Giuseppe Piazzi

Macauley Cleary

Astronomy, Pd. 3

Mr. Percival

12 Jan 2012

Giuseppe Piazzi

               On July 16, 1746 the astronomical community received what was to be one of the most productive minds for the next eighty years. Giuseppe Piazzi was born in Ponte in Valtellina, and from the start had a mind eager for knowledge. There is no specific account of his education, but it is known that he studied in Milan, Turin, Rome, and Genoa respectively. Throughout his life Piazzi held many roles, his most familiar being those of student as well as teacher. Though his travels were extremely educational, they also presented opportunities not confined to just learning. Piazzi was involved in the start and completion of quite a few observatories and in addition received varying titles along the way. Through these observatories and personal observations he compiled and revised lists and catalogues of stars. What is by far his most notable accomplishment, however, is his observing and labeling of the asteroid Ceres- the largest asteroid and only known dwarf planet in the solar system.

               At the start of his instructive position in July 1770, Piazzi took the chair of mathematics at the University of Malta. After some time in that job he moved on to Ravenna where he chose to lecture in philosophy and mathematics, and from there to a longer stay in Palermo. It was at the University of Palermo that the magic happened, so to speak. Piazzi started out as a mathematics teacher again, but then became the professor of Astronomy on January 19, 1787- the move that kick started his astronomical career. While acting as the professor of Astronomy Giuseppe Piazzi was given two years to study abroad and train in the field of astronomy, and to gather instruments for the new Palermo Observatory. Because he was placed in charge of the foundation of this observatory Piazzi was able to obtain the altazimuth circle along with other specialized tools for the observatory’s use. During these travels to Paris and London he was able to study with top astronomers of the time and learn the ins and outs of the astronomical community.

               The access granted to Giuseppe Piazzi through the Palermo Observatory allowed for him to oversee and take part in the compilation of many lists. These included accounts of exacts positions of the stars and revisions of older catalogues. By 1803 he published a list of almost seven thousand stars and roughly ten years later a second catalogue of near eight thousand. While making these notes Piazzi observed a peculiar star that he at first thought to be like any other, but after four nights was able to confirm that it did in fact move and therefore could not be a star. He was apprehensive at first and took the cautious route of labeling the ‘star’ as a comet. Though he believed that this object was a planet Piazzi did not think it a good idea to release this idea to the public and so he stuck with his label of a comet. Unfortunately Giuseppe Piazzi was not able to observe this object for very long because of the orbit it took and the glare of the sun, but he did decide to call it Ceres Ferdinandea, after a King Ferdinand- the latter half of which was later dropped because of political reasons. Ceres is now known as the first and largest asteroid in the asteroid belt, and a dwarf planet.

However, for Piazzi the opportunities did not stop there. It was almost thirty years later that King Ferdinand decided to put Giuseppe Piazzi in charge of the completion of the Capodimonte Observatory. The King also named him the General Director of the Naples and Sicily Observatories, giving him more than enough access to pursue his true passion for the stars.