Download Comenius – Astronomy

Romanian
Astronomers
Beginnings of Romanian
astronomy

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.

Until the 20th 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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Stephen Rumowski makes well documented
research based on the astronomic coordinates
of Bender, Akerman, Chilia Nouă, Ishmael,
Bucharest, Focșani, Iaşi and Brăila.
The 19th century

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.


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.


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 9th,
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

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

April the 1st 1990 the Romanian Astronomic
Institute is established with three observatories:
Bucharest, Cluj and Timisoara. Directors:
Magda Stavinschi (1990 - 2005); Vasile Mioc
(2005 – present day)

August the 11th 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

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 SouthEastern Branch of the European Astronomic
Society and the Sub-Regional European
Astronomic Committee.

PhD graduates from the Romanian Astronomic
Institute are currently working with prestigious
centers worldwide.
Călin Popovici

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 .

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.

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.

Călin Popovici began his astronomy career at the
Observatory in Bucharest in 1930, while still a student in
his third year.

He obtained his PhD in 1949 in Bucharest , with a thesis
that dealt with issues related to the Sun’s movement in
its own local star system.

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.

By commissioning a Cassegrain telescope of 50/750 cm
in1962, 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 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.

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 .

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.

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.

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.