 7 The Legacy of Angelo Secchi at the Forefront of Solar Physics Research �� 123 Ilaria Ermolli and Marco Ferrucci 8 Angelo Secchi, Instrument Innovator �� 137 Kevin L. Johnson 9 Angelo Secchi and Meteorology in Italy �� 153 Luigi Iafrate and Maria Carmen Beltrano

xvii xviii Contents

10 Secchi’s Meteorographs Outside of Italy �� 175 Paolo Brenni 11 Secchi’s Book on “The Unity of Physical Forces” �� 195 Roberto Capuzzo-Dolcetta 12 The Measurement of the Geodetic Baselines Along the Via Appia Antica �� 201 Tullio Aebischer 13 The History and Future of the Secchi Disk �� 215 Oliver Zielinski 14 Angelo Secchi and the Development of Geophysics in Italy �� 225 Alessio Argentieri and Maurizio Parotto 15 Angelo Secchi and the Measurement of Time �� 243 Maria Luisa Tuscano 16 Secchi’s Science in the Service of the Public �� 261 Monica Calzolari and Stefano Marsella

Part III Some Late Issues 17 The Unfulfilled “Secchi Monument” at Reggio Emilia �� 279 Fabrizio Bònoli and Agnese Mandrino 18 The Ups and Downs (and Ups Again!) of Astrophysics in Italy After Secchi �� 305 Simone Bianchi 19 Astronomy in Rome After Secchi and His Legacy at the Astronomical Observatory of Rome �� 323 Lucio Angelo Antonelli

Part IV Current Resources 20 Secchi’s Diffuse Correspondence in Italian Archives �� 343 Antonella Gasperini and Mauro Gargano 21 GATE (Gregorian Archives Texts Editing): An Online Resource of Angelo Secchi Correspondence �� 363 Lorenzo Mancini and Martín M. Morales Index �� 373 About the Contributors

Tullio Aebischer Teacher, Independent scholar

Graduated in Physics, he is member of the Italian Society for the History of Physics and Astronomy (SISFA) and author of many papers on the history of geodetic measurements performed in Italy from the eighteenth century to nowadays, with special attention to the geodetic activities performed by Secchi – geodesic baseline along the via Appia Antica and the Prime Meridian of Italy.

Aldo Altamore Aggregate Professor of Physics and Astronomy (retired)

Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy

Also: Adjoint scholar at Vatican Observatory

His research interests are focused on optical and ultraviolet spectroscopic observations of stars ad galaxies; history of astronomy, especially the development of astrophysics in Rome from mid-nineteenth century to the present time; teaching and communication of physics and astronomy.

Author or coauthor of more than 100 scientifc papers, he is involved in issues regarding initial and in-service training of Physics and Natural Sciences teachers and the stimulation of scientifc vocations among high school students.

Lucio Angelo Antonelli INAF senior researcher, Director of Astronomical Observatory of Rome

INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Monte Porzio Catone (Rome), Italy

Lucio Angelo Antonelli is the Director of INAF – Astronomical Observatory of Rome since 2018. He is an high-energy astrophysicist focusing his scientifc activity on the study of transient phenomena in the sky: mainly on gamma ray burst and

xix xx About the Contributors more recently also on electromagnetic counterpart of gravitational waves and neu- trino sources. In his career, he has published over 300 articles in international astronomical journals (including Science and Nature). In 1998, he received the Bruno Rossi Prize from the American Astronomical Society (nominally with 19 other scientists) for the discovery of the afterglows of gamma ray bursts (Lampi Gamma). Lucio Angelo Antonelli has also carried out teaching activities at the University of L’Aquila and at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata.” He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Italian Astronomical Society, and he is a member of the International Astronomical Union and European Astronomical Society.

Alessio Argentieri Città Metropolitana di Roma Capitale, Rome, Italy

Following his degree in Geological Sciences at “La Sapienza” University of Rome, Alessio Argentieri received his Ph.D. in Tectonics and Structural Geology at the University of Camerino. As a geologist, he was employed by the former “Province of Rome,” department of local administration which in 2015 was turned into the actual “Metropolitan City of Rome Capital.” Since 2009, he has been executive of the Provincial Police, then of the Geological Survey and of the Protected Areas Survey of that institution; currently, he is executive of the Geological, Soil Conservation, and Civil Protection Survey. Member of the Italian Geological Society, he was cofounder and Secretary of the History of Geology Section. He is Associate Editor of Acque Sotterranee (Italian Journal of Groundwater). His research interests focus on tectonics, structural geology, hydrogeology, applied geo- morphology, and history of geosciences. He also collaborates with the sports desk of the online journal www.attualita.it and with All Rugby, the Italian Rugby Review.

