Astronomy

This section introduces instruments and models that witness the research carried out by mankind to understand and describe the space which surrounds us, from the surface of the Earth to the structure of the Universe. The collection gathers antique astronomic and topographical instruments. Some tell the story of Milanese astronomy: the Sisson’s equatorial sector (1774), with which the orbital parameters of the planet Uranus were defined and small planet Hesperia discovered; the Ramsden’s mural quadrant (1789); the Salmoiraghi refracting telescope (early 1900’s). Two precious pairs of globes, built by Coronelli and Moroncelli at the end of the 17th century, describe the surface of the Earth and the celestial vault, with its fantastic mythological figures. A Foucault pendulum shows the rotation of the Earth.

We wish to thank INAF – Brera Astronomical Observatory