Francesco Fontana (astronomer)
Francesco Fontana (* between 1585 and 1589 in Naples , † around 1656 ) was an Italian lawyer and astronomer.
He observed the surface structures of the moon and the planets known at the time through a telescope he constructed himself and made woodcuts of his observations. In 1645 he claimed to have discovered a companion of Venus .
The lunar crater Fontana and the Martian crater Fontana are named after him.
Works
- Novae coelestium terrestriumque rerum observationes, et fortasse hactenus non vulgatae. (1646)
Web links
- Digitized by Novae coelestium… observationes (1646, Latin)
- Paolo Molaro: Francesco Fontana and his "astronomical" Telescope (English) arxiv : 1704.05661
- Mauro Gargano: Della Porta, Colonna, and Fontana: the role of Neapolitan scientist at the beginning of the telescope era . In: Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage . 22, No. 1, 2019, ISSN 1440-2807 , pp. 45-59.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Fontana, Francesco |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian astronomer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | between 1580 and 1590 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Naples |
| DATE OF DEATH | around 1656 |