Attilio Colacevich (; 25 July 1906 – 24 August 1953) was an Italian

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

Biography

Colacevich was born in

Fiume Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

. He graduated in physics from the University of Florence in 1929, and in 1933

Giorgio Abetti Prof Giorgio Abetti HFRSE (5 October 1882 – 24 August 1982) was an Italian Sun, solar astronomer.G. GodolABETTI, Giorgio Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in Italian) Life He was born in Padua, the son of noted astronomer Antonio Abetti. ...

hired him as assistant to the

Arcetri Observatory The Arcetri Observatory ( it, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri) is an astrophysical observatory located in the hilly area of Arcetri on the outskirts of Florence, Italy. It is located close to Villa Il Gioiello, the residence of Galileo Galile ...

. In 1934 he obtained a fellowship from the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

at the

Lick Observatory The Lick Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of California. It is on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, United States. The observatory is managed by th ...

carrying out research on spectroscopic binaries. In June 1948 he was appointed director of the Collurania astronomical observatory in

Teramo Teramo (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Tèreme ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Abruzzo, the capital of the province of Teramo. The city, from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines (Gran Sasso d'Italia) ...

and, a few months later, director of the

Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte The Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte ( it, Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, italic=no) is the Neapolitan department of Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (National Institute for Astrophysics, INAF), the most important Italian institu ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. In 1949 he returned to

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, first at the Warner and Swasey Observatory in Cleveland making observations with Jason Nassau with the Burrell-Schmidt telescope for studies on the spectroscopic classification of red stars, then he moved to Chicago at the Yerkes Observatory, and finally stayed for a month in Texas at the

McDonald Observatory McDonald Observatory is an astronomical observatory located near unincorporated community of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States. The facility is located on Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, with additional facil ...

. Here he collaborated with Otto Struve who called him ''one of the most active European astronomers''. Together with Gerard Kuiper and

William P. Bidelman William Pendry Bidelman ( ; September 25, 1918 – May 3, 2011)32 Cygni 32 Cygni (32 Cyg, Omicron2 Cyg, ο2 Cyg) is the Flamsteed designation for a binary star system in the Cygnus constellation. It is a 4th magnitude star, which can be seen with the naked eye under suitably dark skies. Parallax measureme ...

. During the

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...

of 25 February 1952, observed in

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

, he obtained the daytime spectrum of the sky for the first time. He was a member of

Accademia dei Lincei The Accademia dei Lincei (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed", but anglicised as the Lincean Academy) is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rom ...

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

and Academy of Sciences of Naples, and died in Naples.

Award

In 1955 the Accademia dei Lincei awarded him the National Prize of the President of the Republic for Astronomy, Geodesy and Geophysics.

References

External links

* 1906 births 1953 deaths People from Rijeka 20th-century Italian astronomers Members of the Lincean Academy University of Florence alumni {{Italy-astronomer-stub