Giovanni Battista Zupi, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Giovanni Battista Zupi

Italian astronomer

Date of Birth: 02-Nov-1589

Place of Birth: Catanzaro, Calabria, Italy

Date of Death: 26-Aug-1667

Profession: astronomer, mathematician

Nationality: Italy

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Giovanni Battista Zupi or Zupus (c.
1590 – 1650) was an Italian astronomer, mathematician, and Jesuit priest. He was born in Catanzaro.
In 1639, Giovanni was the first person to discover that the planet Mercury had orbital phases, like those of the Moon and Venus.
His observations demonstrated that the planet orbited around the Sun.
This occurred thirty years after Galileo's first telescope design, and Zupi's was only slightly more powerful.
He died in Naples. The crater Zupus on the Moon is named after him.