Historia y filosofía de la física

 

Buenaventura Suarez, S.J. (1679–1750) Part 1: Telescope maker, Jovian satellites observer

 

S. Galindo and M.A. Rodríguez–Meza

 

Departamento de Física, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, Km 36.5 Carretera México–Toluca 52045, México, e–mail: salvador.galindo@inin.gob.mx; marioalberto.rodríguez@inin.gob.mx

 

Recibido el 30 de mayo de 2011.
Aceptado el 1 de julio de 2011.

 

Abstract

During the first half of the 18^th century, Father Buenaventura Suárez performed a series of astronomical observations in the Jesuit Reductions of Paraguay. His observations were published in prestigious European journals such as the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society and the Acta of the Royal Scientific Society of Uppsala. Working in the antipodes of the Jesuit astronomical centers of Europe and Asia, Suárez was not cut off from their mainstream activities. Educated at Cordoba, present day Argentina, under the Jesuit scholarly tradition, he was familiar with the observations and astronomical knowledge of his time. In spite of being an untutored astronomer he was capable of constructing his own telescopes, perhaps the first telescopes ever built in the Americas. Our present work analyzes the happy local circumstances that allowed him to produce his own astronomical instruments in Paraguay. By examining factual evidence from fictitious tales we show that, contrary to the common belief, Suárez was not provided with English telescopes for his observations. In addition we examine the circumstances and context of his observations on Jupiter's satellites, and the accuracy of his measurements. We show how his observations reached the Royal Society of London. Our findings prove that the politics of the Royal Society facilitated him this communication and it was not through a rather complicated network that Suárez sent London his data as was previously published. By examining factual accomplishments from alleged deeds we try to breakdown the mythology associated to this extraordinary personage.

Keywords: Buenaventura Suarez; early telescopes; history of science; Jesuit astronomy.

 

Resumen

Durante la primera mitad del siglo 18, el Padre Buenaventura Suárez realizó una serie de observaciones astronómicas en las Reducciones jesuitas del Paraguay. Sus observaciones fueron publicadas en prestigiosas revistas europeas tales como las Transacciones de la Real Sociedad y el Acta de la Real Sociedad Científica de Upsala. Trabajando en las antípodas de los centros astronómicos jesuitas en Europa y Asia, Suárez no estuvo aislado de sus actividades convencionales. Educado en Córdoba, en la actual Argentina, bajo la tradición académica jesuita, él estuvo al tanto de las observaciones y conocimiento astronómico de su época. A pesar de no haber sido entrenado como astrónomo, fue capaz de construir sus propios telescopios, tal vez los primeros telescopios construidos en las Américas. El presente trabajo analiza las circunstancias propicias locales que le permitieron fabricar sus instrumentos astronómicos en el Paraguay. Mediante un examen de evidencias reales entre falsedades mostramos que contrariamente a la creencia popular, Suárez no fue aprovisionado con telescopios Ingleses para sus observaciones. Además analizamos el contexto y las circunstancias de sus observaciones sobre los satélites de Júpiter así como la precisión de sus mediciones. Mostramos cómo llegaron sus observaciones a manos de la Real Sociedad de Londres. Nuestros estudios muestran la manera en la Real Sociedad facilitó que Suárez les enviara sus datos y mostramos que no fue a través de una compleja red, como se publicó previamente. Mediante un examen de sus logros reales sobre hechos imaginados, tratamos de romper la mitología asociada a este personaje.

Descriptores: Buenaventura Suarez; early telescopes; history of science; Jesuit astronomy.

 

PACS: 01.65+g; 01.65+q.

 

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References

1. "Reduction" is the transliteration of the Spanish term reducción, itself deriving from the Latin verb reducere, meaning "to lead back or together". In that sense the term "Reduction" would mean a community of originally scattered natives brought together in a settlement.

2. Guillermo Furlong Cardiff S.J. Buenaventura Suárez in "Glorias Santafesinas: Buenaventura Suárez, Francisco Javier Iturri, Cristóbal Altamirano" Estudios Bibliográficos (Buenos Aires Editorial Surgo), pages 79–104. From now on we will refer to it as "Glorias".         [ Links ]

3. As an example of "Glorias" hagiographic tone, the first page of Suárez's biography starts with a quote of Juan María Gutiérrez, Rector of the University of Buenos Aires from 1861–1874 ... se colocará a Suárez al lado de Franklyn [sic]" that is, "... Suárez will be placed alongside Franklin ".

