Giorgio Abetti

Giorgio Abetti (October 5, 1882 - August 24, 1982) was an Italian solar astronomer.

He was born in Padua, the son of noted astronomer Antonio Abetti. He was educated at the Universities of Padua and Rome.

He began his career at the Collegio Romano observatory in Rome, Italy as an assistant astronomer. In 1921 he succeeded his father as the director of the Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, and continued until 1957. Starting at the same time he was also a professor at the University of Florence, and continued in this capacity until 1957.

Giorgio Abetti is noted for having led expeditions to observe solar eclipses to Siberia (1936) and Sudan (1952). He was also a visiting professor at the University of Cairo in 1948–49. He was the vice president of the International Astronomical Union in 1938, and received the Medaglia d'argento from the Italian Geographic Society (1915), the Premio reale from the Accademia dei Lincei (1925), and the Janssen medal (1937).

The Abetti crater on the Moon and asteroid 2646 Abetti are named to honor both him and his father.

Bibliography

He is the author of several popular works on Astronomy.

• Handbook of Astrophysics
• Nebulae and Galaxies
• Solar Research
• Stars and Planets
• The Exploration of the Universe
• The History of Astronomy (1952, English edition)
• The Sun (1963