Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera
The Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera ( OAB ; German Astronomisches Observatorium Brera ) is an astronomical observatory in Milan (Northern Italy) with the IAU code 027. The astronomical coordinates are 45 ° 27 '59.2 "north and 0h 36m 45.89s east of Greenwich .
The observatory in the historic Palazzo di Brera , the original home of the Jesuit College Collegio de Brera in Milan's Brera district, was founded by Jesuits in 1764 . Their planning was in the hands of the polymath Father Roger Joseph Boscovitch . In 1765 the OAB was completed on the southeast wing of the palazzo. The Jesuit Father Louis Lagrange (1711–1783) was co-director . In 1772 Boscovich left the OAB. After the repeal of the Jesuit order in 1773 by Pope Clement XIV , the observatory fell to the state.
From 1802 to 1817 Barnaba Oriani was the head of the observatory. He was succeeded as directors by Angelo de Cesaris (1749-1832) and Francesco Carlini . In 1860 Giovanni Schiaparelli was appointed to the observatory as "secundo astronomo". In 1861 Schiaparelli discovered the asteroid Hesperia at the OAB . After Carlini's death in 1862, Schiaparelli took over the management of the observatory. In 1877 he did the most detailed mapping of the planet Mars at the time .
When the conditions for astronomical observations in downtown Milan deteriorated, the observatory's operations were relocated to Merate in the province of Lecco , around 35 kilometers from Milan. For the astrometric purposes of determining world longitude in 1933, however, the location was suitable; it resulted in the value 0h 36m 45.84s in the system of the FK3 .
literature
- Volker Witt: From Mars observation to X-ray astronomy. The Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera in Milan and Merate. In: Stars and Space. October 2008, ISSN 0039-1263 , pp. 104-108.
Web links
- Homepage of the observatory
- Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera on the ETHorama platform
Coordinates: 45 ° 28 ′ 17 ″ N , 9 ° 11 ′ 22 ″ E