4. Patricio A. A. Laura "Suárez a Father of South American Astronomy" Physics Today Vol. 57 p 18, (2004).         [ Links ]

5. Blas Servín "Father Buenaventura Suárez S.J. Pioneer Astronomer from South America: his work" In VIII Reunión Regional Latino Americana de Astronomía Union Astronómica Internacional, Montevideo, Uruguay, Nov. 27–Dec. 1. Rev. Mex. A. A. (SC) Vol.4, 1995, p. 152        [ Links ]

6. Troche Boggino A. E. "Buenaventura Suárez SJ: the pioneer astronomer of Paraguay" Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage (ISSN 1440–2807), Vol. 3, No. 2, p. 159–164 (2000).         [ Links ]

7. Miguel de Asúa "The publication of the astronomical observations of Buenaventura Suárez SJ (1679–1750) in European scientific Journals" Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage (ISSN 1440–2807), Vol. 7, No. 2, p. 81 – 84 (2004).         [ Links ]

8. Miguel de Asúa Ibid.

9. Antonio M. De Aldama S.J. "The formula of the Institute" The Institute of Jesuit Sources St Louis Missouri (1989) ISBN: 978091242255–6.         [ Links ]

10. Loyola Ignatius "The constitutions of the Society of Jesus" George E. Ganss S.J. (translator) The Institute of Jesuit Sources St. Louis Missouri (1970) ASIN: B000NZ10FC.         [ Links ]

11. The Jesuit Constitutions requested that "one who has talent to write books useful for the common good" may be allowed to do so.

12. The Ratio Studiorum: The official Plan for Jesuit Education. "Ratio atque Institutio Studiorum Societatis Iesu". Claude Pavur S.J., translator The Institute of Jesuit Sources St. Louis Missouri ISBN: 978–1–880810–59–X.         [ Links ]

13. Some of the most outstanding among them were: Johann Schall von Bell (1591–1666), Mario Bettini (1582–1657), Christoph Clavius ( 1537–1612), Honore Fabri (1607–1688), Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680), Matteo Ricci (1552–1610), Christoph Scheiner (1575–1650), Gaspar Schott (1608–1666) and Grogorius a St. Vicento (1584–1667).

14. In 1611 Kepler published a book entitled Dioptrice. This work was in essence a handbook on optical instruments. Kepler's booklet proposed a new kind of telescope, one that would overcome the problem of the Galilean telescope. (See theorem no 86 ofDioptrice).

15. In a Galilean telescope the field of view is limited by the diameter of the objective and the greater the magnification, the smaller the field of view gets. On the other side, in Kepler's design the field is independent of the objective's diameter. A Galilean telescope is composed of a convex objective lens of relatively long focal length and a steeply curved concave eyepiece lens placed just inside the focus of the objective. Kepler's design is composed of two convex lenses of unequal focal distances. The objective has a longer focal length than the eyepiece and the telescope's magnification is just the ratio of the two.

16. Charles E O'Neill and Joaquín M^a Domínguez "Diccionario histórico de la Compañía de Jesus" Tomo II Universidad Pontificia de Comillas, Madrid (2001) ISBN 84– 8468– –038–X (t.II)        [ Links ]

17. See N Kollerstrom "Newton's Forgotten Lunar Theory, His Contribution to the Quest for Longitude: Includes Newton's Theory of the Moon's Motion" Green Lion Press (2000) ISBN: 188800908X        [ Links ]

18. N Kollerstrom "How Newton Inspired China's calendar" Astronomy & Geophysics vol. 41, 1ssue 5 p.21 (2000).         [ Links ]

19. Udías, Agustín (2003). "Searching the Heavens and the Earth: The History of Jesuit Observatories". Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Springer Berlin. ISBN 140201189X.         [ Links ]

20. C. Reilly, "A catalogue of Jesuitica in the 'Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society ofLondon', 1665–1715," Archivum Historicum Societatis Jesu (1958), 27, 339–362.         [ Links ]

21. Observations are reported in the following locations: San Ignacio (November 1706, 1729, 1730), San José (December 1713), San Miguel Arcangel (Feb 1728), San Cosme [and Damian](1717), Colegio Fluentino (unaided observation 1700 vulgo Corrientes). In Castro Sarmento, J. de, 1748. Observationes astronomicae variae factae in Paraquaria, regione Americae australis, ab anno 1706 [1700] ad annum 1730. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 45: 667–674. And in [Castro Sarmento, J. de], 1749–1750. Observationes aliquae astronomicae a Reverendo P.P. Suárez e S.J. in Paraquaria habitae, et per D. Suárez M.D. [sic] cum Soc. Regali Communicatae. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 46: 8–10.         [ Links ]