Ugo Baldini Professor of Early Modern History (retired)

University of Padua, Italy

He was Professor of Early Modern History and former Director of the Department of Political Science at the University of Padua. His main research interests cover history of early modern science: the peculiar traits of Italy’s scientifc history in the “ancien régime” period; the scientifc contribution of the Society of Jesus till 1773, both in Europe and in extra-European missions; the system of Catholic book cen- sure; and the emergence of modern science. He is author of about 145 publications (books, essays, articles, editions of collective volumes) and about 85 entries (on scientists and scientifc intellectuals, ca. 1580–1780) in the Dizionario Biografco degli Italiani.

Maria Carmen Beltrano Researcher (retired)

Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment (CREA-AA), Rome, Italy About the Contributors xxi

She worked for thirty years at the Central Weather Offce in Rome (the frst national Italian weather service, established in 1876), which recently merged into the Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment (CREA-AA). She was responsible for the Historical Meteorological Network, the Meteorological Observatory of the Collegio Romano, and the Meteorological Archive, as well as for the Geophysical Instruments Collection. She was also a scientifc referent for the CREA Historical Weather Library.

She coordinated some projects aimed at enhancing the instrumental, archival, and librarian heritage, presenting their results in various conferences, both national and international. She is the author of articles, chapters of books, and monographs related to the historical-scientifc heritage of the offce: the instrumental collection, the weather data archive, the historical library. She is the coauthor of the Atlante italiano del clima e dei cambiamenti climatici (Rome, 2015).

Simone Bianchi Research astronomer

INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Arcetri, Florence, Italy

His research interests lie in observational and theoretical studies of dust extinction and emission in spiral galaxies and the Milky Way, and in theoretical studies of the formation and survival of dust grains. He is also interested in the early history of the Arcetri Observatory and its astronomers, with a particular focus on Wilhelm Tempel.

Fabrizio Bònoli Professor of History of Astronomy (retired)

Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Italy

After teaching History of Astronomy at the University of Bologna, he is currently Contract Professor in charge of the “History of cosmology” course at the Master’s Degree in Astrophysics and Cosmology; he is editor-in-chief of “Giornale di Astronomia,” past vice-president of the Italian Astronomical Society and author of many publications in astrophysics and history of astronomy.

Paolo Brenni Researcher

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IGG), Florence, Italy

Paolo Brenni (b. 1954) graduated in experimental physics in 1981 at the University of Zürich. He then specialized in the history of scientifc instruments and of their trade. He is researcher at the Italian National Research Council in Florence and collaborates with the Museo Galileo and other museums and institutions both in Italy and abroad. He catalogued, reorganized, and restored several collections of instruments; and he is author of many articles. He is president of the Scientifc Instrument Society. xxii About the Contributors

Monica Calzolari archivist (retired)

Rome State Archives, Italy

She is specialized in the conservation of archives, with particular reference to emer- gency situations and in the ordering and inventorying of nineteenth-century archives. He has carried out historical research on the Risorgimento in the Papal States, on the history of crime and prison, on science and technique, and on theatrical and musical culture from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries; her studies are described in numerous publications. In particular, she has worked on the archive of the “Commissione speciale deputata alla ricostruzione della basilica di San Paolo fuori le mura” after the fre of 1823, where she rediscovered the documentation related to the innovative fre prevention and reaction system devised by Angelo Secchi in 1867.

Roberto Capuzzo Dolcetta Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics and Fluid dynamics for Astrophysics

Department of Physics, Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy

He authored or coauthored 210 papers and books in the felds of theoretical and numerical astrophysics, with particular emphasis on massive large-scale simula- tions using supercomputers. He has taught and worked in many international institutions such as Boston University, University of Washington, University of Leiden (NL), University of Heidelberg (DE), etc. He has been chair of the Ph.D. in Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Space Science, joint program among the Universities of Sapienza and Tor Vergata and INAF (National Institute for Astrophysics, Italy).

