Description
Book SynopsisThis book comprises a fascinating collection of contributions on the Merz telescopes in Italy that collectively offer the first survey on historical large refracting telescopes in the country, drawing on original documents and photographs. It opens with a general introduction on the importance of Merz telescopes in the history of astronomy and analyses of the local and international contexts in which the telescopes were made. After examination of an example of the interaction between the maker and the astronomer in the construction and maintenance of these refractors, the history of the Merz telescopes at the main Italian observatories in the nineteenth century is described in detail. Expert testimony is also provided on how these telescopes were successfully used until the second half of the twentieth century for research purposes, thus proving their excellent optical qualities.
Trade Review“This volume will be of a valuable resource to all those interested in nineteenth-century telescopes. The editor and contributors also deserve credit for putting forward this effort to better understand, contextualize and preserve the instruments produced by the Merz enterprise, an effort that will hopefully be continued.” (Pedro M.P. Raposo, Journal for the History of Astronomy, Vol. 49 (02), May, 2018)
“This is a multi-author work, edited by Ileana Chinnici, and all the chapters are well written and highly informative. There are plenty of illustrations, in both colour and black & white, most of which I had not seen before.” (Richard McKim, The Observatory, Vol. 137 (1260), October, 2017)
Table of ContentsIntroduction: the role of Merz telescopes in Italian astronomy - by Ileana Chinnici.- The Merz Company: a Global Player of the 19th Century - by Jurgen Kost & Gudrun Wolfschmidt.- 1850-1900: The Era of Very Large Refractors - by Paolo Brenni.- The maker and the scientist: the relationship between Georg Merz and the Jesuit astronomer Angelo Secchi - by Ileana Chinnici.- Visual double stars measurements with Merz refractors: some statistics - by Giuseppe Massone.- Padua Astronomical Observatory and Merz Workshop: a special connection - by Valeria Zanini.- Merz instruments at Naples Observatory -by Mauro Gargano.- Merz Telescopes at Brera - by Mario Carpino.- Merz telescopes at Rome Astronomical Observatories - by Aldo Altamore & Francesco Poppi.- Merz Telescopes at Catania Royal Astrophysical Observatory - by Andrea Orlando.- Appendix – A list of surviving Merz telescopes outside Italy - by P. Brenni and Ileana Chinnici.
