While
studying at the seminary, Aller already had a 67 mm.
telescope, a present from his maternal grandmother, Camila
Ulloa. This would be the first instrument with which he
would practice his love of astronomy. Years later, Miss
María Lajosa Sánchez, also from Lalín, would present Aller
with a magnificent theodolite made in London. It
was with these instruments, located on a balcony in his
house, that he would begin to systematically carry out
high-quality astronomical observations
despite the limited resources at his disposal. His paper:
"Observations of the Johannesburg Comet 1910a" was published in the Observatory of
Madrid's 1912 annual. It
was with this publication that he would begin to make a
name for himself in astronomy circles in Spain. Between
1911 and 1920, he spent long summer periods in the
Observatory that Luis Ocharan had built in Castro
Urdiales, and it was because of this experience that he
came up with the idea to build his own observatory in
Lalín. And so it was. In 1917, in the garden adjoining his
house, he built what is usually referred to as his second
observatory. This consisted of two wooden sheds, one of
which housed the theodolite and the other the telescope.
Other auxiliary instruments and a marine chronometer were
also kept in the sheds. With
these new facilities, his observations reached admirable
precision. He also carried out detailed theoretical
studies on instruments. Many of his works appeared in the
"Revista de la Sociedad Astronómica de España y America"
(Journal of the American and Spanish Astronomical
Society). It
is curious, however, that his first book would be on
Mathematics and not on Astronomy: "ALGORITMIA", which he
dedicated to Saturnino Aller, his uncle and the book's
sponsor, was published in 1918. It was precisely with
Saturnino's death that Aller would have the usufruct of
his uncle's assets for many years. With the money this
provided him, he decided to enlarge his collection of
observation instruments with the addition of a 120mm
refractor with a focal length of 1800mm. Housing
such an instrument required modifying the observatory's
structure and building a dome. Aller himself supervised
the changes and new construction, which were completed in
1924. He received the new instrument a year later. Hardly
had the new refractor been installed when Aller
meticulously chose the scientific program he would follow,
the discussion of which can be found in his article
"Program of the Observatory of Lalín" published in 1932 in
the "Arquivos do Seminario de Estudos Galegos" (Archives
of the Galician Studies Seminar). The
main aspects of the program were 1) measurements of double
stars, 2) the study of planetary surfaces, and 3) chance
observations, including ocultations, the position of
comets, falling stars, and so on. Aller
first published his micrometric measurements of visual
double stars in 1930, in the German journal "ASTRONOMISCHE
NACHRICHTEN", which was the main European astronomical
journal at the time. Years later in the same publication,
he would make the orbit of the double star STT77 known.
Others would subsequently follow. One can safely say that
it was Aller who introduced the study of double stars in
Spain, a subject which would later enjoy an impressive
school of followers in Santiago. Before
1939, Aller had published 43 works in Spanish and foreign
journals, besides "ALGORITMIA". He also wrote an
exceptional manuscript on Astronomy which he had been
working on since his youth. To these achievements, one
must also add the study and design of scientific
instruments which peaked the interest of German builders.
