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OATS-UNI/TS SEMINAR
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Speaker: Aldo Altamore (Univ. degli Studi Roma Tre)

Title: Angelo Secchi e il triplice osservatorio del Collegio Romano, culla dell'astrofisica europea e della geofisica italiana
Date: Wednesday, June 11th, 2014
Time: 11:30
Venue: Villa Bazzoni
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Abstract Angelo Secchi, founder of stellar astrophysics and co-founder of solar astrophysics, is known for his outstanding contributions in a wide variety of scientific fields, ranging from astronomy and geomagnetism, to meteorology, geodesy and even to gnomonics and archeology. He directed the Astronomical Observatory at the Collegio Romano. From its foundation to the end of XIX century, the College was famous not only in the fields of phylosophy and theology, but also in those of matematics, astronomy and physics. During his direction Secchi created the first European astrophysical observatory and the first Italian geomagnetic observatory on the roof the church of Saint Ignatius in Rome. He was the inventor of the "Meteorografo", the first authomatic metereological station, a complex electromechanical device based on the most advanced technology of the time. He was strongly interested in the applications of fundamental research to common life and deeply engaged in teaching and diffusion of Science at any level. I will discuss the most important aspects of Secchi’s scientific adventure, that have been revisited by an interdisciplinary group of researchers that obtained a special mention at the SIF Award 2012 for History of Physics.
http://www.media.inaf.it/2012/05/29/angelo-secchi-e-il-suo-tempo
Altamore A., Maffeo S. 2013, Giornale di Fisica, 3, 217
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Contact: Massimo Ramella (OATS)