Ileana Chinnici Research astronomer

INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo, Palermo, Italy

Also: Adjoint scholar at Vatican Observatory

Her main research topic is history of astronomy in the nineteenth century, and especially the raising of astrophysics. In charge of the historical museum of Palermo Observatory, she is author of many papers and books, mostly based on inventorying and exploitation of historical astronomical archives, including the Carte du Ciel archives at Paris Observatory and the Secchi archival fund at the Pontifcal Gregorian University. She is currently member of the Organizing Committee of the Commission 3 (History of Astronomy) of the International Astronomical Union. About the Contributors xxiii

Guy Consolmagno SJ Director, Vatican Observatory

He is a native of Detroit, Michigan, received SB and SM degrees from MIT, and earned his PhD in Planetary Sciences from the University of Arizona in 1978. He studies the connections between meteorites and asteroids, and he has published more than 200 scientifc publications as well as six popular astronomy books. In 2014, he received the Carl Sagan Medal from the American Astronomical Society, Division for Planetary Sciences, for excellence in public communication in planetary sciences.

Christopher Corbally SJ Astronomer

Vatican Observatory

He principally uses spectroscopy to investigate the evolution of stars (single, mul- tiple, and peculiar), and he is coauthor for the comprehensive volume, Stellar Spectral Classifcation. He was the Project Scientist for the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT) on Mount Graham, Arizona. A longtime interest in interdisciplinary questions has led to his coauthorship of the recent book, The Emergence of Religion in Human Evolution.

Ilaria Ermolli Research astronomer

INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Monte Porzio Catone (Rome), Italy

Her research interests span many aspects of solar magnetism and activity, with a focus on the solar irradiance variability, solar-terrestrial physics, and imaging of the solar atmosphere. She has been contributing with leading responsibilities to several national and international research projects, including 4 FP7 and 3 H2020 projects that have received funding from the European Union. She was member of the man- agement core team of the COST Action ES1005 TOSCA (towards a more complete assessment of the impact of solar variability on the Earth’s climate). Her research aims at advancing the high-resolution solar physics and the reconstruction of the solar magnetic feld evolution over the past centuries.

Matteo Galaverni Astronomer, INAF-OAS Bologna, Italy

Also: Adjoint scholar at Vatican Observatory

He is working in Theoretical Cosmology (Cosmic Microwave Background polar- ization, Dark Matter, and Dark Energy) and Astroparticle Physics (ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays and phenomenological tests of physics beyond the Standard Model). He is also interested in scientifc divulgation, education, and public outreach (in particular Cosmology and Astrophysics). xxiv About the Contributors

Mauro Gargano Research technologist

INAF –Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy

Graduated in Astronomy from the University of Padua, he is in charge of the Museum of Astronomical Instruments at the Capodimonte Observatory, where he also deals with studies on history of astronomy, especially in Naples. He organizes initiatives for the preservation of the historical collections and for the dissemination of the astronomical culture to a large audience. He is member of the executive committee of the Italian Society for the History of Physics and Astronomy, member of the Offce for Cultural Heritage at the INAF presidency, editor of the web portal “Polvere di Stelle,” and collaborator of the Libraries and Museums Service and Third Mission of INAF.

Antonella Gasperini First technologist

INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Arcetri, Florence, Italy

She is responsible for the Libraries and Museums Service and Third Mission of the National Institute for Astrophysics, and is involved in many initiatives for the preservation and enhancement of the INAF cultural heritage. She actively collaborates with the dissemination activities of scientifc culture of the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory.

Klaus Hentschel Professor, Director of the section for the history of science and technology

University of Stuttgart, Germany

He has studied physics, philosophy, and history of science at the University of Hamburg. His Ph.D. thesis deals with philosophical (mis)interpretations of Einstein’s theory of relativity; his habilitation thesis analyzes the interplay of instrument making, experimentation, and theory formation in astrophysics and spectroscopy (redshift). He has published widely on the history of physical science since the early-modern period, on invisible hands in scientifc practice, on research technologies, on visual science cultures, and on the mentality of physicists. Cf. https://www. hi.uni-stuttgart.de/institut/team/Hentschel/ and https://www.researchgate.net/profle/Klaus_Hentschel