22. "No pudiera haver [sic] hecho tales observaciones por falta de instrumentos (que no se traen de Europa a estas provincias, por no florecer en ellas el estudio de las ciencias Mathematicas) a no haver [sic] fabricado por mis manos los instrumentos necesarios para dichas observaciones,.." Suárez B. Introducción "Lunario de un Siglo" Editor F. da Silva, Lisbon 1748.         [ Links ]

23. "... quales son, Relox de péndulo con los índices de minutos primeros y segundos: Quadrante astronómico, para reducir, igualar y ajustar el Relox a la hora verdadera del sol , dividido cada grado de minuto en minuto: Telescopios, o anteojos de larga vista de [sic] todos [de] dos vidrios convexos de varias graduaciones desde ocho hasta veinte y tres pies". Suárez B. ibid Introducción.

24. An Account of a Voyage from Spain to Paraquaria;/Performed by the Reverend Fathers/ Anthony Sepp and Anthony Behme;/Both German Jesuits/.../ Taken from the letters of the said Anthony Sepp, and publish'd by his own brother Gabriel Sepp. /Translated from the high Dutch original, printed at Nurenberg, (1697).

25. Since these instruments have no field lenses to their eyepiece their field of view is very limited. For aiming purposes this limitation required very stable arrangements.

26. Fred Watson "Stargazer: the life and times of the Telescope", p 101. Da Capo Press (2004), Cambridge Mass.         [ Links ]

27. "Cuando los cristales de roca son de buena agua o claros, y sin manchas, pueden servir para hacer lentes de anteojos. Efectivamente, el padre Buenaventura Suárez, misionero de los indios guaraníes y célebre matemático, los labró muy buenos y hizo algunos anteojos muy claros". Sanchez Labrador, El Paraguay natural (manuscript) vol. 1 page 174, cited in "Glorias", Furlong

28. The Guarani natives had terms for emory and crystal rock. We can read in Sanchez Labrador, El Paraguay natural (manuscript) vol. 1, cited in "José Sanchez Labrador (1717–1798) y la geología del Paraguay natural" Eduardo G. Ottone Correlación Geológica Vol 24 pp 43–54(2008) ISNN 1514–4186 ISNN online 1666–9479.
In parenthesis we give the paragraph number "The emoryStone is very hard, known in the Misssions asytarata (550) used to cut precious stones (554) and the amoladera or afilar stone , compact, known as itaayambe (567) o itaquí when it is not so compact (568) The rock crystal known by the guaranis as itabera, is very abundant in the missions (711) is used in the manufacture oflenses (742)" "La piedra esmeril piedra muy dura conocida en las misiones como ytarata "(550)"... usada para labrar piedras preciosas"(554) ".. .y la piedra amoladera o de afilar , una arenisca fina, compacta, conocida como itaayambe... " (567) o "... itaquí cuando no tan compacta... "(568). "El cristal de roca, conocido como itabera por los guaranís, es muy abundante en las misiones. .."(711) "... usado en la confección de lentes" (742).

29. Voltaire. Candide Ou L' optimisme, Ch. XIV,— Comment Candide et Cacambo Furent Reçus Chez Les Jésuites du Paraguay.– "Le commandant fit retirer les esclaves nérés et les Paraguains qui servaient à boire dans des gobelets de cristal de roche." Art et Poésie Editions 2010. The Commandant sent away the negro slaves and the Paraguayans, who served them with liquors in goblets of rock–crystal.

30. It was in January 1739 that Fathers Procurators Diego Garvia and José Rico departed from Buenos Aires carrying with them the manuscripts of Suárez's astronomical work with the purpose of printing them in Europe. In effect they printed them, but they did something more, and much more important in favor of the argentine astronomer savant: they managed to buy several astronomical instruments that he lacked. "Fue en Enero de 1739 que partieron de Buenos Aires Los Padres Procuradores Diego Garvia y José Rico llevando los manuscritos de esta obra astronómica de Suárez para hacerla imprimir en Europa. La imprimieron efectivamente, pero hicieron algo mas y mucho mas significativo a favor del sabio astrónomo argentino: consiguieron comprar varios aparatos astronómicos de que carecía" Glorias op.cit. p 105.