All of this gave the Observatory of Lalín international
fame despite its modest resources and one-man staff. What
especially stood out was how Aller made full use of his
instruments and the meticulousness with which he performed
his calculations and observations. Apart
from all of this, he dedicated his time to many other
things like designing blueprints for houses and churches
and even giving classes to young students about Geography,
Mathematics, Latin, and so on. And all of this free of
charge. He even authored the first biography of Pedro
Rodríguez González, which was published under the title of
"El matemático de Bermés" ("The Mathematician from
Bermés"). At
the end of the Spanish Civil War, the University of
Santiago was low on professors, and someone suggested to
Chancellor Carlos Ruiz del Castillo that Aller would make
a valuable addition to the teaching staff. They convinced
Aller to move to Santiago to teach Mathematical Analysis
and Analytical Geometry in the Faculty of Sciences. Although
the idea to move the Observatory in Lalín to Santiago had
already been raised by professors Luis Iglesias and Isidro
Parga before 1936, it was now with Aller in Santiago when
the project took shape. It was undoubtedly Enrique
Vidal-Abascal's defense of the project before the Consejo Superior de
Investigaciones Científicash (Higher Council on
Scientific Researc: the CSIC)
that prompted the Chancellor's Office to give its approval
with the sponsorship of the CSIC. The
Astronomical Observatory of the University was built
during 1943 and consisted of a single small building with
domes in which the instruments from Lalín were installed,
obviously with the hopes of enlarging its facilities and
scientific observation materials in the future. The
Observatory's initial years in Santiago were particularly
active ones. On 30 June 1943, Aller defended his doctoral thesis at the University of Madrid. The
subject was another one of his favorites: "Some
Experiences that are Worthwile Carrying Out in
Observations of Transits Across Vertical Circles." That
same year, he was named director of the Observatory
and the first edition of his book INTRODUCCION A LA
ASTRONOMIA (INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY) was published, a
magnificent book which includes the printed version of the
entire manuscript mentioned previously. The
Observatory saw the addition of a transit telescope thanks
to a donation by the CSIC who honored Aller's request for
one to be able to continue his research on Positional
Astronomy. In subsequent years the Observatory became a center of excellent academic atmosphere around which astronomy and mathematics scholars converged. Aller was content being surrounded by such enthusiastic youth, especially keeping in mind the many years he spent in scientific solitude in Lalín. The Durán Loriga Theoretical and Mathematical Astronomy section was created within the Observatory in 1945, and included members like professors Enrique Vidal Abascal (its first director) and Eduardo García-Rodeja Fernández. It would serve as the seeds of the Mathematics Department in the Faculty of Sciences, today the Faculty of Mathematics. Despite
the limited observation resources available, practically
the same ones that Aller had at his disposal in Lalín,
the work carried out in the Observatory was intense,
reaching its height in the 1940s and 50s. Some of the
most remarkable events that took place at this time
include the following: -
- The defense of Enrique Vidal Abascal's doctoral thesis
entitled "The Problem with the Apparent Orbit of Visual
Double Stars" and directed by Aller (Madrid, 1944). -
- The construction of a special base, following Aller's
own design, for the transit telescope to carry out
observations of transits across vertical circles +-45º
along with the construction of a sidereal time watch. -
- The inauguration of the "Publications of the
Observatory of Santiago" series where many of the
scientific works carried out in the Center are
collected, especially those dealing with micrometric
measurements of visual double stars, ocultations,
observations of transits, as well as other theoretical
works.
-
- The creation of the Astronomy Chair in the Faculty of
Sciences in 1944, held by Aller until 1949, the year in
which he was named Outstanding Astronomy Professor.
-
- The appointment of Aller as a member of the
"International Astronomical Union Commission 26 (double
stars)" in 1948 (Zurich). The following year he was
named a member of the National Commission on Astronomy.
-
- The publication of the book "ASTRONOMÍA A SIMPLE
VISTA" (ASTRONOMY AT A GLANCE ) in 1948. -
- The expansion of the Observatory's facilities with the
addition of the Meridian room, the library, research
offices and caretaker's quarters. -
- The incorporation of various grant holders and
contributors among whom were José Pensado Iglesias (who
would later become the director of the Observatory of
Madrid); Rafael Cid Palacios (Astronomy Chair at the
University of Zaragoza); Ángel Docobo Fernández (uncle
to José Ángel Docobo Durántez, the Observatory's current
director); Antonia Ferrín Moreiras; Jesús Manuel Costa
Seoane; Juan Antonio Zaera de Toledo; and many more. One
cannot forget Aller's faithful assistant and the
Observatory's caretaker, Venancio Froiz Gómez. -
