Antonio Abetti
Italian astronomer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Antonio Abetti (19 June 1846 – 20 February 1928) was an Italian astronomer.
Antonio Abetti | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 19 June 1846 |
| Died | 20 February 1928 (aged 81) |
| Alma mater | University of Padua |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
| Institutions | Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri |
Born in San Pietro di Gorizia (Šempeter-Vrtojba), he earned a degree in mathematics and engineering at the University of Padua. He was married to Giovanna Colbachini in 1879, and they had two sons.[1] He died in Arcetri.
Work
Abetti mainly worked in positional astronomy and made many observations of minor planets, comets, and star occultations. He computed the orbit of 170 Maria, a Main belt asteroid.
In 1874 he was part of an Italian expedition to Muddapur, in India, led by Pietro Tacchini to observe a transit of Venus with a spectroscope.[2] Later he became director of the Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri and a professor at the University of Florence. He refurbished the observatory at Arcetri by installing a new telescope.
Honours
- Member of the Accademia dei Lincei.
- Member of the Royal Astronomical Society.
- The crater Abetti on the Moon is named after both Antonio and his son Giorgio Abetti.
- The minor planet 2646 Abetti is also named after Antonio and his son.[2]
