Astronomer Essay

Rania Shafie Shafie 1
Mr. Percieval
Period 00, Astronomy Honors
15 October, 2009
Francesco Grimaldi Biography
The mathematician and astronomer Francesco Grimaldi, born in 1618 in Bologna discovered diffraction of light and coined the term diffraction as well, which means “breaking up”. Grimaldi was raised in a wealthy 17th century family, and his father made a living by selling silk. Francesco spent some of his time teaching the subjects math and physics at the Jesuit College in Bologna. He always was intelligent and was a natural with physics and mathematics.
Grimalidi’s personal accomplishments include creating a selenograph, suggesting light is wave like in nature, and verifying Galileo’s law of the uniform acceleration of falling objects. Grimaldi’s detailed selenograph was developed through his instruments which he himself built and used to measure geological features on the moon, which made the selenograph uniquely accurate. Being one of the earliest physicists to suggest that light is wave like in nature set the groundwork for future astronomers to delve deeper into the subject of light’s frequency and wave patterns. He discovered the accuracy of Galileo’s law of uniform acceleration during the decade of 1640-1650 through his research which was conducted along with fellow astronomer, Ricioli. Together they confirmed the distance the object falls is proportional to the square of the time it takes to reach the ground. A huge contribution to the field of astronomy was Grimaldi beginning

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the practice of naming lunar features after astronomers and physicists. This is something which is still practiced today through many fields of science.
Along with all of his accomplishments, Grimaldi also made a great impact by paving the way for physicist Isaac Newton. Not only did the theory which Grimaldi formulated regarding a geometrical basis for a wave theory of light spark Newton’s interest in the study of optics, but Newton also used diffraction to arrive at his more in depth and thorough theory of light. An astronomer or scientist’s impact isn’t only reliant on the contributions made specifically by them, but the ways in which the influence others in the same or similar fields.
Francesco Grimaldi passed away in 1663, December 28th. His contributions to the field of astronomy as well as the groundwork he laid for future astronomers and physicists was and still is today truly groundbreaking. He is still remembered and respected in the field of astronomy, and today has a crater on the moon named Grimaldi in honor of him. Grimaldi may have lived centuries ago, however he still lives on through his discoveries and contributions to the field of science.







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Bibliography
Macdonald, Joseph, Fairfield Universityh Faculty Web Server, Web. 02 Oct. 2009. http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu

Grimaldi, Francesco, Google, Web, 30 Sept. 2009, www.daviddarling.info./encyclopedia/g/grimaldi/html

Absolute Astronomy, Web, 30 Sept. 2009, www.absoluteastronomy.com

Francesco Grimaldi, Web, 30 Sept. 2009 www.qerts.k12.nf.ca/projects/physics/grimaldi.html