Geminiano Montanari
Geminiano Montanari (born June 1, 1633 in Modena , † October 13, 1687 ) was an Italian astronomer , lens grinder and proponent of the experimental approach in science.
Montanari studied law in Florence and later graduated from the University of Salzburg . In 1662 or 1663 he moved to Bologna . There he created an exact map of the moon , using a self-made measuring eyepiece.
He also made observations on capillarity and static problems, and suggested that the viscosity of liquids depends on the shape of their molecules .
Montanari became known through an observation he made around 1667. He found that the brightness of Algol , the second brightest star in the constellation Perseus , changes periodically. This phenomenon had been observed before, but Montanari was the first astronomer known by name to keep a record of it.
The star's names in Arabic , Hebrew, and other languages all mean monster or demon (Arabic: Al Ghul), which indicates that the star's changes in brightness had long been known.
In 1669 Montanari succeeded Giovanni Domenico Cassini as an astronomy teacher at the Panzano observatory near Modena . One of his tasks there was to work out an astronomical almanac .
On March 21, 1676 he wrote to Edmund Halley that he had sighted a comet .
In 1679 Montanari started teaching in Padua . Almost all records from that time have been lost. A letter from 1682 has been preserved, in which he writes about the observation of Halley's comet . He also wrote on economics and made remarks on coinage and the value of money (1683).
In his memory, the lunar crater Montanari and the asteroid (8421) Montanari were named after him.
Publications
- De motionibus naturalibus a gravitate pendentibus (1667)
- Pensieri fisico-matematici (1667)
- La Livella Diottrica (The Spirit Level) (1674)
- Trattato mercantile delle monete (1680)
Web links
- "The impact of Galilean culture - From Bonaventura Cavalieri to Gian Domenico Cassini" , Bologna University Department of Astronomy (2004, English)
- Vanzo, Alberto: Experiment and Speculation in Seventeenth-Century Italy: The Case of Geminiano Montanari , Studies in History and Philosophy of Science , 56 (2016), pp. 52-61 (English). doi : 10.1016 / j.shpsa.2015.11.001
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Montanari, Geminiano |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian astronomer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 1, 1633 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Modena |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 13, 1687 |