In its early years the G.A.P. was offered the hospitality of the Seminario Maggiore of Padua and with its help was able to find a suitable place for astronomical observation.
Later the seat of the G.A.P. was transferred to No. 41, Corso Garibaldi, and from December 2004 to No 1b, Via Cornaro. The seat also has a library, which is open every Saturday afternoon for members of the G.A.P. society and also members of the public. In the 80s the Observatory and the Planetarium was built in Via Cornaro.
An important appointment, which was made for the public, is the “Corso Pubblico di Astronomia”, a series of meeting held by astronomers and academics, that saw a great attendance with hundreds present at every conference, for many years.
Also there were many open evenings for public observation, lessons at schools, libraries, and cultural centres in the province of Padua and in the Veneto.
There was also an astronomical exhibition consisting of 50 panels, exhibited in many schools and libraries in our region.
The Gruppo Astrofili di Padova has also collaborated with the Assessorato alla Cultura and with the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Padua, in the realisation of the exhibition “Magic meeting: Halley and Giotto in the Cosmos”.
Since 1983 the Gruppo Astrofili di Padova has managed the Planetarium “G. Galilei” which was donated by the Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo to the Padua Council. Although small, this has attracted more than 10,000 visitors a year, a figure which is constantly increasing with the attendance of school children and the general public.
In 1999 there were more than 100,000 visitors overall.
The Planetarium was represented as a part of the exhibition “Notturni d’Arte”, an evening visit in which one could observe the stars “in a room” together with a visit to the other arts and science shows.
In 1969 Monsigneur Girolamo Bortignon, the Bishop of the Diocese, donated the first instrument to the Gruppo Astrofili di Padova, a refractory telescope (110mm diameter; 1375 mm focal length)
About ten years later, this was integrated with another telescope: Newton 150mm diameter (900mm focal length) with an equatorial fork mount which was acquired by the members.
With these instruments the Observatory of the Gruppo Astrofili was realised in the 80s, a wood construction, moving on rails, standing on the terrace of Via Cornaro.
In 1985, on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the foundation of the society, they got a new Observatory, thanks to the contribution of the Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo that donated a Newton/Cassegrain telescope (diameter 410mm f/4,84) and a refractor (diameter 150mm f/15). The buildings department of the Council built the walls and the dome.
The Observatory is dedicated to Professor Giuseppe Colombo, an illustrious Paduan scientist, internationally known for his contributions to space missions and his study of the solar system.
In 1991-1992, after a critical period, as happens in any good family (not really..) the G.A.P. organised an Astronomical exhibition dedicated to G. Galilei for the 400th anniversary of his arrival in Padua as mathematics professor, he had not yet got his own degree!! In Piazza Cavour the public and schoolchildren arrived in great numbers.
The Astronomy
courses, which were suspended for some years due to problems like lack of a room and
the difficulty of getting contributions to finance them, gradually started
again with a new plan: smaller courses at lower cost, given by more expert
members of the society and by professors of Astronomy. Also the Planetarium and
the Observatory started a “routine” of activities that no one had done before.
In this way, they created a premise for development which was progressive and
fruitful.In 1999 there was the Eclipse of the Sun seen from Prato della Valle. A memorable morning with the members of the G.A.P. surrounded by a curious and interested crowd, with the doves that during the maximum cover, ruffled their feathers, putting their heads under their wings and went to sleep, ten minutes later they woke up because the Sun came out again. There were three nights of “la Luna in Prato” with telescopes and light projector. On that occasion we learned that the observation evenings suffered a high rate of mortality! One in two evenings were suspended due to bad weather conditions (rain on the telescope!)
The year 2000 saw the consolidation of the Astronomy courses and in the following year the new Nova star on M31 was discovered by our Observatory. Following this, the G.A.P. came of age, the members of the Observatory acquired a Hα filter and continually discovered extragalatic Novae, one after another: in three years more than 20!! We received from UAI the "Guido Ruggieri" Prize in recognition of these discoveries.
In the meantime, the Planetarium saw its visitor numbers rise to the maximum level, under flawless management. A guest book shows the signatures of the teachers that accompany the children, along with flattering comments. Some visitors observe that the Planetarium should be larger but its size does not depend solely on the G.A.P.…
The Seat’s work continues and gets better: every Saturday some members (a maximum of 10...) meet to discuss everything, from the curvature of the mirrors to the existence of God, as well as the stupid publications in the more authoritative journals.
The Astronomy courses quietly started again, one a year, becomes two, then three.. It requires a lot of organisation.
The Observatory asked for more resources for more important works: in 2002 the Cassa di Risparmio helped us to acquire a better CCD, then in 2004 we got an automatic filter wheel and new filters, all controllable from the room under the dome by software created thanks to the internal sources of G.A.P.
The public evenings, which started in 1999, have become a constant activity with annual programmes. The people become interested and often when they arrive all the places are taken. Our expert members alternate as speakers. The slide projector is resting!.. substituted by a videoprojector. In fact, with the computer one can do many great things (good and bad!!)
It is not only GAP that grows but also the trees! In fact
two or three trees encircle the Observatory threatening its closure: we asked
for them to be trimmed, we got the usual reply:" the branches of the tree cannot
be trimmed... (why don’t you raise the Observatory?!), a big branch cannot be cut...,
we don’t know who owns the trees..., we have used all our money..., the company for
trimming trees is busy somewhere else…" After a year of telephoning, the
technicians at the Council – exhausted – agreed, and the Observatory could once
again see the stars! The last great thing – the Council had restored and given
us a ‘functioning’ toilet. We had not seen one for years! But it was necessary,
above all, for the school children that came to the Planetarium.