The CERGA Observatory (, ;
obs. code:
010) was a scientific department and astronomical station of the
Côte d'Azur Observatory in southern France, where several
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
s were discovered during 1984–1993.
Description
CERGA included 28 researchers and as many engineers and technicians located on the Observatory sites of
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million[Grasse
Grasse (; Provençal dialect, Provençal in classical norm or in Mistralian norm ; traditional ) is the only Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur Re ...]
and
Calern (
Caussols). The scientific activities covered fields as diverse as fundamental
astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...
,
celestial mechanics
Celestial mechanics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the motions of objects in outer space. Historically, celestial mechanics applies principles of physics (classical mechanics) to astronomical objects, such as stars and planets, to ...
, and space
geodesy
Geodesy or geodetics is the science of measuring and representing the Figure of the Earth, geometry, Gravity of Earth, gravity, and Earth's rotation, spatial orientation of the Earth in Relative change, temporally varying Three-dimensional spac ...
. CERGA was in charge of several observing facilities of the
Lunar Laser Ranging experiment
Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) is the practice of measuring Lunar distance (astronomy), the distance between the surfaces of the Earth and the Moon using Lidar, laser ranging. The distance can be calculated from the Round-trip delay, round-trip time ...
, for example, the lunar-laser ranging telescope and the two satellite laser stations.
By nature the scientific activity involved the acquisition of data and their processing, a dedicated instrumental development and a close relationship with the more theoretical aspects in dynamics and observation modelling.
CERGA was dissolved in 2004 when the parent
Côte d'Azur Observatory re-organized. The main-belt asteroid
2252 CERGA was named for the observatory, where this asteroid was discovered by
Kōichirō Tomita.
List of discovered minor planets
The
Minor Planet Center
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Funct ...
directly credits the CERGA observatory with the discovery of 21 asteroids made during 1984–1993.
The discoveries were made using the observatory's 0.9-meter Schmidt telescope.
See also
*
*
OCA–DLR Asteroid Survey
References
External links
CERGA English home page* http://www.oca.eu/
www.beyond.fr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Centre de recherches en geodynamique et astrometrie
Astronomy institutes and departments
Asteroid surveys
Year of establishment missing
2004 disestablishments in France
Minor-planet discovering observatories
French UMR