Niccolò Zucchi, Italian astronomer and physicist (b. 1586)
Niccolò Zucchi (Italian pronunciation: [nikkoˌlɔ dˈdzukki, - tˈtsukki]; December 6, 1586 – May 21, 1670) was an Italian Jesuit, astronomer, and physicist.
As an astronomer he may have been the first to see the belts on the planet Jupiter (on May 17, 1630), and reported spots on Mars in 1640.
His "Optica philosophia experimentis et ratione a fundamentis constituta", published in 1652–56, described his 1616 experiments using a curved mirror instead of a lens as a telescope objective, which may be the earliest known description of a reflecting telescope. In his book he also demonstrated that phosphors generate rather than store light. He also published two other works on mechanics and machines.
1670May, 21
Niccolò Zucchi
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Events on 1670
- 2May
Hudson's Bay Company
King Charles II of England grants a permanent charter to the Hudson's Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America. - 1Jun
Secret Treaty of Dover
In Dover, England, Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France sign the Secret Treaty of Dover, which will force England into the Third Anglo-Dutch War.