Astronomer Biography: Giovanni Amici

The life of Giovanni Amici may not be as glamorous or as widely publicized as such Astronomers as Coppernicus, Galileo, or Kepler, but rest assured that his impact on the realm of Astronomy was as significant and notable as any of the ‘Greats’. Born Giovanni Battista Amici in on March 25th of 1786, his life began in Modena, Italy. Once he was old enough, he had the opportunity to study at Bologna, which is one of the oldest universities in the entire world. He focused his studies mainly on mathematics at the time, and soon after finishing his tutelage at Bologna, he took up a job as a mathematics professor in Modena. This may sound like a rather humble job for one who would come to have such a great impact on the Astronomy world, but he soon was recruited to be the inspector general of studies for the Italian duchy. His studying here and later as the director of a Florence observatory would form that foundation for many of his most well-known contributions to Astronomy.
It is rather unfortunate that a man such as Giovanni Amici is so unheard of by most of the population when it comes to recognizing him for his achievements. Few would know it, but Amici was one of the leading contributors to the perfection and refinement of the mirrors and surfaces in reflecting telescopes. This also led him to become an expert on the construction and makeup of microscopes, and was another Astronomical tool which he lent his considerable knowledge and expertise to. Most interesting of his contributions though would have to be the dipleidoscope, which he created on his own in the early 19th century. This creation of his is used to determine when it is exactly noon time, and can perform this feat to a closeness of 10 seconds. The instrument itself is very simple, comprising only a prism and telescope that make two images of the Sun. When these images are directly on top of one another, the local time is precisely noon. Clearly Amici was a very clever man who deserves much more recognition for his accomplishments that he is credited with in this modern age. However on the bright side of this lack of recognition, there is a crater on the Moon that is named after him, which is fittingly called ‘Amici’. This recognition is most likely due to the fact that Amici was a very astute observer of the heavens, specifically double stars, Jupiter’s moons, and the Sun. Overall though, Mr. Amici is beyond due for more remuneration for his great contributions to the world of Astronomy.