Friday, March 13, 2009

Giovanni Schiaparelli

Giovanni Schiaparelli was an Italian astronomer. He studied at the University of Turin and Berlin Observatory. He worked for over 40 years at Brera Observatory.

Giovanni Schiaparelli was born on March 14, 1835. (1835/03/14)
He died on July 4, 1910. Giovanni Schiaparelli was 75 years old.

Astronomy:

Giovanni Schiaparelli observed objects in the solar system, and after observing Mars he gave names to the seas and continents. Beginning in 1877 he also believed he had observed long straight features he called canali which is Italian for channels but often translated wrongly as canals. Years later these canals of Mars were shown to be an optical illusion.
Giovanni Schiaparelli was also the first to show that the Perseid and Leonid meteor showers were associated with comets, and he discovered the asteroid 69 Hesperia on April 26, 1861.

Honors and Awards

Awards:

- Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1872)
- Bruce Medal (1902)

Objects named after
Giovanni Schiaparelli:

- Asteroid 4062 Schiaparelli
- The crater Schiaparelli on the Moon
- The crater Schiaparelli on Mars