Merz Telescopes: A Global Heritage Worth Preserving

Abstract

This book intends to reinforce the consciousness of the scientific community about the value of this heritage and stimulate initiatives aimed at preserving Merz telescopes in other observatories and countries. It offers a perspective about the results of these actions in Italy and the research work requested for this purpose. The initial chapters provide a general view of the Merz Company and the building of large refractors in the nineteenth century, while the subsequent chapters deal with specific aspects, collections and instruments and the studies carried out with them, up to recent times. The contributors are experts in the field and often curators of the collections herein described.