Schiaparelli, Giovanni Virginio

Osservazioni astronomiche e fisiche sull'asse di rotazione e sulla topografia del pianeta Marte ... Memoria [-Memoria Sesta]. Rome: Salviucci for the Accademia dei Lincei, 1878 -1899



6 volumes, large 4to (11¾ x 8⅞ in.; 298 x 225 mm, uncut and largely unopened). 26 lithographed plates of which two are double-page and three are colored; library stamp on upper wrapper and title of part 3 (Cantonal Observatory of Neuchatel). Parts 2-6 in original printed wrappers, part 1 in modern wrappers, parts 2 and 5 with presentation inscriptions "Omaggio dell Autore" on wrapper or title; two backstrips renewed, a few edge-tears.

Houzeau & Lancaster II, p. 1338; see DSB XII:159-162

First edition, in the original parts. During the great opposition of Mars in 1877, Schiaparelli observed the planet thoroughly using a Merz refractor; this exceptional instrument allowed Schiaparelli to detect even the smallest surface features which had been overlooked in earlier oppositions by larger telescopes. In drawing a complete picture for the construction of an accurate map, he stated that the interpretation of the phenomena observed on Mars was still largely hypothetical, varying among observers even when they saw the same details. He was the first to classify the features as "seas" and "continents."

Although Schiaparelli "understood that the features he observed on Mars were stable, he was cautious in drawing conclusions on the nature of the surface and atmosphere until he could establish that the seas, continents, and canals were identifiable with analogous terrestrial formations" (DSB).