Giovanni Schiaparelli

Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli, born March 14, 1835, was an Italian astronomer and science historian. He studied at the University of Turin and the Berlin Observatory, primarily on objects within the solar system. In 1859-1860 he worked in the Pulkovo Observatory and then worked for over forty years at the Brera Observatory. He was also a senator of the Kingdom of Italy, a member of the Accademia dei Lincei, the Accademia delle Scienze di Torino and the Regio Istituto Lombardo. He is particularly known for his studies of Mars and his observations on many objects within the solar system and outside.


Giovanni's greatest contribution to science was his telescopic observations of Mars. Mars was in opposition in 1877 making it easier for him to observe it. When Giovanni first saw the planet, he mapped the "seas" and "continents" of it, but called the linear structures "canali" which means channels in Italian, but was translated as canals. Everyone knew that canals are created by artificial construction which is where the assumption that there must be life on Mars originated and so the Martians were born. Giovanni did write in his book however that if there was life on Mars, they would be in the channels because that would be the most likely area for water to be. 


Giovanni also observed many other objects, such as the asteroid 69 Hesperia on April 26, 1861. His observation led him to hypothesize that  the Perseids and Leonids meteor showers were associated with comets. He proved, for example, that the orbit of the Leonids meteor shower coincided with that of the Comet Tempel-Tuttle. Giovanni also extensively observed binary stars. 


Giovanni was also interested in classical astronomy and considered himself a scholar.  He was the first to realize that the concentric spheres of Eudoxus of Cnidus and Callippus, unlike those used by many astronomers of later times, were not to be taken as material objects, but only as part of an algorithm similar to the modern Fourier series.


Giovanni was commemorated for his observations and received many awards. He won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1872 and the Bruce Medal in 1902. In addition many objects in the solar system were named after him. Such as Asteroid 4062 Schiaparelli, The crater Schiaparelli on the Moon, and The crater Schiaparelli on Mars. 


Overall, Giovanni Schiaparelli's contribution to science was great. His observations, while stirring some sci-fi interest with Martians, really did help people understand the surface of the red planet more. In addition, his studies on comets and their meteor showers led to the conclusion of them being associated together. He may not be an Isaac Newton, but he left his mark on history. 

Giovanni Schiaparelli - Sources

"Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli." NNDB: Tracking the Entire World. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://www.nndb.com/people/497/000095212/>.


"Schiaparelli, Giovanni Virginio (1835-1910)." The Internet Encyclopedia of Science. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/S/Schiaparelli.html>.


"The Bruce Medalists: Giovanni V. Schiaparelli." SSU Department of Physics & Astronomy. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/BruceMedalists/Schiaparelli/index.html>.

Observation 1

Full Moon

Last night there was a full Moon, I personally saw it setting early in the morning around 6:40 am. The color was a yellowish-orange and it was absolutely huge. It was an amazing site to see when I went outside and even still while driving to school. 

APOD 3.5

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Rosette Nebula 

 

This APOD features the Rosette Nebula in the constellation Monoceros, the Unicorn. This Nebula is categorized as an Emission Nebula, but what makes this one different is the cluster of stars in the middle. The stars, which formed from the gasses within the nebula, are now producing a wind that is pushing the nebula apart and not allowing many other stars to form.

APOD 3.4

Star Colors Within Orion

In this view of the constellation Orion, star trails are viewable due to a new experimental step-focus technique. This allows astronomers to more easily view the colors of each star. As I've learned in class, this means that this method could be used to determine the temperatures of the stars in view. The red stars are cooler, while the blue stars are hotter. As an example, in the top left is the red super-giant called Betelgeuse which I saw was orange/red through Mr. Percival's telescope. 

APOD 3.3

360 View of the Sun 

Two STEREO Satellites, launched in 2006, finally completed their journey together around the Sun to give NASA a full 360 degree view of it. Previously, they were only able to view the side facing us for Solar Weather, while this weather could form on the other side and rotate to face us. This could potentially cause an unexpected storm to interfere with power and communications. Thankfully, NASA has eliminated this threat.