Giovanni de Sanctis (born 1949) is an Italian

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

and discoverer of

minor planets According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''mino ...

at the Osservatorio Astronomico di Torino (Astronomical Observatory of Turin) in

Turin, Italy Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

. His name is sometimes spelt DeSanctis, particularly in the

Minor Planet Circular 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. Function ...

s. 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. Function ...

credits him with the discovery of 42 numbered minor planets, most of which he discovered at ESO's

La Silla La Silla may refer to: * La Silla Observatory, an astronomical observatory in Chile * Cerro de la Silla, a mountain and natural monument located within the metropolitan area of the city of Monterrey, Nuevo León, in northeastern Mexico. * La Sill ...

site in northern Chile in the early 1980s. The Vestian asteroid 3268 De Sanctis was named by

Henri Debehogne Henri Debehogne (30 December 1928 – 9 December 2007) was a Belgian astronomer and a prolific discoverer of minor planets. Biography He was born at Maillen. Debehogne worked at the Royal Observatory of Belgium (french: Observatoire Royal de ...

in honor of his co-discoverer. Naming citation was published on 22 June 1986 ().

List of discovered minor planets

References

* Piero Bianucci
''Alba il 13 novembre sarà gemellata con un pianetino''
La Stampa: Il Cielo, 2009-11-11 20th-century Italian astronomers Discoverers of asteroids * Living people 1949 births {{Italy-astronomer-stub