Luigi Iafrate Researcher

Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment (CREA-AA), Rome, Italy

Graduated in Modern Literature, with a specialization in Geography, he has carried out research on History of Meteorology and Historical Climatology at CNR and at the former CREA-CMA (formerly the Italian Central Offce of Meteorology and Agricultural Ecology). About the Contributors xxv

He has taught History of Climate at the European University of Rome within the Master in Environmental Sciences. He has worked at the Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment (CREA-AA) as the referent of the Historical Meteorological Network and the Observatory of the Roman College. Among his various published works, the books Dalla meteorologia antica alle origini italiane della meteorologia moderna (Roma, 2002) and Fede e scienza: un incontro pro- fcuo. Origini e sviluppo della meteorologia fno agli inizi del ‘900 (Roma, 2008) are worth mentioning. He is the coauthor of the volumes Il mistero del tempo e del clima (Napoli, 2000) and L’atlante italiano del clima e dei cambiamenti climatici (Roma, 2015).

He is currently working on the coordination of the library and archival Services of the Italian Council for Agriculture.

Kevin Johnson Historian, Independent scholar

Formerly an associate curator of astronomy at the Science Museum, London, he is both an amateur observational astronomer and historian of amateur astronomy. He has published on scientifc instruments and is active in the Society for the History of Astronomy, a former editor of its journal and coordinator of its survey of astronomy for the UK and Ireland.

Lorenzo Mancini Researcher at the Historical Archives

Pontifcal Gregorian University, Rome (Vatican City)

Since 2017 he has been working at the Historical Archives of the Pontifcal Gregorian University, where he is the main administrator of the collaborative web platform Gregorian Archives Texts Editing (GATE). During 2013–2017, he was a research fellow at the Institute for Computational Linguistics “Antonio Zampolli” (National Research Council of Italy). He has a Ph.D. in Library History (“Sapienza” University of Rome) with a dissertation focused on the history of the Roman College libraries. His research topics deal with the history of printing, book, and libraries during the early modern time. He published papers about the eighteenth-century book trade, the Manuzio family, and about the origin of Jesuit pedagogy and typography.

Agnese Mandrino Librarian

INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Milan, Italy

She is in charge of the Library and Historical Archives of the Brera Astronomical Observatory and author of many papers related to the history of astronomy. xxvi About the Contributors

Stefano Marsella Engineer

Ministero dell’Interno – Corpo Nazionale dei Vigili del Fuoco, Rome, Italy

Stefano Marsella has been working since 1988 in the Italian National Fire Corps and has served in the provincial fre services of Florence, Venice, Arezzo, Perugia. At the moment, he is the regional director of fre and rescue services in Abruzzo. He has been working also in the standardization of fre prevention and has directed the information technology area of the CNVVF and the National Fire Academy (Istituto Superiore Antincendi). He has published articles and books on fre prevention, fre safety engineering, fre prevention, and the application of ICT to the rescue services. He is coordinating since 2009 the participation of CNVVF’s teams to research projects cofnanced by the European Commission in the felds of innovation technologies applied to rescue services.

Richard McKim Teacher, Independent Scholar

He was trained as a chemist and had a long career in teaching. He has coordinated the work of the Mars Section of the British Astronomical Association for four decades, wrote the frst monograph about Martian dust storms, and has published hundreds of articles and papers about the red planet and on historical and biographical topics. He is an active observer, using a 41 cm Dall-Kirkham Cassegrain telescope in his observatory in Northamptonshire, England. A past President of the BAA, he currently serves as its archivist and as a trustee. He enjoys sketching and travel, and plays clarinet and oboe in a local orchestra.

Martín Maria Morales Professor of Early Modern History and Historiography of Missions, Director of the Historical Archives

Pontifcal Gregorian University, Rome (Vatican City)

Born in Buenos Aires in 1953, he lives in Rome since 1983. He is the editor of the correspondence between the Generals of the Society of Jesus and the old Province of Paraguay, the frst volume being published under the title: A mis manos han lle- gado: cartas de los PP. Generales a la Antigua Provincia del Paraguay (1608–1639) (Madrid-Rome, 2005). The second, and last volume – Entremos en el mar abierto – is in preparation. His interests are focused on the writing process of the history of the Society of Jesus and has published several essays on Jesuit historiography. With the creation, in Buenos Aires, of a laboratory for the restoration of old books and documents, he was able to retrieve the “Fondo antiguo de libros y documentos de los Jesuitas en Argentina,” that is the old collection of books and documents pertain- ing to Jesuits in Argentina. About the Contributors xxvii

