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Giovanni Cassini

Type Figure Region Italy Time 1625–1712 Also known as Cassini

Italian-born astronomer who successively served the observatories of Bologna and Paris, determining Jupiter's rotation and the motions of its satelli…

Timeline

  1. 1625–1669Bologna · Emilia-RomagnaBorn in Perinaldo, Liguria, he later became a professor at the University of Bologna; he studied the motions of Jupiter's satellites and the distance to the Sun, proposed that comets travel along greatly elongated elliptical orbits, and participated in astronomical calculations related to the Church's calendar reform.
  2. 1671–1690Paris · Île-de-FranceInvited to France by Louis XIV in 1669, he directed the newly built Paris Observatory; in 1671–1672 he discovered the Saturnian moon Iapetus, and in 1675 discovered the Cassini Division in Saturn's rings; at the same time he carried out measurements of meridian arc lengths, providing key data for geodesy.
  3. 1690–1712Paris · Île-de-FranceIn his later years, despite failing eyesight, he continued to guide observational programs; his son and grandsons successively headed the Paris Observatory, forming the Cassini astronomical dynasty spanning several generations; his mapping of the Moon and planets long influenced European navigation and calendar revision.

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