Pietro Tacchini facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pietro Tacchini
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| Born | March 21, 1838 Modena, Italy
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| Died | March 24, 1905 (aged 67) Modena, Italy
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| Alma mater | University of Padova |
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Pietro Tacchini (born March 21, 1838 – died March 24, 1905) was a famous Italian astronomer. He spent his life studying the Sun and helping set up important observatories.
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Pietro Tacchini's Early Life and Work
Pietro Tacchini was born and grew up in Modena, Italy. He went to the University of Padova to study engineering. When he was just 21 years old, he became the director of a small observatory in Modena.
In 1863, Pietro moved to Palermo, Italy. He became the director of the observatory there. He stayed in Palermo until 1879. During this time, he focused most of his research on observing the Sun.
Studying the Sun
Pietro Tacchini was very interested in the Sun. In 1865, he started a special science magazine. It was called Memorie della Società degli Spettroscopisti. This magazine was all about physical astronomy, which is the study of how stars and planets work. Pietro was the editor of this magazine until he died in 1905.
He also created a network with other Italian astronomers. They worked together to study the Sun using a method called spectroscopy. This allowed them to look at the different colors of light from the Sun. They tried to do this at the same time every day.
Pietro even set up an observatory in Calcutta, India. This was so they could keep watching the Sun when the weather in Italy was bad.
Observing Venus
In 1874, Pietro Tacchini led a special trip to Muddapur, India. The goal was to watch a rare event called the transit of Venus. This is when the planet Venus passes directly in front of the Sun. It looks like a tiny black dot moving across the Sun's face.
Important Roles in Rome
In 1879, Pietro was asked to move to Rome. He took over from another famous astronomer, Angelo Secchi, at the Osservatorio del Collegio Romano. This was a very important observatory.
Later, in 1881, he became the head of the Ufficio Centrale di Meteorologia. This office was in charge of studying the weather.
New Observatories
Pietro Tacchini believed that studying the Sun from high places was better. Because of his ideas, the Bellini Observatory was built on Mount Etna. He thought that being high up would help astronomers see the Sun's outer atmosphere, called the solar corona, even without a solar eclipse.
He also suggested building the Catania Observatory in 1885. These observatories helped astronomers learn more about the Sun.
Awards and Legacy
Pietro Tacchini received important awards for his work. In 1888, he was given the Rumford Medal. In 1892, he received the Janssen Medal. Both awards were for his amazing research on the Sun using spectroscopy.
To honor his contributions, a crater on the Moon is named after him. It is called Tacchini. Also, an asteroid in space is named 8006 Tacchini.