31. At his arrival to Madrid, Father Rico engaged himself in getting what Suárez desired; but in vain" "Al llegar el Padre Rico a Madrid ocupóse en conseguir lo que Suárez deseaba; pero en vano" Glorias op.cit. p 105.

32. It is worth pointing that Father Rico must have arrived in Madrid not later than the end of 1739, since his departure from Buenos Aires was as stated above (see note 31) in January 1739. Furlong says that upon his arrival he wrote to Father Manuel Campos the Jesuit Procurator in Lisbon asking to find the astronomical instruments. Therefore it is very odd that Campos' reply came in March 7^Th 1745,that is five years after Father Rico landed in Europe. Glorias op.cit. p 105

33. Glorias op.cit. p 106 (2011) 121–133

34. José Luis Molinari in "Viaje del Padre José Cardiel, del Padre José Quiroga y del Padre Matías Strobel, a las costas Patagónicas" Boletin de la Academia Nacional de Historia XXXIII, Segunda sección (1962) p 536 Bs. As. Argentina.         [ Links ]

35. Archivo General de la Nación: Buenos Aires, División Colonia. Jesuitas, 1745. Quoted in Molinari p 537

36. Furlong informs that father Rico arrived in July 1745, bringing with him two telescopes of 12 and 24 palmos. That is 8 and 16 feet. Glorias p 106

37. Furlong informs that Quiroga arrived in 1745, bringing with him two telescopes of 8 and 16 feet. Guillermo Furlong "Los Jesuitas y la Cultura Rioplatense" Impresores Urta y Curbelo, Montevideo (1933) in Chapter IX "Matemáticos y Astrónomos" p. 59.         [ Links ]

38. In 1749 Quiroga occupied the Chair of Mathematics (which included astronomy) at the University ofCordova where he might possibly had made good use of the "mathematical instruments". Furlong, ibid in Chapter IX "Matematicos y Astrónomos" p. 60.

39. Determining the latitude was trivial, since the earliest years of the 18th century by using a backstaff or a quadrant. The observer would measure the angle between the horizon and a star (the Sun during the day), or (in the northern hemisphere) Polaris at night. John P. Budlong "Sky and Sextant: practical Celestial navigation" (1978) supra note 10 at p. 12.         [ Links ]

40. For years island of Hierro s meridian in the Canaries was accepted as the prime meridian. Ptolomeus (200–300) believed that Isla del Hierro was the farthest west island of the known world so ancient geographers drew the prime meridian on this site. However there was a time that Toledo, then capital of Castille, was considered as the prime meridian since the influential Alphonsine tables were written under King Alphonse of Castille. Paris also claimed the right after establishing the Observatorie de Paris in 1671. Countries assisting to the International Washington convention of 1885 finally settled their disputes for meridian in Greenwich.

41. Michael Florent van Langren was a cosmographer and mathematician to the king of Spain in Brussels. He competed for the prize offered by the Spanish crown to find the solution to the problem of longitude. Van Langren s idea was to utilize the phases of the moon instead of its eclipses. See "Jesuit Science and the republic of Letters" , edited by Mordechai Feingold. Page 339, note 46. MIT press Cambridge Mass.2002 ISBN: 0262–06234–8        [ Links ]

42. Laurence Bovis and James Lequeux Cassini, "Roemer and The velocity of Light". Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 11(2) 97–105(2008)        [ Links ]

43. See "The work of Lagrange in celestial mechanics", by Curtis Wilson, in "Planetary astronomy from the Renaissance to the rise of astrophysics", Part B, ed. Taton and Wilson, Cambridge U.P.,1989        [ Links ]

44. P.W. Wargentin "Tabulae procalculandis eclipsibus satellitum Jovis", in Acta societatis Regiae Scientiarum Upsaliensis pro 1741(1746)        [ Links ]

45. P.W. Wargentin "Series Observatorium primi satellitis Jovis, ex quibus theoria motuum ejusdem satellitis est deducta" in Acta societatis Regiae Scientiarum Upsaliensis pro 1742 (1748) Series 1, 3: 1–32        [ Links ]

46. Io is the innermost of the four moons of Jupiter discovered by Galileo in January 1610. Remer and Cassini refer to it as the "first satellite of Jupiter".

