Decoding the Stars: A Biography of Angelo Secchi, Jesuit and Scientist

Winner of the 2021 Donald E. Osterbrock Book Prize for Historical AstronomyIn Decoding the Stars, Ileana Chinnici offers an account of the life of the Jesuit scientist Angelo Secchi (1818-1878). In addition to providing an invaluable account of Secchi’s life and work—something that has been sorely lacking in the English-language scholarship—this biography will be especially stimulating for those interested in the evolution of astrophysics as a discipline from the nineteenth century onward. Despite his eclecticism, reminiscent of the natural philosophers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Secchi was in many ways a very modern scientist: open to innovation and cooperation, and a promoter of popularization and citizen science.Secchi also appears fully inserted in the cultural context of his time: he participated in philosophical and scientific debates, spread new theories and ideas, but also suffered the consequences of political events that marked those years and impacted on his life and activities.

“Excellent biography […] Historians of science, whatever their national origin, should become familiar with the achievements of Father Secchi.” Naomi Pasachoff, Williams College. In: Metascience, Vol. 29, No. 1 (March 2020), pp. 77–80 (2020). “[This] will undoubtedly be the standard work on this remarkable Jesuit astronomer.” Wayne Orchiston, National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, and Centre for Astrophysics, University of Southern Queensland. In: Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, Vol. 23, No. 1 (April 2020), pp. 227–228. “This excellent book not only presents Secchi’s scientific contributions and his personality but also situates him in the fascinating mix of science, politics and society of the Italian late nineteenth century.” Augustín Udías, Universidad Complutense, Madrid. In: Journal for the History of Astronomy, Vol. 52, No. 1 (2021), pp. 111–112. “Chinnici’s excellent biography gives us a thorough and strongly felt portrait of Secchi’s personality and work, especially, through his letters and writings. This is an important work for the history of astronomy and astrophysics in Italy; more generally, it aids the historical exploration of Jesuit contributions to science and the wider relationship between science and religion.” Agustín Udías, S.J., Universidad Complutense, Madrid. In: Archivum Historicum Societatis Iesu, Vol. 88, fasc. 176 (2019-II), pp. 611–613.

Ileana Chinnici is an astronomer at the INAF-Palermo Astronomical Observatory and works in the field of the history of astrophysics. She has published books and articles in international journals, exploring historical archives related to scientific projects and scientists of the nineteenth century.