Sofia Quinteros

Mr. Dacey

Astronomy

March 26, 2014

Astronomer Biography: Giovanni Schiaparelli

     Giovanni Schiaparelli was an Italian astronomer born on March 14th, 1835. He was born in Savigliano, Italy. He is known for his work studying and observing Mars, and other things in the solar system. He has had published writings, discoveries of objects, and has had awards dedicated towards him.

After being born in Savigliano, Italy, Giovanni Schiaparelli attended the University of Turin. From there, he also continued his studies at the Berlin Observatory. In the late 1850s and early 1860s, Giovanni Schiaparelli did work with the Pulkovo Observatory. Another observatory Schiaparelli did lots of work with was the Brera Observatory. Giovanni was a loyal observer at this establishment for almost 50 years.

The thing Schiaparelli is most known for is his association with our own solar system’s planet, Mars. One theory introduced by Giovanni Schiaparelli is the concept of Martian canals. Using new instruments also led him to publish a very detailed map of mars, for the time period in the 1860s to 1870s. This set an example for how astronomers mapped the things they saw, such as the observations of planets’ surfaces. On this map that he made of Mars, Giovanni Schiaparelli first made the idea of the canals. They were dark spots, that looked like maybe water had been on Mars. He names these ‘rivers’ after various rivers. Some rivers that the canals were names after were real and some were fictional.

Besides discovering many things about the planet Mars, Giovanni Schiaparelli made discoveries and observed things about comets, meteors, and meteorites. Giovanni related the fact that comets could be associated with the meteor showers observed by humans. He discovered the asteroid 69 Hesperia. Specifically, Schiaparelli showed astronomers of his time that the Leonids meteor showers and the Comet Tempel-Tuttle were closely related in terms of their orbit and timing. Giovanni also studied binary stars.

All in all, Giovanni Schiaparelli was a well established and very bright astronomer that set a standard for other astronomers. He set an example for the cartography and mapping of astronomical objects. As well as this, he discovered many interesting and thought-provoking things about Mars and it’s surface. His discoveries have inspired and led many other astronomers to build off his great work in the field of astronomy.