Romanian Astronomers Beginnings of Romanian astronomy l In

Romanian Astronomers

Beginnings of Romanian astronomy l In Romania, we can talk about an astronomical tradition since the first millennium, when the Dacians built a settlement in Grădiştea Muncelu, in the Southern Carpathians, which still has evidence of their astronomical knowledge and of a very precise calendar for that time.

l Until the 20 th century there were no scientific observatories in our country, even though there are many proofs of our astronomical activities. Thus, in 2008 we celebrated 100 years since the creation of the most important astronomical observatory in Romania, which was built in Bucharest; a private observatory was also built in 1908 by Nicolae Donici on the right bank of The Dniester, in Dubăsarii Vechi.

The Dark Ages l Ioan Viteaz (1408 -1472; mentor to Iancu de Hunedoara’s son) made his first astronomical observations and, in 1445, founded The Oradea Observatory – an important site for Renaissance culture. Furthermore, numerous schools in Transylvania, Moldavia and Tara Romaneasca helped spread astronomic knowledge.

l In 1716, the coordinates of the Romanian cities could be found in the book “Introductio ad geographiam et sphaeram”, written by Giovanni Domenico Cassini (1625 – 1712), the director of the Paris Observatory.

l In 1759, Maximilian Hell (1720 – 1790) built an astronomical tower in Transylvania. Unfortunately, the tower was destroyed by fire in 1798 and it was restored in 1805. The second tower was built in Alba Iulia, in 1860.

l In 1762, Ruggeri Giuseppe Boscovich, one of the greatest astronomers of that time, made calculations of longitude and latitude and several other studies in Galati. l Stephen Rumowski makes well documented research based on the astronomic coordinates of Bender, Akerman, Chilia Nouă, Ishmael, Bucharest, Focșani, Iaşi and Brăila.

The 19 th century l In 1823, the poet Costache Conachi bought a telescope from Vienna which was later used by students in their practical studies. The telescope had a focal point of 2 metres and a mirror diameter of 157 millimeters; it was donated to the Iasi Observatory by the descendants of Mr. Conachi.

l l 1828 - 1832 - the geographic coordinates of the following towns are establised: Iaşi, Galați, Roman, Bucharest, Călărași, Calafat, Craiova, Constanța etc. 1829, 1830, 1859 - the first astronomical textbooks are written by A. Marin, Gheorghe Asachi and A. T. Laurian respectively.

l l The first Romanian universities marked the new beginnings of academic education. The first professor of astronomy was Neculai Culianu (1832 – 1915) in Iaşi. On December the 9 th, together with Professor Stefan Micle, Professor Culianu observed the trajectory of Venus against the dial of the Sun. Dimitrie Petrescu (1831 – 1896) was the first professor of astronomy to teach at Bucharest University and he was succeeded by Nicolae Coculescu

l Another great Romanian astronomer was Constantin Capităneanu (1849 – 1895). He drew a precise map of Romania using a pair of latitude binoculars, two refractory telescopes, a chronograph and several precision watches. Căpitaneanu and Kihnert published in Bucharest the work “A Determination of Longitudinal Differences between Iaşi and Cernăuţi”; this was the first astronomy work published by a Romanian scientist in his own country.

After 1990 l April the 1 st 1990 the Romanian Astronomic Institute is established with three observatories: Bucharest, Cluj and Timisoara. Directors: Magda Stavinschi (1990 - 2005); Vasile Mioc (2005 – present day) l August the 11 th 1999 - the solar eclipse has peak visibility in Romania. To mark the event, NATO sponsors the first pre-eclipse international seminars and an Institute for Advanced Studies

l Romania was an important actor in setting up the astronomic network of Eastern Europe. To this purpose, Romania created under the patronage of UNESCO-ROSTE (and lately under the UNESCO-BRESCE) the South-Eastern Branch of the European Astronomic Society and the Sub -Regional European Astronomic Committee. l Ph. D graduates from the Romanian Astronomic Institute are currently working with prestigious centers worldwide.

Călin Popovici l Călin Popovici – posthumous member of the Romanian Academy – was born in Galaţi on October 4, 1910 and held a special position among scientists of his generation, characterized by an extraordinary passion for astronomy. Through the large scope of his research projects he has set the foundations for solar physics, star photometry and space geodesy in Romania. He was the first to begin teaching general astrophysics and solar physics at the University of Bucharest.

l His affinity for astronomy began during his childhood. The first memories are connected to a sailor’s telescope with which he watched the starry evening sky from his garden. l With this telescope, the school-aged Calin Popovici drew the sunspots he observed. He also noted the great opposition between Mars and the variable stars through the Argelander method. He sent his observations on variable stars to the Astronomical Society of Lyon, France where they were published in the Observatory’s Newsletter and sent them further to Harvard.

l Călin Popovici began his astronomy career at the Observatory in Bucharest in 1930, while still a student in his third year. l He obtained his Ph. D in 1949 in Bucharest , with a thesis that dealt with issues related to the Sun’s movement in its own local star system. l He began to teach astrophysics at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics in Bucharest. Between 1952 and 1961 he taught astronomy, geodesy and cartography at the Technical Military Academy , where he was appointed professor. In 1961 he moved to Institute of Engineering where he also taught courses of gravimetry. The taught solar physics at the University of Bucharest and at the Faculty of Mathematics before 1957.

l By commissioning a Cassegrain telescope of 50/750 cm in 1962, Călin Popovici initiated variable star observations, using experience gained during an internship he did in Germany. With these two areas he laid the foundation of the astrophysics department at the Observatory in Bucharest , thus fulfilling one of his childhood dreams. In 1957, after the launch of the first artificial satellite, Professor Calin Popovici added to the department an astrophysics station for observations. He introduced new working methods for observing satellites: determination of geometric coordinates and height, thus studying the earth's atmospheric parameters.

l But his main contribution to satellite study has been the method of the "circle of simultaneity", which in 1962 resulted in the first spatial direction in Europe, between Bucharest and Potsdam.

l During the total solar eclipse on 15 February 1961, the Professor prepared projects for observing the corona in white, H-alpha and green light (5303 AngstromÅ) and also gathering polarimetric data. l The presence of clouds allowed scoring five photos of the solar crown with the aid of an airplane, the photos allowing the study of the crown’s light and shape. During the total solar eclipse on 15 February 1961, the Professor prepared projects for observing the corona in white, H-alpha and green light (5303 AngstromÅ) and also gathering polarimetric data. l Professor Călin Popovici left this world on January 16, 1977, having trained a research team of 18 specialists (the astrophysics department of the Observatory) and written 140 scientific papers.