The Giuseppe S. Vaiana Astronomical Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in Palermo, Sicily, Italy, housed inside the Palazzo dei Normanni. It is one of the research facilities of the National Institute of Astrophysics. [1] The observatory carries out research projects in the field of astronomy and astrophysics including the study of solar and stellar coronas, stellar evolution (including the birth of stars) and of the supernova remnants.
It was founded in 1790 by Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, at the suggestion of some intellectuals of the time, including the then Sicilian viceroy Francesco d'Aquino, Prince of Caramanico to endow the Sicilian city with an element of prestige as an astronomical observatory. [1] [2] It was hard to find an expert astronomer who would agree to work in such a peripheral location at the time. In the end the choice fell on Giuseppe Piazzi, a middle-aged mathematician, who before had not particularly distinguished himself in astronomy. The new director immediately dealt with the purchase of the most modern astronomical instruments of the time to make the observatory compete at European level: among other things, a surveying instrument of five-foot diameter to work in conjunction with telescopes to document the position of stars was purchased, made by English manufacturer Jesse Ramsden, and the first dome was built. It was Piazzi's determination that allowed the precious English instrument to arrive in Sicily: the astronomer had to go personally to prod the builder and, later, also cope with all the bureaucratic difficulties that arose: the British government was reluctant to allow the export of a uniquely capable instrument (a status which remained for many years, a fundamental aspect of the observatory's early value). Thanks to the new equipment, and in particular to the Palermo Circle, as it became known in English-speaking world (or the Circle of Ramsden in Italian), this was Ramsden's most celebrated achievement. [3] [4] [5] In 1801 Piazzi discovered and identified the first asteroid Ceres. He named this object which became classified in the 21st century a dwarf planet, Cerere Ferdinandea, in honour of the myth of Ceres set in Sicily and of King Ferdinand; thanks to this discovery, he was awarded a gold medal which he refused instead donating its worth to the purchase of other instruments, including a Troughton equatorial telescope that he placed in the second dome of the observatory.
In 1817 Piazzi moved to Naples to complete the setting up of the Capodimonte Astronomical Observatory, leaving direction of the Palermo observatory to his assistant Niccolò Cacciatore. Cacciatore was succeeded, in 1841, by his son Gaetano; however, in 1848, he was removed for political reasons, having taken part in the revolutionary anti-Bourbon movements. The management of the Palermo observatory was then entrusted to Domenico Ragona, who succeeded in obtaining from the Two Sicilies government the necessary funds to purchase new instruments, including a 25 cm aperture Merz equatorial telescope, delivered in 1859.
With the Expedition of the Thousand in 1860, the situation was reversed: Gaetano Cacciatore's directorship was reinstated and Ragona removed, without being able to install the Merz telescope. Pietro Tacchini, appointed Deputy Astronomer in 1863, installed and commissioned the equatorial telescope in 1865, using it for solar physics research which would make the Palermo Observatory famous in the second half of the nineteenth century and lead to the foundation of the Society of Italian Spectroscopists (1871), whose Memoirs (Memorie) - the first review of astrophysics - would be published periodically in Palermo from 1872 by Tacchini.
The departure of Tacchini for Rome in 1879 began a difficult phase; Annibale Riccò, the Deputy (i.e. "Adjunct") Astronomer, managed to keep the quality of research high until he took over the direction of the Catania observatory in 1890; then, the political and military events – and the consequent financial difficulties of the Government – severely compromised the observatory, which in 1923 was downgraded to the university's Cabinet of Astronomy.
From 1931 to 1936 its director was Corradino Mineo, an academician of the Lincei, who had a second term from 1938 to 1948, after the directorship of Francesco Zagar. [1] They were years characterized by great difficulties of the institution, which had already seen, in the reform of 1923, declassification to a simple astronomical cabinet, and it was hit by a serious decline, with a reduction of personnel and scarcity of funds for the conduct of observations and for technological adaptation. The problems became acute during and after the Second World War, when the observatory was close to closure, deprived of some premises, after having also been deprived, in 1939, of the only modern observation instrument it was equipped with, a model of zenith telescope developed by Julius Wanschaff in Berlin. [1]
The three domes originally placed on the roof of the building were replaced in the fifties with others in iron, which were later removed because they were too heavy and dangerous for the structure; later, lighter copper domes of the previous design were installed. It is named after Giuseppe Salvatore Vaiana, who directed it from 1976 to 1991.
The observatory has a laboratory for the development and testing of scientific instrumentation for x-ray band telescopes (X-ray Astronomy Calibration and Testing Facility, XACT) in a separate building, a high-tech computing center, carries out iterations and error-testing of numerical models collating observations and measurements in astrophysics (System of Calculation for Numerical Astrophysics, SCAN) and the Museum of the Specola, which contains a vast collection of astronomical instruments belonging to the Observatory.
The Museum of the Specola, located at the top of the leaning tower of the Norman palace, is mainly composed of 18th- and 19th-century instruments, among which are achromatic telescopes, a sextant, some barometers and thermometers, as well as two main items earlier mentioned: the Palermo Circle (circle by Ramsden) and Edward Troughton's equatorial telescope. It hosts other contemporary instruments and a series of oil paintings that portray personalities from the scientific world.