47. It is understandable why it took Suárez several years to make 147 records of Jupiter's satellites. For example Io orbits Jupiter once every 42 hours, and the plane of its orbit is very close to the plane of Jupiter's orbit around the sun. This means that it passes much of each orbit invisible, in the shadow of Jupiter. From the Earth, it is not possible to view both the immersion and the emergence for the same eclipse of Io, because one or the other will be occulted by Jupiter itself. At opposition both the immersion and the emergence would be hidden by Jupiter. For about four months after the opposition of Jupiter, it is possible to view emergences of Io while for about four months before opposition, it is possible to view immersions of Io into Jupiter's shadow. For about five or six months of the year, around the point of conjuntion it is impossible to observe the eclipses of Io at all because Jupiter is too close (in the sky) to the sun. Even during the periods before and after opposition, not all of the eclipses of Io can be observed from a given location on the Earth's surface: some eclipses will occur during the daytime for a given location, while other eclipses will occur while Jupiter is below the horizon hidden by the Earth itself.

48. "... las inmersiones y emersiones de los quatro Satelites de Jupiter, que observé por espacio de treze años en el pueblo de San Cosme, y llegaron a ciento quarenta y siete,... despache a Europa al P. Nicasio Grammatici de la Compañía de Jesus... " Suarez B. Introducción "Lunario de un Siglo" Editor F. da Silva, Lisbon 1748        [ Links ]

49. See M. Asúa op.cit

50. The Dictionary of Scientific Biography, Gillispie, Charles, ed., New York, 1970–1980, in the Article on Wargentin, says "Among his contemporaries Wargentin was considered the outstanding expert in his field, and his tables of Jupiter's moons remained authoritative until the improvement of mathematical analysis made possible exact theoretical solutions of the problems. And his empiricism, even when compared with modern theory must be considered surprisingly reliable" The same Dictionary, in the Article on Laplace states that "Wargentin's tables needed only a small correction"

51. "... y vine en conocimiento de la verdadera longitud del Meridiano de San Cosme, que es de 321 grados, y 45, minutos numerados desde la isla Ferro en Canarias" Suárez B. Introducción "Lunario de un Siglo" Editor F. da Silva, Lisbon 1748        [ Links ]

52. Quiroga finished the map in 1749 and this was published in 1753 by Franceschelli in Rome. "Mapa de las Misiones de la Compañía de Jesús en los ríos Paraná y Uruguay conforme a las más modernas observaciones de latitud y longuitud hechas en los pueblos de dichas Misiones de ambos ríos, realizado por el padre Joséph Quiroga, de la misma Compañía de Jesús de la Provincia del Paraguay en el año 1749". He used Suárez's longitudes. See page 136 of Glorias.

53. Allen, P., 1947. "The Royal Society and Latin America as reflected in the Philosophical Transactions 1665–1730". Isis, 37: 132–138.         [ Links ]

54. Journal Book XIV 553–554 (Jan 18, 1730/31), page 393 Royal Society, London. Quoted in Raymond Phineas Stearns "Science in the British Colonies of America" University of Illinois Press 1970, p 766.         [ Links ]

55. Journal Book XX, page 267 Quoted in R.P. Stearns ibid.

56. Reported May 5, 1748. Journal Book XX p 508. The account treated on the River Plate area. Quoted in Raymond Phineas Stearns "Science in the British Colonies ofAmerica" University of Illinois Press 1970,

57. Journal Book XX, page 79 Royal Society, London. Quoted in Raymond Phineas Stearns "Science in the British Colonies of America" University of Illinois Press 1970, p 766.         [ Links ]

58. Letter: Buenaventura Suárez to Mattheo Sarayva with observations on astronomical subjects; 17 Apr. 1744. Spanish. ff. 171–177b. ROYAL SOCIETY PAPERS. Vol. VII (ff. 268).         [ Links ]

59. Journal Book XX, p 300 (june 25, 1747)        [ Links ]

60. Suarez's orbituary in the 1750 Littera Annua. Cited in Furlong Glorias p. 139

61. Miguel de Azúa. "The publication of Astronomical Observations of Buenaventura Suárez SJ (1679–1750) in European scientific journals" Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage 7(2): 81–84 (2004) cf Section 4. The Portuguese Connection.         [ Links ]

62. J.H. Lieske, "A Collection of Galilean Satellite Eclipse Observations, 1652–1983: Part I", Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 154 (1986), pp. 61–76        [ Links ]

63. J.H. Lieske, "A Collection of Galilean Satellite Eclipse Observations, 1652–1983: Part II", Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series, vol. 63 (1986), pp. 143–202.         [ Links ]