Editing Giovanni Schiaparelli

{{Short description|Italian astronomer and science historian (1835–1910)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox scientist
 |name              = Giovanni Schiaparelli
 |image             = Giovanni Schiaparelli 1890s.jpg
 |image_size        = 
 |caption           = 
|birth_name=Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli
 |birth_date        = {{birth date|df=yes|1835|3|14}}
 |birth_place       = [[Savigliano]], [[Kingdom of Sardinia]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://notes9.senato.it/web/senregno.NSF/3b06b7313c966b4dc125711400599aa3/14af289cc2d13feb4125646f00606fab?OpenDocument |title=Senato Website |access-date=14 March 2009 |archive-date=18 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318001905/http://notes9.senato.it/web/senregno.nsf/3b06b7313c966b4dc125711400599aa3/14af289cc2d13feb4125646f00606fab?OpenDocument |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 |death_date        = {{death date and age|df=yes|1910|7|4|1835|3|14}}
 |death_place       = [[Milan]], [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]]
 |citizenship       = 
 |nationality       = [[Italy|Italian]]
 |field             = [[Astronomy]]
}}

'''Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli''' {{postnominals|post-noms=[[ForMemRS]] [[HFRSE]]}} ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|s|k|æ|p|ə|ˈ|r|ɛ|l|i|,_|ˌ|ʃ|æ|p|-}} {{respell|SKAP|ə|REL|ee|,_|SHAP|-}},<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Schiaparelli,+Giovanni+Virginio |title=Schiaparelli, Giovanni Virginio |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}{{dead link|date=September 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name="AHD">{{Cite American Heritage Dictionary|Schiaparelli|access-date=5 August 2019}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|USalso|s|k|i|ˌ|ɑː|p|-}} {{respell|skee|AHP|-}},<ref name="AHD"/><ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Schiaparelli|access-date=5 August 2019}}</ref> {{IPA|it|dʒoˈvanni virˈdʒiːnjo skjapaˈrɛlli|lang}}; 14 March 1835 – 4 July 1910) was an Italian [[astronomer]] and [[history of science|science historian]].

== Biography ==

He studied at the [[University of Turin]], graduating in 1854, and later did research at [[Berlin Observatory]], under [[Johann Franz Encke|Encke]]. In 1859–1860 he worked in [[Pulkovo Observatory]] near [[St Petersburg]], and then worked for over forty years at [[Brera Astronomical Observatory|Brera Observatory]] in [[Milan]]. He was also a senator of the [[Kingdom of Italy]], a member of the [[Accademia dei Lincei]], the Accademia delle Scienze di Torino and the Regio Istituto Lombardo, and is particularly known for his studies of [[Mars]].

== Mars ==
{{main|Martian canals}}
[[Image:Karte Mars Schiaparelli MKL1888.png|thumb|300px|Schiaparelli's 1877 surface map of [[Mars]]]]

Among Schiaparelli's contributions are his telescopic observations of [[Mars]]. In his initial observations, he named the "[[Lunar mare|seas]]" and "continents" of Mars. During the planet's "great [[Opposition (astronomy)|opposition]]" of 1877, he observed a dense network of linear structures on the surface of Mars, which he called {{lang|it|canali}} in Italian, meaning "channels", but the term was mistranslated into English as "canals".<ref name=Smith01>Washam, Erik, [https://archive.today/20120912195828/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Cosmic-Errors.html?c=y&page=2 "Cosmic Errors: Martians Build Canals!"], ''Smithsonian'' magazine, December 2010.</ref>

While the term "canals" indicates an artificial construction, the term "channels" [[connotation|connotes]] that the observed features were natural configurations of the planetary surface. From the incorrect translation into the term "canals", various assumptions were made about life on Mars; as these assumptions were popularized, the "canals" of Mars became famous, giving rise to waves of hypotheses, speculation, and [[folklore]] about the possibility of [[Martian]]s, intelligent life living on Mars. Among the most fervent supporters of the artificial-canal hypothesis was the American astronomer [[Percival Lowell]], who spent much of his life trying to prove the existence of intelligent life on the red planet.<ref name=Smith01/> After Lowell's death in 1916, astronomers developed a consensus against the canal hypothesis, but the popular concept of Martian canals excavated by intelligent Martians remained in the public mind for the first half of the 20th century and inspired a corpus of works of classic [[science fiction]].

Later, with notable thanks to the observations of the Italian astronomer [[Vincenzo Cerulli]], scientists came to the conclusion that the famous channels were actually mere [[optical illusions]]. The last popular speculations about canals were finally put to rest during the spaceflight era beginning in the 1960s, when visiting spacecraft such as [[Mariner&nbsp;4]] photographed the surface with much higher resolution than Earth-based telescopes, confirming that there are no structures resembling "canals".

