Geminiano Montanari

Geminiano Montanari

Geminiano Montanari (June 1 1633-October 13 1687) was an Italian astronomer, lens-maker, and proponent of the experimental approach to science.

He is best known for his observation, made around 1667, that the second brightest star (called Algol in Arabic) in the constellation of Perseus varied in brightness. It is likely that others had observed this effect before, but Montanari was the first named astronomer to record it. The star's names in Arabic, Hebrew and other languages, all of which have a meaning of "ghoul" or "demon", imply that its unusual behaviour had long been recognised. In the Western world, earlier observers may have been inhibited from publishing by the insistence of the Christian church that the universe was immutable.

Montanari was born in Modena, studied law in Florence, and graduated from the University of Salzburg. In 1662 or 1663 he moved to Bologna, where he drew an accurate map of the Moon using an ocular micrometer of his own making. He also made observations on capillarity and other problems in statics, and suggested that the viscosity of a liquid depended on the shape of its molecules. In 1669 he succeeded Giovanni Cassini as astronomy teacher at the observatory of Panzano, near Modena, where one of his duties was to compile an astrological almanac. He did so in 1665, but perpetrated a deliberate hoax by writing the almanac entirely at random, to show that predictions made by chance were as likely to be fulfilled as those made by astrology. In the period shortly after Galileo Galilei, experimentalists like Montanari were engaged in a battle against the more mystical views of scientists such as Donato Rossetti.

On 21 March 1676 Montanari reported a sighting of a comet to Edmund Halley.

In 1679 Montanari moved to a teaching post in Padua, but almost all records of this period of his life have been lost. A letter survives from 1682 recording a sighting of Halley's Comet. He also wrote on economics, observing that demand for a particular commodity was fixed, and making comments on coinage and the value of money (1683).

A crater on the Moon, at 45.8S, 20.6W, is named after him.

Publications

*"De motionibus naturalibus a gravitate pendentibus" (1667)
*"Pensieri fisico-matematici" (1667)
*"La Livella Diottrica" (The Spirit Level) (1674)
*"Trattato mercantile delle monete" (1680)

External links

* [http://www.bo.astro.it/dip/Museum/english/sto1_10.html "The impact of Galilean culture - From Bonaventura Cavalieri to Gian Domenico Cassini", Bologna University Department of Astronomy 2004-4-10]
* [http://www.yourpharmacydeals.com/ Gian Domen 2006]
*worldcat id|lccn-nr96-28730

References

*"The Passions of the Atoms. Montanari and Rossetti: A Polemic Between Followers of Galileo" by Susana Gomez Lopez, Florence, Leo S. Olschki, 1997.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Geminiano Montanari — Geminiano Montanari. Geminiano Montanari (né le 1er juin 1633 à Modène et mort le 13 octobre 1687 à Padoue) était un astronome et un fabricant de lentilles …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Geminiano Montanari — (* 1. Juni 1633 in Modena; † 13. Oktober 1687) war ein italienischer Astronom, Linsenschleifer und Befürworter des experimentellen Ansatzes in der Wissenschaft. Montanari studierte Rechtswissenschaften in Florenz …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Montanari — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Alano Montanari (* ?), italienischer Motorradfahrer Andrea Montanari (* 1965), italienischer Leichtathlet Antonio Montanari (1676–1737), italienischer Violinist und Komponist Christian Montanari (*… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Montanari (crater) — Coordinates 45°48′S 20°36′W / 45.8°S 20.6°W / …   Wikipedia

  • Montanari — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Christian Montanari, né le 21 juin 1981, est un pilote automobile saint marinais. Danila Comastri Montanari, née le 4 novembre 1948 à Bologne, est une… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • 8421 Montanari — Montanari Designations MPC designation 8421 Named after Geminiano Montanari Alternate name(s) 1996 XA9 Orbital characteristics …   Wikipedia

  • Liste der Biografien/Mon — Biografien: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste der Krater des Erdmondes/M — Liste der Krater des Erdmondes   A B C D E F G H I J K L M …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Oscar Nuccio — (Brindisi, 9 July 1931 – Rieti, 23 April 2004) was an Italian historian of economic thought. He taught the history of economic thought in the departments of political science at the University of Pisa, the University of Teramo, and Sapienza… …   Wikipedia

  • Beta Persei — Datenbanklinks zu Algol Stern Algol (β Persei) Beobachtungsdaten Epoche: J2000.0 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”