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich is an observatory situated on a hill in Greenwich Park in south east London, overlooking the River Thames to the north. It played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation, and because the Prime Meridian passes through it, it gave its name to Greenwich Mean Time, the precursor to today's Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The ROG has the IAU observatory code of 000, the first in the list. ROG, the National Maritime Museum, the Queen's House and the clipper ship Cutty Sark are collectively designated Royal Museums Greenwich.
Giuseppe Piazzi was an Italian Catholic priest of the Theatine order, mathematician, and astronomer. He established an observatory at Palermo, now the Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo – Giuseppe S. Vaiana. Perhaps his most famous discovery was the first dwarf planet, Ceres.
Charles Piazzi Smyth was an Italian-born British astronomer who was Astronomer Royal for Scotland from 1846 to 1888; he is known for many innovations in astronomy and, along with his wife Jessica Duncan Piazzi Smyth, his pyramidological and metrological studies of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
The Paris Observatory, a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centers in the world. Its historic building is on the Left Bank of the Seine in central Paris, but most of the staff work on a satellite campus in Meudon, a suburb southwest of Paris.
Jesse Ramsden FRS FRSE was a British mathematician, astronomical and scientific instrument maker. His reputation was built on the engraving and design of dividing engines which allowed high accuracy measurements of angles and lengths in instruments. He produced instruments for astronomy that were especially well known for maritime use where they were needed for the measurement of latitudes and for his surveying instruments which were widely used for cartography and land survey both across the British Empire and outside. An achromatic eyepiece that he invented for telescopes and microscopes continues to be known as the Ramsden eyepiece.
Armagh Observatory is an astronomical research institute in Armagh, Northern Ireland. Around 25 astronomers are based at the observatory, studying stellar astrophysics, the Sun, Solar System astronomy and Earth's climate.
Marcin Odlanicki Poczobutt was a Polish–Lithuanian Jesuit, astronomer and mathematician. He was professor of Vilnius University for over 50 years, serving as its rector from 1780 to 1799. The crater Poczobutt on the Moon is named after him.
Beta Delphini is a binary star in the constellation of Delphinus. It is the brightest star in Delphinus.
Alpha Delphini is a multiple star system in the constellation of Delphinus.
The Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte is the Neapolitan department of Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, the most important Italian institution promoting, developing and conducting scientific research in the fields of astronomy, astrophysics, and space science.
The Royal Observatory, Edinburgh (ROE) is an astronomical institution located on Blackford Hill in Edinburgh. The site is owned by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). The ROE comprises the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) of STFC, the Institute for Astronomy of the School of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Edinburgh, and the ROE Visitor Centre.
The Brera Observatory is an astronomical observatory in the Brera district of Milan, Italy. It was built in the historic Palazzo Brera in 1764 by the Jesuit astronomer Roger Boscovich. Following the suppression of the Jesuits by Clement XIV on 21 July 1773, the palace and the observatory passed to the then rulers of northern Italy, the Austrian Habsburg dynasty. Following the independence of Italy in 1861, the observatory has been run by the Italian government.
Niccolò Cacciatore was an Italian astronomer.
Ceres is a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Ceres was the first asteroid discovered, on 1 January 1801 by Giuseppe Piazzi at Palermo Astronomical Observatory in Sicily. Originally considered a planet, it was reclassified as an asteroid in the 1850s after the discovery of dozens of other objects in similar orbits. In 2006, it was reclassified again as a dwarf planet – the only one always inside Neptune's orbit – because, at 940 km (580 mi) in diameter, it is the only asteroid large enough for its gravity to make it plastic and to maintain it as a spheroid.
The University of Illinois Astronomical Observatory, located at 901 S. Mathews Avenue in Urbana, Illinois, on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, was built in 1896, and was designed by Charles A. Gunn. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since November 6, 1986, and on December 20, 1989, was designated a National Historic Landmark.
Fuertes Observatory is an astronomical observatory located on the North Campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. The observatory was designed by L.P. Burnham, Cornell Professor of Architecture and completed in fall of 1917. It was originally used by the Civil Engineering Department as an instructional field office for navigation and surveying. Today, the observatory is primarily used for public outreach, welcoming over two thousand visitors per year with open houses on clear Friday nights.
The National Institute for Astrophysics is an Italian research institute in astronomy and astrophysics, founded in 1999. INAF funds and operates twenty separate research facilities, which in turn employ scientists, engineers and technical staff. The research they perform covers most areas of astronomy, ranging from planetary science to cosmology.
The Shuckburgh telescope or Shuckburgh equatorial refracting telescope was a 4.1 inches (10.4 cm) diameter aperture telescope on an equatorial mount completed in 1791 for Sir George Shuckburgh (1751–1804) in Warwickshire, England, and built by British instrument maker Jesse Ramsden (1735–1800). It was transferred to the Royal Observatory, Greenwich in 1811 and the London Science Museum in 1929. Even though it has sometimes not been regarded as particularly successful, its design was influential. It was one of the larger achromatic doublet telescopes at the time, and one of the largest to have an equatorial mount. It was also known as the eastern equatorial for its location.
The Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, is the oldest continuously existing scientific institution in South Africa. Founded by the British Board of Longitude in 1820, it now forms the headquarters building of the South African Astronomical Observatory.
Potsdam Great Refractor is an historic astronomical telescope in an observatory in Potsdam, Germany.
Coordinates: 38°06′44″N13°21′22″E / 38.1122°N 13.3561°E
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