- Cid Palacios's doctoral thesis directed by Aller
entitled " Contribución al estudio de estrellas dobles
visuales" (A Contribution to the Study of Visual Double
Stars). -
- The publication of the 2nd edition of "INTRODUCCIÓN A
LA ASTRONOMÍA" sponsored by the CSIC (1957). Between
1960 and 1963, in spite of being 83 years old, Aller
still directed three more theses: Múgica Buhigas's "Über
die Anwendung des Theodolits in der Geodätischen
Astronomia" (Munich, 1960); Zaera de Toledo's "On
determining the Orbits of Visual Double Stars. A Study
of Various Methods. Applications" (Zaragoza, 1962); and
Ferrín Moreiras's "Observations of Transits Across Two
Vertical Circles" (Santiago, 1963). It was during this
time that Aller would begin to receive the first of many
tributes, all of which he tried to avoid. The main one,
without a doubt, was the homage paid to him by his
neighbors in Lalín on 4 September 1960, on the occasion
of his being
granted the Great Cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X,
the Wise. Several
streets in Santiago, A Coruña, Vigo and Lalín would
later carry his name. Aller
preferred two principal lines of investigation: 1) the
methods to determine coordinates based on observations
of transits across two vertical circles and 2) visual
double stars. But in the 53 years that transpired
between his first and last articles, Aller also wrote
with masterful precision on many other subjects, such as
the observation of comets, planetary surfaces,
instrumentation, watch making, aurora borealis, shooting
stars, eclipses, transits, the description of his
observatories, and so forth. In addition, between 1947
and 1949, he wrote a critical bibliography on
astronomical treatises in the "Journal of Geophysics,"
and honoring a request by the Seminar of Galician
Studies, he authored the first biography on his fellow
countryman Pedro José Rodríguez González, an excellent
geodetic scholar in the XIX century and former director
of the Observatory of Madrid. Aller
also made important contributions to the field of
Mathematics through his articles on the parabolic theory
of errors, sets and the principles of set theory,
undefined finite and transfinite numbers, and so on. His
sensitivity and didactic refinement are immortalized in
the books that he left behind. In "ALGORITMIA.
Principios fundamentales de la Ciencia de los números"
(ALGORITMIA. Basic Principles of the Science of
Numbers), he discusses with clear precision the main
subjects of mathematical analysis from the notion of
whole numbers to differential equations. "INTRODUCCIÓN A
LA ASTRONOMIA" was a significant contribution. Both in
its first edition (1943) as well as in the second
(1957), he gives a detailed account of the different
aspects of Astronomy in order to provide an overall
vision of this branch of science. Both editions, which
include numerous theoretical concepts, practical
examples and original drawings, were textbooks and
reference books in the Faculty
of Sciences for years. "ASTRONOMÍA A SIMPLE VISTA" is an
interesting book aimed mainly at those who, lacking the
necessary means, are equally interested in knowing the
wonderful science of the stars. It is a well-documented
book that filled an existing void at the time it was
written. Now in its 50th anniversary, it has been
reproduced jointly by the City Council of Lalín and the
University of Santiago de Compostela. From
1931-34 many of his essays written in Galician appeared
in the magazine LOGOS. In 1989, these essays were
republished by the Provincial Council of Pontevedra with
a prologue by Xosé Filguiera Valverde. After
falling ill in 1964, Aller returned to Lalín, where he
died on 28 March 1966 at the age of 88. After his death
he left his observation instruments as well as the
majority of his library collection to the Astronomical
Observatory of the University of Santiago. This
man who dedicated his long and productive life to
Science and to serving his fellow man, did not dispose
of the necessary means of observation to expand his
research. On repeated occasions he requested what he
always promised himself, that is, to one day have at
least a 30cm refractor, a tool which he considered the
most basic yet indispensable observation instrument.
However, his requests were never granted by the official
bodies to whom he appealed. Considering
the modest resources at his disposal, and the times and
places in which his research was carried out, Aller's
scientific production was extraordinary: 78 publications
(articles, notes, bibliographic comments,), 4 books, 5
directed doctoral theses, 4 discoveries of double stars,
numerous designs of scientific instruments, and an
endless number of unpublished observations,
calculations, notes and stellar catalogues. It is
because of all of this that he is considered one of the
principal Spanish authorities on Astronomy. Nevertheless,
his real legacy was, without a doubt, that which cannot
be quantified: his generosity, modesty, humbleness,
scientific rigor and dedication to others, which was
always manifest. As Vidal Abascal so rightly stated,
Ramón María Aller's true chef-d'oeuvre was his life.
José Ángel Docobo Durántez Director of the Astronomical Observatory
Ramón
María Aller
University
of Santiago de Compostela
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