120
6.7 Conclusions
Secchi was a many-sided scientist whose researches were so wide-ranging that it is
difficult to assess them. He was, in addition to everything else, a very gifted observer,
and though making up only a relatively small part of his work, his careful observations and writings made considerable contributions to the study of the Solar System.
His drawings of Mars showed no sign of bias, and at least in the 1858 series, he
seems to have been very accurate in terms of both position and form, which have
made them invaluable to modern students of the planet. He had the advantage of a
relatively low latitude (for the time) and access to an adequate aperture. He worked
independently of other observers, though he was well aware of the work done in the
past. Many observers before and after his time failed to reach the standards of accuracy or artistic ability displayed by the team effort of Secchi and Cappelletti.
Secchi also, rather innocently, introduced the term ‘canale’ into the literature on
Mars and thus played a role, largely forgotten today, in initiating the celebrated
‘Mars furor’ of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Secchi also observed (and photographed) the Moon and studied other worlds
than Mars. His pioneering work in spectroscopy, though mostly concerned with the
Sun and the stars, also included the planets, and was extremely important. In particular, his discovery of the absorption bands in the spectra of the gas giants constituted a nineteenth century puzzle for twentieth century astronomers to explain.
Acknowledgement We thank Dr. Marco Faccini (Astronomical Observatory of Rome) for supplying photographic copies of the original drawings, reproduced in Figs. 6.1a, b, 6.2 and 6.5.
References
Alexander, A. F. O’D. (1962a). The planet Saturn. London: Faber & Faber, pp. 184, 240 and 283.
Alexander, A. F. O’D. (1962b). The planet Saturn, op. cit., pp. 184, 240–243.
Alexander, A. F. O’D. (1962c). The planet Saturn, op. cit., pp.169–170.
Alexander, A. F. O’D. (1962d). The planet Saturn, op. cit., p. 154.
Alexander, A. F. O’D. (1962e). The planet Saturn, op. cit., pp. 195–196.
Alexander, A. F. O’D. (1965). The planet Uranus. A history of observation, theory and discovery
(pp. 151–152). London: Faber & Faber.
Bakich, M. E. (2000). The Cambridge planetary handbook (p. 215). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. The originals were published in Sirius, 9, No. 6, p. 148f (1876).
Chambers, G. F. (1889). A handbook of descriptive and practical astronomy (Vol. 1). Oxford:
Clarendon Press, Plate 9.
Chinnici, I. (2019). Decoding the stars: A biography of Angelo Secchi, Jesuit and scientist. Brill.
Crowe, M. J. (1986). The extraterrestrial life debate, 1750–1900: The idea of the plurality of
worlds from Kant to Lowell (p. 422). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Flammarion, C. (1892a). La Planète Mars et ses conditions d’habitabilité (pp. 127–130). Paris:
Gauthier-Villars.
Flammarion, C. (1892b). La Planète Mars, op. cit., pp. 134–141.
Flammarion, C. (1892c). La Planète Mars., op. cit., pp. 548–549. The stated times of Secchi’s
drawings are in Rome local time. For the drawing of 1862 October 18 at 8h 13m Rome local
(evening) time Flammarion says it was equivalent to 7h 33m Paris local time, whereas a drawR. McKim and W. Sheehan
6.7 Conclusions
Secchi was a many-sided scientist whose researches were so wide-ranging that it is
difficult to assess them. He was, in addition to everything else, a very gifted observer,
and though making up only a relatively small part of his work, his careful observations and writings made considerable contributions to the study of the Solar System.
His drawings of Mars showed no sign of bias, and at least in the 1858 series, he
seems to have been very accurate in terms of both position and form, which have
made them invaluable to modern students of the planet. He had the advantage of a
relatively low latitude (for the time) and access to an adequate aperture. He worked
independently of other observers, though he was well aware of the work done in the
past. Many observers before and after his time failed to reach the standards of accuracy or artistic ability displayed by the team effort of Secchi and Cappelletti.
Secchi also, rather innocently, introduced the term ‘canale’ into the literature on
Mars and thus played a role, largely forgotten today, in initiating the celebrated
‘Mars furor’ of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Secchi also observed (and photographed) the Moon and studied other worlds
than Mars. His pioneering work in spectroscopy, though mostly concerned with the
Sun and the stars, also included the planets, and was extremely important. In particular, his discovery of the absorption bands in the spectra of the gas giants constituted a nineteenth century puzzle for twentieth century astronomers to explain.
Acknowledgement We thank Dr. Marco Faccini (Astronomical Observatory of Rome) for supplying photographic copies of the original drawings, reproduced in Figs. 6.1a, b, 6.2 and 6.5.
References
Alexander, A. F. O’D. (1962a). The planet Saturn. London: Faber & Faber, pp. 184, 240 and 283.
Alexander, A. F. O’D. (1962b). The planet Saturn, op. cit., pp. 184, 240–243.
Alexander, A. F. O’D. (1962c). The planet Saturn, op. cit., pp.169–170.
Alexander, A. F. O’D. (1962d). The planet Saturn, op. cit., p. 154.
Alexander, A. F. O’D. (1962e). The planet Saturn, op. cit., pp. 195–196.
Alexander, A. F. O’D. (1965). The planet Uranus. A history of observation, theory and discovery
(pp. 151–152). London: Faber & Faber.
Bakich, M. E. (2000). The Cambridge planetary handbook (p. 215). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. The originals were published in Sirius, 9, No. 6, p. 148f (1876).
Chambers, G. F. (1889). A handbook of descriptive and practical astronomy (Vol. 1). Oxford:
Clarendon Press, Plate 9.
Chinnici, I. (2019). Decoding the stars: A biography of Angelo Secchi, Jesuit and scientist. Brill.
Crowe, M. J. (1986). The extraterrestrial life debate, 1750–1900: The idea of the plurality of
worlds from Kant to Lowell (p. 422). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Flammarion, C. (1892a). La Planète Mars et ses conditions d’habitabilité (pp. 127–130). Paris:
Gauthier-Villars.
Flammarion, C. (1892b). La Planète Mars, op. cit., pp. 134–141.
Flammarion, C. (1892c). La Planète Mars., op. cit., pp. 548–549. The stated times of Secchi’s
drawings are in Rome local time. For the drawing of 1862 October 18 at 8h 13m Rome local
(evening) time Flammarion says it was equivalent to 7h 33m Paris local time, whereas a drawR. McKim and W. Sheehan