106
It is noteworthy because several new observers turned their attention to the planet
(Flammarion 1892a). In England, creditable work was done by Captain
W. S. Jacob (1813–1862), Frederick Brodie (1823–1896) and in particular by
Warren de la Rue (1815–1889). He has been called ‘the quintessential Victorian
wealthy amateur astronomer’, and in this heyday of the refractor, he was one of the
first to employ a large (33 cm) silver-on-glass reflector (Le Conte 2011). Their
drawings agree in showing the very narrow Syrtis Major (as it is known today) and
its northward extension into the very prominent Nilosyrtis. This was the characteristic form of these markings at the time.
Then there was Secchi. As described elsewhere in this volume, by 1853 Secchi
had acquired a first-rate Merz equatorial refractor, and moved it onto the roof of St.
Ignatius Church, where it was securely supported on one of the four massive pillars
originally planned to support a dome for the church that was never finished. Secchi
had been trained as a physicist and did not devote himself to the conventional activities of his fellow astronomers. At a time when most of his contemporaries were
interested in where the planets and stars were and how they moved, Secchi was
more interested in finding out what they were made of. Instead of refining the rotation period of Mars, Secchi wanted to learn what kind of world it was and even
whether or not it might serve as an abode of life.
Secchi had always been an enthusiastic supporter of the ‘plurality of worlds’, the
idea that other planets might be inhabited. Moreover, he does not seem to have had
any difficulty reconciling such facts with the doctrines of the Roman Catholic
Church, even at a time when, according to Michael J. Crowe, the Church was “in the
judgement of most” turning “in an increasingly conservative direction in intellectual
matters.” (Crowe 1986) As early as 1856, Secchi wrote: “It is with a sweet sentiment
that man thinks of these worlds without number, where each star is a sun which, as
minister of the divine bounty, distributes life and goodness to the other innumerable
beings, blessed by the hand of the Omnipotent.” (Secchi 1856) He continued to
maintain such views until the end of his life.
6.2 Early Studies of the Moon and Planets
Saturn was the first planet that drew the attention of Secchi, and work commenced
in 1850 (Secchi 1851). ‘The mysterious nature of the ring could not but stimulate
the scientific curiosity of the Jesuit, who did not miss any opportunity to study it…’
(Chinnici 2019). He also had a short correspondence with Lassell, an expert observer
of the planet, about some observations of the planet’s ring (Secchi 1851).
Secchi was very interested in the idea of changes upon the Moon and in later
years would enter the debate about the apparent variations in the crater Linné. In
1855–1856, he spent 6 months peering through the Merz refractor, using magnifying powers of up to x1000 in order to complete a detailed drawing of the crater
Copernicus. ‘As it was impossible to carry through such a work in a single night’,
he wrote, ‘on the first night of good opportunity a general outline was taken, and on
R. McKim and W. Sheehan
It is noteworthy because several new observers turned their attention to the planet
(Flammarion 1892a). In England, creditable work was done by Captain
W. S. Jacob (1813–1862), Frederick Brodie (1823–1896) and in particular by
Warren de la Rue (1815–1889). He has been called ‘the quintessential Victorian
wealthy amateur astronomer’, and in this heyday of the refractor, he was one of the
first to employ a large (33 cm) silver-on-glass reflector (Le Conte 2011). Their
drawings agree in showing the very narrow Syrtis Major (as it is known today) and
its northward extension into the very prominent Nilosyrtis. This was the characteristic form of these markings at the time.
Then there was Secchi. As described elsewhere in this volume, by 1853 Secchi
had acquired a first-rate Merz equatorial refractor, and moved it onto the roof of St.
Ignatius Church, where it was securely supported on one of the four massive pillars
originally planned to support a dome for the church that was never finished. Secchi
had been trained as a physicist and did not devote himself to the conventional activities of his fellow astronomers. At a time when most of his contemporaries were
interested in where the planets and stars were and how they moved, Secchi was
more interested in finding out what they were made of. Instead of refining the rotation period of Mars, Secchi wanted to learn what kind of world it was and even
whether or not it might serve as an abode of life.
Secchi had always been an enthusiastic supporter of the ‘plurality of worlds’, the
idea that other planets might be inhabited. Moreover, he does not seem to have had
any difficulty reconciling such facts with the doctrines of the Roman Catholic
Church, even at a time when, according to Michael J. Crowe, the Church was “in the
judgement of most” turning “in an increasingly conservative direction in intellectual
matters.” (Crowe 1986) As early as 1856, Secchi wrote: “It is with a sweet sentiment
that man thinks of these worlds without number, where each star is a sun which, as
minister of the divine bounty, distributes life and goodness to the other innumerable
beings, blessed by the hand of the Omnipotent.” (Secchi 1856) He continued to
maintain such views until the end of his life.
6.2 Early Studies of the Moon and Planets
Saturn was the first planet that drew the attention of Secchi, and work commenced
in 1850 (Secchi 1851). ‘The mysterious nature of the ring could not but stimulate
the scientific curiosity of the Jesuit, who did not miss any opportunity to study it…’
(Chinnici 2019). He also had a short correspondence with Lassell, an expert observer
of the planet, about some observations of the planet’s ring (Secchi 1851).
Secchi was very interested in the idea of changes upon the Moon and in later
years would enter the debate about the apparent variations in the crater Linné. In
1855–1856, he spent 6 months peering through the Merz refractor, using magnifying powers of up to x1000 in order to complete a detailed drawing of the crater
Copernicus. ‘As it was impossible to carry through such a work in a single night’,
he wrote, ‘on the first night of good opportunity a general outline was taken, and on
R. McKim and W. Sheehan