Education · Astronomy and astrophysics
Courses and seminars in solar physics, astronomy, astrometry, and scientific data analysis. Explore the programs by academic year, with the most recent courses first.
Academic year
Sapienza University of Rome · Department of Physics
Methods for measuring the solar diameter from eclipses and meridian transits.
Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum
A survey of astronomy from ancient civilizations through medieval and early modern science to physical cosmology, combining historical ideas with observation and measurement.
Field visits included Santa Maria degli Angeli, the Meridian of Augustus, St Peter’s Basilica, and the National Library. Practical work included meridian observations of the Sun and study of the celestial sphere.
Academic year
Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum
The course traces how ideas about the structure of the universe changed from Ptolemy to modern cosmology, and how observation, theory, and cultural context shape scientific models.
Academic year
Sapienza University of Rome · Geography
An observational study of the Sun, Earth, and Moon, connecting classical models of the Solar System with modern measurements and dynamics.
Wednesday lectures met at Santa Maria degli Angeli; Friday sessions took place in the Geography map library. The semester began on 29 October 2008.
Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum
A study of the Copernican and Alexandrian revolutions and the development of astronomical knowledge, from classical cosmography to modern astrophysics and cosmology.
Academic year
Sapienza University of Rome
The course used the Clementine Gnomon at Santa Maria degli Angeli to connect Earth-motion theory with direct observation. A second theme linked astronomy and geography through tides and long waves.
Wednesday sessions ran from 11:00 to 13:00 at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, beginning 10 October 2007.
Rome · in collaboration with Mario Aversa
Small-group practical projects connected astronomical observation with field measurement. Each activity was limited to five students.
Academic year
Course program
A broad program connecting the history of measurement with the structure and dynamics of the Solar System.
Seminars and specialist courses
Programs across astronomy, the history of science, and quantitative methods.
Master’s program · Science and Faith
A study of astronomical ideas and instruments from Egypt and Babylon through Hipparchus, Ptolemy, Gerbert, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Cassini, and Newton. The course paired historical texts with quantitative analysis and observations.
ING-INF/05 · 2 CFU
Students built simulated data sets and used Excel and Monte Carlo methods to explore experimental errors, distributions, descriptive statistics, least-squares fitting, hypothesis tests, and time-series analysis.
Astronomy PhD course · FIS/05
A practical program in precision measurement at Santa Maria degli Angeli, covering solar transits, the solar diameter, refraction, parallax, ephemerides, Earth’s rotation, and the measurement limits of a pinhole instrument.
Master’s seminar
A five-session seminar on astronomers and their contributions, including Carolina Herschel, Maria Mitchell, Henrietta Leavitt, Dorrit Hoffleit, Jocelyn Bell, Wendy Freedman, Kate Spence, Janet Mattei, and Margherita Hack.
Visit the laboratory page for research themes, student projects, and publications.
