Giovanni Battista Hodierna, also spelled asOdierna (April 13, 1597 – April 6, 1660)[1] was an Italianastronomer at the court ofGiulio Tomasi, Duke ofPalma (Palma di Montechiaro). He compiled acatalogue of comets and other celestial objects containing some 40 entries, including at least 19 real and verifiablenebulous objects that might be confused with comets.
Hodierna was born inRagusa, Sicily and died inPalma di Montechiaro. While serving as a Roman Catholic priest in Ragusa, he also practised astronomy.[1]
Hodierna was prolific in publication, and his interests spanned many disciplines. In addition to his astronomical observations, he utilized optic microscopes to study insects, publishing on the multifaceted eye of flies and that in bee colonies only the queen is oviparous.[5]
^González Payo, J.; Caballero, J. A. (September 2024), "Discovery of double stars by Giovanni Battista Hodierna in 1654",Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,533 (3): 3379-3386,arXiv:2408.10917,doi:10.1093/mnras/stae2010
^Birthday for a star cluster: Charles Messier,Astronomy Now, January 2011, page 20.
^Archimedes revived with the present stilyard, where not only is taught how to discover frauds in the falsification of gold and silver; but the use of civil weights and measures is noted in various nations of the world and of this kingdom of Sicily.
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