Antonio Abetti (19 June 1846 – 20 February 1928) was an Italian astronomer.

Born in San Pietro di Gorizia (Šempeter-Vrtojba), he earned a degree in mathematics and engineering at the University of Padua. He was married to Giovanna Colbachini in 1879, and they had two sons. He died in Arcetri.

Work

Abetti mainly worked in positional astronomy and made many observations of minor planets, comets, and star occultations. He computed the orbit of 170 Maria, a Main belt asteroid.

In 1874 he was part of an Italian expedition to Muddapur, in India, led by Pietro Tacchini to observe a transit of Venus with a spectroscope.

  • The minor planet 2646 Abetti is also named after Antonio and his son.

References

  • Biography of Abetti