Merz Telescopes ― A Global Heritage Worth Preserving

This book comprisesa fascinating collection of contributions on the Merz telescopes in Italy that collectivelyoffer the first survey on historical large refracting telescopes in the country,drawing on original documents and photographs. It opens with a generalintroduction on the importance of Merz telescopes in the history of astronomyand analyses of the local and international contexts in which the telescopes weremade. After examination of an example of the interaction between the maker andthe astronomer in the construction and maintenance of these refractors, thehistory of the Merz telescopes at the main Italian observatories in the nineteenthcentury is described in detail. Expert testimony is also provided on how thesetelescopes were successfully used until the second half of the twentieth centuryfor research purposes, thus proving their excellent optical qualities.

Ileana Chinnici is a research astronomer at INAF – OsservatorioAstronomico di Palermo in Italy. She has been an Officer of the ItalianAstronomical Society, National Coordinator of the INAF Museums, and Chair ofthe International Astronomical Union Commission C41 “Archives” Working Group. She has also served as a member of theItalian Astronomical Society (SAIt) Council and in 2008 was appointed AdjointScholar at Vatican Observatory. Her research has focused on the history of nineteenthcentury astronomy and astrophysics, the history of scientific instruments, andhistorical astronomical archives. She is the author or editor of several booksas well as 25 journal papers and book chapters.