Research Article

Aurorae observed by Giuseppe Toaldo in Padua (1766–1797)

¹ Departamento de Física, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz 06006, Spain
² Instituto Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología, Quito 170135, Ecuador
³ Departamento de Ingeniería Civil y Ambiental, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito 170112, Ecuador
⁴ Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council, Padova 35127, Italy
⁵ Department of Architectural Design, History and Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology – NTNU, Trondheim 7491, Norway
⁶ Departamento de Ciencias de la Energía y Mecánica, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas (ESPE), Ecuador

^* Corresponding author: f.dominguez.castro@gmail.com

Received: 21 July 2015
Accepted: 23 March 2016

Abstract

A record is presented of the auroral observations made by Giuseppe Toaldo and his assistant Vincenzo Chiminello in Padua, Italy, in the second half of the 18th century. The historical sources consulted include the original manuscripts containing the meteorological records made by those two observers. A small catalogue is constructed with the 148 auroral observations. The characteristics of these observations are analysed. The main feature of this data set is that the annual number of auroral observations presents an intense peak at around 1779 and an abrupt decline at around 1790.