INAF’s Historical Instrumental Heritage: a Bridge between History and Contemporary Astronomy

One of the missions of the National Institute for Astrophysics is the protection, conservation, and enhancement of the entire historical heritage preserved in Italian Astronomical Observatories. This heritage, composed of instruments, books, works of art, and archives mainly from the 18th and 19th centuries, is a valuable resource for developing research in the history of astronomy and promoting interdisciplinary studies in cultural astronomy. Thanks to the “Polvere di Stelle” web portal dedicated to astronomical libraries, archives, and museum collections, which offers tools and databases to support research and enhance one of the richest astronomical heritages in the world. This project allows the heritage of the various observatories to be connected to tell stories, as already done with the virtual exhibition “Look Up! Browse the sky with a finger,” which describes how our knowledge of the sky has evolved over the centuries. We will present a case study on the Padua Meridian Circle and the Paduan Catalogues created by G. Santini, between 1836 and 1863, which include the positions and magnitudes of over 10,000 stars up to 10th magnitude. The precision of these observations, among the best of the time, could also provide important contributions to modern astrometric observations. In this way, the historical heritage of the INAF proves not only a testimony of the past but also an active resource for modern astrometric and astronomical research.

Brief CV of Dr. Federico Di Giacomo:

He graduated in cosmology and astrophysics from the University of Bologna in 2013. Since 2015, he has been working for INAF. He is involved in numerous projects engaging the public and the scientific heritage. He curated the virtual exhibition “Look up!” and organized several educational workshops, in partnership with Save the Children, conducted in highly marginalized contexts. He has been responsible for cataloging many of the historical instruments preserved in INAF observatories and is conducting a research project dedicated to the study of star catalogs created from the mid-19th century to today.
In parallel with these activities, he is involved in various projects that include designing and creating multisensory content to make astronomy more accessible to everyone.