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FatherFrancesco de Vico (also known asde Vigo,De Vico and evenDeVico; 19 May 1805 inMacerata – 15 November 1848 in London) was an Italianastronomer and aJesuit priest.
He was educated at the college ofUrbino, and became in 1835 assistant superintendent, and in 1839 director of theVatican Observatory.[1]The Revolutions of 1848 in the Italian states cut short his observing career, as he was forced into exile, touring Paris, London, and the United States, where he was received by the President. He was pleased with his reception in the U.S. and wished to settle there atGeorgetown College, but first returned to Europe to try to recruit some colleagues to join him and purchase instruments for an observatory to be erected under his direction in New York.[1] Unfortunately, worn out from the travel, he died in London in November of that same year
He found a remarkable number ofcomets in a relatively short time, including periodic comets54P/de Vico-Swift-NEAT and122P/de Vico. He also independently discovered the comet (C/1847 T1) that brought fame toMaria Mitchell as "Miss Mitchell's Comet", two days after she did. The news did not reach Europe before Father De Vico announced his observation, so it was initially named for him. He received the award from theDanish king, who had offered a prize for the first comet discovered through atelescope (prior to this time, all comet discoveries were ones that could be seen by the unaided eye). Mitchell was later recognized and awarded a medal as well.
He also made observations ofSaturn and the gaps in its rings (he was the first to see the narrow division in therings of Saturn now known as the Keeler Gap afterJames Keeler). He was noted for his studies of spots onVenus,[1] and unsuccessfully attempted to determine its rotation period.
He began an ambitious project to compile an atlas of stars down to 11thmagnitude.
He was also a composer of church music.[1]
Thelunar craterDe Vico and the asteroid20103 de Vico are named after him.
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