(meteorobs) Google's web cartoon

Richard Taibi rjtaibi at hotmail.com
Sat Mar 14 07:50:18 EDT 2009


 

I was puzzled at the reference made by the Google site's cartoonist today.  A cursor on the cartoon informed me that it is a tribute to Giovanni V. Schiaparelli (1835-1910). The cartoon is a reference to Schiaparelli's role in interpretation of Mars' albedo features, and incidentally, his use of "canali" to label dark linear marks he saw in an 8-inch/ 20 cm refractor.

 

However, I bring our list's attention to the cartoon and to Schiaparelli because of his role in understanding the comet-meteor relationship.  Schiaparelli made the discovery that "the August meteors," now called the Perseids, were travelling in the same orbit as the comet we now know as 109P/Swift-Tuttle, discovered in 1862.  The publication of his work led to subsequent discoveries of other comet-meteor shower correlations, and even later, the causal role of comet debris in creating meteor showers.

 

Someone at Google is aware of astronomical history and the contributions of astronomers.  I was impressed that Google would recognize an astronomer who today is an obscure figure but yet deserves our appreciation.  I hope the company continues this policy!

 

Rich



More information about the Meteorobs mailing list