Città di Torino

Comune > Turismo e promozione > Torino Turistica (English) > Curiosity > The stars seen from Turin

The stars seen from Turin

Its important observatory founded in 1759

The complex of four buildings and various domes of Turin's astronomical observatory, one of Europe's most important, rises in a 3.5 hectare wooded area in the pleasant hillside town of Pino Torinese at 620 metres altitude.

Its history

Turin's astronomical observatory originated in 1759, when Father Giovanni Battista Beccaria placed some of the instruments he had used for astronomical and geodetic measurements inside on old tower at Via Po in the centre of Turin. It was later transferred to the roofs of the Academy of Sciences building and later still, in 1822, placed on the roofs of Palazzo Madama in Piazza Castello, under Giovanni Plana's direction.
Today's observatory employs some 50 persons, 15 of whom astronomy research workers. A subsidiary observatory should be operational in a few years' time at the Gardetta Pass, close to Dronero in Cuneo province. Its location at some 2,500 metres altitude will take advantage of a much clearer sky, remote from the glimmers generated by great inhabited areas.

Its domes and equipment

The observatory is equipped with 6 telescopes housed in 4 domes and 2 sliding roof pavilions:The largest and most modern piece of equipment is the 105 centimetre diameter, 994 centimetre focal length astrometric reflector, built by the French firm of Reosc, the 10 metre diameter dome housing it is named after. This reflector/telescope is called astrometric as its optical configuration makes it particularly suitable for measuring star positions. The Morais dome houses the double lens Morais telescope. The 38 centimetre diameter photographic component was built by the firm of Officine Galileo and was installed in 1971; the 42 centimetre visual one was installed in 1979. The latter is Italy's largest lens telescope. Its 12 metres diameter make the Morais dome the biggest of the entire observatory complex. An historical archive has been set up on the ground floor and contains the observation instruments used during last century.
The 5 metre diameter Marcon dome houses the modern 46 centimetre diameter Cassegrain-Marcon reflector. Its photometer enables measurements of stars 300 times weaker than the perception limit of the human eye, as though you could perceive a lighted candle at some 200 kilometres from Turin...
The Zeiss dome houses a 20 centimetre diameter, 114 centimetre focal length 4-lens astrograph.
The sliding roof pavilions, called meridian halls, contain instruments capable of recording stars passing in meridian so as to measure irregular earth rotation velocities within a few thousands of a second.

Its activities

The Turin observatory's research activity divides into:

• I: stellar astrophysics and means of our Galaxy;
• II: astrophysics of initial life stages in active external galaxies,
• III: astrophysics of the Solar System and study of smaller bodies such as outer planet, Pluto, comets and asteroids;
• IV: basic astronomy, traditional for our observatory.

The observatory also performs much theoretical activity and makes observations based on national and international co-operative projects. Data from space missions are also used and the observatory is active in several space projects.

Calculation and data processing centre, technology development, library

The calculation centre is equipped with a main frame connected to several astronomical data analysis graphic work stations. Several projects are currently under way to improve our observatory's technical efficiency.
The library contains some 10,000 volumes.
The astronomical observatory of Turin has recorded some important success stories; in co-operation with other observatories, its astronomers have discovered planetoids given internal reference numbers and names. Another, though small, pride of Turin!

Other public astronomical observatories in the Piedmont area

Several other lesser observatories exist in Piedmont beside Turin's. One was initially built by a parish priest on the roof of his house in 1972 and is located in the municipality of Alpetta, close to Cuorgnè and is used especially for teaching purposes. It has a 5.5 metre diameter metal dome and a 40 centimetre diameter telescope complete with refractors and other equipment. This observatory is managed by the Francesco Zagar astronomy school of Turin, directed by Professor Tullio Regge. Thanks to a RAI-TV connection, it enabled the whole of Italy to follow the February 1989 lunar eclipse.