In his book ''Life on Mars'', Schiaparelli wrote: "Rather than true channels in a form familiar to us, we must imagine depressions in the soil that are not very deep, extended in a straight direction for thousands of miles, over a width of 100, 200&nbsp;kilometres and maybe more. I have already pointed out that, in the absence of rain on Mars, these channels are probably the main mechanism by which the water (and with it organic life) can spread on the dry surface of the planet."

== Astronomy and history of science ==
[[File:Mercure carte schiaparelli.jpg|thumb|Schiaparelli's planisphere of [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]]]]
{| class="wikitable floatleft" style="font-size: 0.9em;"
|+ [[Asteroid]]s discovered: 1&thinsp;<ref name="MPC-Discoverers" />
|-
| [[69 Hesperia]] || 29 April 1861 || {{MPC|69}}
|}

An observer of objects in the [[Solar System]], Schiaparelli worked on [[binary stars]], discovered the large main-belt asteroid [[69 Hesperia]] on 29 April 1861,<ref name="springer-Hesperia" /> and demonstrated that the [[meteor shower]]s were associated with [[comet]]s.<ref name="springer-Schiaparelli" /> He proved, for example, that the orbit of the [[Leonid meteor shower]] coincided with that of the comet [[Tempel-Tuttle]]. These observations led the astronomer to formulate the hypothesis, subsequently proved to be correct, that the meteor showers could be the trails of comets. He was also a keen observer of the inner planets [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]] and [[Venus]]. He made several drawings and determined their [[rotation period]]s.<ref name="springer-Schiaparelli" /> In 1965, it was shown that his and most other subsequent measurements of Mercury's period were incorrect.<ref name="Mercury-rotation-period" />

Schiaparelli was a scholar of the history of classical astronomy. He was the first to realize that the [[concentric spheres]] of [[Eudoxus of Cnidus]] and [[Callippus]], unlike those used by many astronomers of later times, were not to be taken as material objects, but only as part of an [[algorithm]] similar to the modern [[Fourier series]].{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

He was elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 1901.<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=1901&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2021-05-19|website=search.amphilsoc.org|archive-date=19 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519155928/https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=1901&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Honors and awards ==
[[File:Giovanni Schiaparelli grave Milan 2015.jpg|thumb|alt=A marble gravestone on the wall of a crypt|Schiaparelli's grave at the [[Monumental Cemetery of Milan]], Italy]]

=== Awards ===
* [[Lalande Prize]] (1868)
* [[Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]] (1872)
* [[Bruce Medal]] (1902)

===Named after him===
* The main-belt asteroid [[4062 Schiaparelli]],<ref name="springer-Schiaparelli" /> named on 15 September 1989 ({{small|[[Minor Planet Circulars|M.P.C.]] 15090}}).<ref name="MPC-Circulars-Archive" />
* The lunar crater [[Schiaparelli (lunar crater)|Schiaparelli]]<ref name="springer-Schiaparelli" />
* The Martian crater [[Schiaparelli (Martian crater)|Schiaparelli]]<ref name="springer-Schiaparelli" />
* Schiaparelli Dorsum on [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]]<ref name="IAU">{{cite web|url=http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/5367|title=Schiaparelli Dorsum|publisher=Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)|access-date=19 October 2016|archive-date=19 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519220452/https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/5367|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The 2016 [[ExoMars]]' [[Schiaparelli EDM lander|''Schiaparelli'' lander]].<ref name="Lander naming" />

== Relatives ==

His niece, [[Elsa Schiaparelli]], became a noted designer or maker of [[haute couture]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.vogue.com/voguepedia/Elsa_Schiaparelli |title=ELSA SCHIAPARELLI |work=Vogue |access-date=17 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140807053506/http://www.vogue.com/voguepedia/Elsa_Schiaparelli |archive-date=7 August 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Selected writings ==
* {{Cite book|title=Sulla determinazione della posizione geografica dei luoghi per mezzo di osservazioni astronomiche|volume=|publisher=|location=Milano|year=1872|language=it|url=https://gutenberg.beic.it/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=6574289}}
* 1873 – ''Le stelle cadenti'' (''The Falling Stars'')
* {{Cite book|title=Osservazioni sulle stelle doppie|volume=|publisher=Hoepli|location=Milano|year=1888|language=it|url=https://gutenberg.beic.it/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=12382636}}
* {{Cite book|title=Sulla distribuzione apparente delle stelle visibili ad occhio nudo|volume=|publisher=Hoepli|location=Milano|year=1889|bibcode=1889sdas.book.....S|language=it|url=https://gutenberg.beic.it/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=12383389}}
* 1893 – ''La vita sul pianeta Marte'' (''Life on Mars'')
* 1925 – ''Scritti sulla storia della astronomia antica'' (''Writings on the History of Classical Astronomy'') in three volumes. Bologna. Reprint: Milano, Mimesis, 1997.

