The Astronomical Use of Basilicas in Italy
A conference by Prof. Costantino Sigismondi
A conference by Professor Costantino Sigismondi on measuring time with the sun. Through the construction of meridians (lines through which the sun crosses at noon) in Italian churches, increased precision and accuracy in solar astrometry was achieved.
From the Italian Renaissance through the 18th century the great basilicas of Italy were not only places of worship but also played an important role in the history of astronomy.
Toscanelli in Florence, Danti and Cassini in Bologna and Bianchini in Rome made great advances in determining midday to a half-second, the altitudes of the solstices and highly accurate measurements of the days of the year. Their principal tools were pinhole openings in the domes or roofs of churches and meridian lines incised on the church pavements.
The Italian tradition in solar astrometry paved the way for further progress–two Roman observatories built on earlier work to advance solar physics and map the solar diameter. Since the smallest variations in solar diameter have consequences on solar radiation and on climate, Sigismondi will conclude by providing a brief summary of current research.
Photo: Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli, Roma
ORGANIZED WITH
LOCATION
Embassy of Italy – Auditorium
3000 Whitehaven Street NW
Washington, DC 20008
RSVP
Reservations available until April 30, 2014 at 2 PM
Reservations are available until we reach
capacity or by the above date/time (whichever comes
first.)
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COSTANTINO SIGISMONDI
Costantino Sigismondi is an astronomer and astrophysicist, currently professor of physics at Galileo Ferraris Institute in Rome and visiting researcher and teaching fellow at Brazil’s National Observatory in Rio de Janeiro.
His research interests include eclipses, planetary transits, meridian transits, meteor showers and the history of astronomy among others. Sigismondi has participated in research projects in astrometry at La Sapienza in Rome (from which he was awarded a PhD in Theoretical Physics in 1998), Yale University, the Astronomical Observatory of Rome, and institutions and universities in Italy, France, Korea, China and Brazil. His publications in professional journals number more than one hundred.
He also founded a journal and maintains research interests in the history of Medieval Science.
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