Secchi - Pietro Angelo Secchi

Italian astronomer. He joined the Society of Jesus in 1833, studied theology, physics, and mathematics at the Jesuit school, and became a lecturer there. In 1848, he went into exile due to the persecution of the Jesuits, and traveled to the United States via England, where he became a professor of physics at Georgetown University. After the expulsion order was lifted, he became a professor at the University of Rome and director of the university's observatory in 1849, and made pioneering achievements in astrophysics. In 1851, he photographed a total solar eclipse in his research on solar radiation, capturing the shape of the prominence and corona. He then went on to study the spectroscopy of the sun, applying his techniques to 4,000 stars and classifying their spectral types into four types based on wavelength distribution and dark line arrangement. This method opened up a means of identifying the surface temperature, elemental content, and degree of ionization of stars. He also classified gas nebulae.

[Shimamura Fukutaro]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イタリアの天文学者。1833年イエズス会に入会、同会学校で神学、物理学、数学を修業後、同校講師。1848年イエズス会弾圧により亡命し、イギリスを経てアメリカに渡り、ジョージタウン大学の物理学教授となる。追放令の解除とともに1849年ローマ大学教授兼同天文台長に就任し、天体物理学で開祖的業績をあげた。1851年太陽放射の研究で皆既日食を写真観測し、紅炎・コロナの形状をとらえた。さらに太陽の分光研究に進み、その技法を4000個の恒星に及ぼし、スペクトル型を波長分布や暗線配置に基づき4種に大別した。この方法により恒星の表面温度や元素含有量や電離度を識別する手段が開かれた。そのほかガス星雲の分類も行った。

［島村福太郎］

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