== References ==
{{reflist
|refs=

<ref name="MPC-Discoverers">{{cite web
  |title       = Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)
  |work       = Minor Planet Center
  |url       = http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/lists/MPDiscsNum.html
  |date       = 23 May 2016
  |access-date       = 20 June 2016
  |archive-date       = 26 April 2020
  |archive-url       = https://web.archive.org/web/20200426060445/https://minorplanetcenter.net//iau/lists/MPDiscsNum.html
  |url-status       = live
  }}</ref>

<ref name="springer-Hesperia">{{cite book
  |title      = Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (69) Hesperia
  |last       = Schmadel | first = Lutz D.
  |publisher  = [[Springer Berlin Heidelberg]]
  |page       = 22
  |date       = 2007
  |isbn       = 978-3-540-00238-3
  |doi       = 10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_70 |chapter       = (69) Hesperia }}</ref>

<ref name="springer-Schiaparelli">{{cite book
  |title      = Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (4062) Schiaparelli
  |last       = Schmadel | first = Lutz D.
  |publisher  = Springer Berlin Heidelberg
  |page       = 347
  |date       = 2007
  |isbn       = 978-3-540-00238-3
  |doi       = 10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_4041 |chapter       = (4062) Schiaparelli }}</ref>

<ref name="MPC-Circulars-Archive">{{cite web
  |title      = MPC/MPO/MPS Archive
  |work      = Minor Planet Center
  |url      = http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html
  |access-date      = 4 July 2016
  |archive-date      = 26 April 2020
  |archive-url      = https://web.archive.org/web/20200426060449/https://minorplanetcenter.net//iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html
  |url-status      = live
  }}</ref>

<ref name="Lander naming">{{cite news
 |title        = ESA Names ExoMars Lander 'Schiaparelli'
 |first        = Sean
 |last         = Patterson
 |date         = 8 November 2013
 |url          = http://spacefellowship.com/news/art35863/exomars-lander-module-named-schiaparelli.html
 |work         = Space Fellowship
 |access-date  = 8 November 2013
 |archive-date = 15 May 2019
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20190515045451/http://spacefellowship.com/news/art35863/exomars-lander-module-named-schiaparelli.html
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>

<ref name="Mercury-rotation-period">{{Cite journal
  |author     = Defrancesco, S.
  |date       = April 1988
  |title      = Schiaparelli's determination of the rotation period of Mercury: a re-examination
  |journal    = Journal of the British Astronomical Association
  |volume     = 98
  |pages      = 146–150
  |bibcode    = 1988JBAA...98..146D
  }}</ref>

}} <!-- end of reflist -->

==Further reading==
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Schiaparelli, Giovanni Virginio|volume=24|pages=322–323}}
* [http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/S/Schiaparelli.html "Schiaparelli, Giovanni Virginio (1835–1910)"], biography from www.daviddarling.info.
* Obituaries: G. V. Schiaparelli, J. G. Galle, J. B. N. Hennessey J. Coles, J. E. Gore, ''The Observatory'', Vol. 33, p.&nbsp;311–318, August 1910

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{ws|Source texts from Wikisource in [[s:it:Autore:Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli|Italian]] and [[s:en:Author:Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli|English]]}}
* [http://www.brera.inaf.it/MARTE/index_marte.html ''Le Mani su Marte'': I diari di G.V. Schiaparelli]. Observational diaries, manuscripts & drawings. Historical Archive of Brera Observatory.  {{in lang|it}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=2523| name=Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli}}

===Obituaries===
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/AN.../0185//0000108.000.html AN '''185''' (1910) 193/194] {{in lang|it}}
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/ApJ../0032//0000313.000.html ApJ '''32''' (1910) 313]
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/MNRAS/0071//0000282.000.html MNRAS '''71''' (1911) 282]
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/PASP./0022//0000164.000.html PASP '''22''' (1910) 164]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schiaparelli, Giovanni}}
[[Category:1835 births]]
[[Category:1910 deaths]]
[[Category:Discoverers of asteroids]]
[[Category:Foreign members of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:19th-century Italian astronomers]]
[[Category:Italian historians of science]]
[[Category:People from Savigliano]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Bruce Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)]]
[[Category:Members of the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy]]
[[Category:University of Turin alumni]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Lalande Prize]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Cothenius Medal]]
[[Category:International members of the American Philosophical Society]]