Maurizio Parotto Professor of Geology (Retired)

Università degli Studi “Roma TRE”, Rome, Italy

Professor of Geology at “La Sapienza” University of Rome and later at “Roma TRE” University, Maurizio Parotto participated to the establishment in 1992 of the new roman Athenaeum, where he was in charge as Director of the Geological Sciences Department and President of the related degree course. He participated in several research projects, sponsored by the National Research Council and Universities, concerning geodynamical evolution of the Central Apennines and focusing on areas of particular hydrogeological, geothermal, and seismic interest. He was national coordinator of researches in the framework of the “Lithosphere Project”; he participated in the CROP (Lower Crust) Strategic Project, supported by CNR, ENEL, and AGIP, leading the planning and execution of a seismic profle across Central Apennines.

He has been Director of the Geological Museum of “La Sapienza” University of Rome, Director of the review “Geologica Romana,” member of the executive council of the Italian Geological Society and member of the Italian Consortium for Planetary Studies.

William Sheehan Doctor, Independent scholar

Retired after 30 years of psychiatric practice, he is an amateur astronomer, historian of astronomy, and science writer based in Flagstaff, Arizona. He is the author of twenty books on astronomy, including Planets & Perception (Arizona, 1988), The Immortal Fire Within: The Life and Work of Edward Emerson Barnard (1995), The Planet Mars (Arizona, 1996), and Discovering Pluto (with Dale P. Cruikshank; Arizona, 2018).

Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti Faculty of Theology, Scuola Interdisciplinare Superiore per la Ricerca Interdisciplinare (SISRI)

Pontifcal University of the Holy Cross, Rome

Also: Adjoint scholar at Vatican Observatory

Born in 1955, he took an university degree in Astronomy at the University of Bologna (1977), and a doctorate in Dogmatic Theology, at the Pontifcal University of the Holy Cross, Rome (1991). Italian C.N.R. fellow (1978–1981), he has been appointed Astronomer of the Astronomical Observatory of Turin (1981–1985). He is now Full Professor of Fundamental Theology at the Pontifcia Università della Santa Croce in Rome and Adjunct Scholar (2015) at the Vatican Observatory. His felds of interest and research concern Theology of Revelation, theological and philosophical image of God, historical and philosophical perspectives of the dialogue xxviii About the Contributors between scientifc culture and Christian theology. He is author of about 20 books, including a Fundamental Theology in Scientifc Context (2015–2018), a four-volume treatise in Italian which develops the whole program of fundamental theology having on its background the results of contemporary scientifc culture.

Maria Luisa Tuscano Retired teacher, Independent scholar

Graduated in Biology, she has been studying for many years cultural astronomy topics related to the measurements of time, with numerous publications on the subject. She designs sundials.

She taught Physical Geography and Astronomy Laboratory in the SSIS of the University of Palermo. As a teacher of Natural Sciences in high school, she has developed many astronomical educational projects, including national ones.

For some years associated with INAF, she collaborates with the Astronomical Observatory of Palermo.

Oliver Zielinski Professor, Head of the Center for Marine Sensors (ZfMarS)

Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), University of Oldenburg, Schleusenstr. 1, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany

Also: Scientifc director of the German Research Center for Artifcial Intelligence (DFKI)

Marine Perception Research Group, German Research Center for Artifcial Intelligence (DFKI), Marie-Curie-Str. 1, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany

In 1999, he completed his doctorate in physics at the University of Oldenburg. After that, he moved to industry where he became scientifc director and CEO of “Optimare Group,” an international supplier of marine sensor systems. In 2005, he was appointed professor at the University of Applied Science in Bremerhaven, Germany. In 2007, he became director of the Institute for Marine Resources (IMARE). After that, he returned to the University of Oldenburg in 2011. His area of research covers marine optics and environmental sensor systems, with a special focus on smart sensors, coastal systems, and operational observatories involving different user groups and stakeholders. His fascination for ocean color and transparency, combined with his interest in historic and modern measurement techniques, intrigued him for the simplicity and power of Secchi’s disk.