The development of astronomy in Naples: the tale of two large telescopes made by William Herschel

Mirrors and telescopes produced by William Herschel were popular in Europe, due to the opportunities they offered for deep sky observations. Leading public and private observatories acquired them to observe new objects in the Solar System, such as planets and asteroids, and strange stellar structures, stellar nebulae and clusters. After the establishment of the Chair of Astronomy at the University of Naples, it took thirty-four years before an observatory was built. Due to the commitment of Lord Acton, Naples became the first Italian city to host a telescope made by William Herschel. A few years later, Count von Hahn also bought a Herschel telescope for his private observatory in Germany, and at the time this was the largest telescope made by Herschel in mainland Europe. In this paper we recount the remarkable story of these telescopes by way of the scientific activities of the two astronomers who were associated with them, and how von Hahn's telescope eventually also ended up in Naples

Della Porta, Colonna e Fontana e le prime osservazioni astronomiche a Napoli

Giovan Battista Della Porta is known for his idea of experimental science, Fabio Colonna is well-known for his botanical studies, and Francesco Fontana for his powerful telescopes and the exact observations of the Moon and planets. All three interested in astronomy. But when and what was observed in Naples for the first time with a telescope? And by whom? This communication, based on the correspondence of the protagonists, wants to contribute to retrace the events of the first Neapolitan astronomical observations

The status of astronomy in Naples before the foundation of the Capodimonte Observatory

During the years in which astronomy turned into a modern science, the contribution of Neapolitan scientists was not negligible; it is enough to mention Giovan Battista Della Porta and Francesco Fontana. However the University of Naples created the chair of astronomy only in 1734 without instruments and a site where carrying out astronomical observations. Therefore the Neapolitan astronomers were forced to use private observatories such as that of the College of the Piarists and of Lord Acton. Unfortunately the dispatches of 1750 and 1768, as well as the Royal Decree of 1791, for the foundation of an Observatory in Naples did not come along. The Astronomical Observatory of Naples was just established in 1807 in the old monastery of San Gaudioso. Then, in 1812, Murat decreed the construction of the new building at Capodimonte. Nevertheless the Neapolitan astronomers were esteemed throughout Europe for their observational and theoretical contributions to the development of astronomy

The Astri of Horn: the scientific legacy of astronomer who invented the future

A tribute to Guido Horn d’Arturo in Catania seemed a bit of a stretch. The dedication to him of ASTRI telescope which looks at the incandescent mouths of Etna severely, at the columns of sulfur fumes, and at slopes of the snowy mountain while it scans the sky, could appear outside the context

L'astronomo gentile: Federigo Zuccari 1817-2017

Mostra documentale sull'astronomo Federigo Zuccari, fondatore dell'Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, nel 200° anniversario della mort