Marco Cavagna (1958 – August 9, 2005) was an Italian amateur

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 ...

. During his career, Cavagna discovered numerous

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

s, operating from the

Sormano Astronomical Observatory The Sormano Astronomical Observatory ( it, Osservatorio Astronomico Sormano, obs. code: 587) is an astronomical observatory north of Milan, Italy. Located near the Swiss border at 1000 meters elevation at the mountain village of Sormano in the pr ...

in Sormano, northern Italy. 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 19 minor planets he made between 1994 and 1998. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was one of Italy's leading observers of

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...

s and national coordinator during the International Halley Watch in 1986. Cavagna was also a lecturer at the

planetarium A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetarium ...

of Milan, co-founder of the Sormano Observatory, and a consultant for

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach ...

's commission XX (Positions & motions of minor planets, comets and satellites). Cavagna died of a stroke on 9 August 2005. The 0.5-meter

Ritchey–Chrétien telescope A Ritchey–Chrétien telescope (RCT or simply RC) is a specialized variant of the Cassegrain telescope that has a hyperbolic primary mirror and a hyperbolic secondary mirror designed to eliminate off-axis optical errors (coma). The RCT has a wi ...

at Sormano Observatory is now named in his memory. The inner main-belt asteroid 10149 Cavagna, discovered by astronomers

Maura Tombelli Maura Tombelli (born 1952 in Montelupo Fiorentino) is an Italian amateur astronomer who began her training in astronomy as an observer of variable stars. She is a prolific discoverer of almost 200 minor planets, including the main-belt asteroid ...

and

Andrea Boattini Andrea Boattini (born 16 September 1969) is an Italian astronomer and a prolific discoverer of minor planets and comets. Career After developing a growing interest in minor planets, he graduated in 1996 from the University of Bologna with a t ...

San Marcello Pistoiese Observatory The Pistoia Mountains Astronomical Observatory ( it, Osservatorio Astronomico della Montagna Pistoiese; obs. code: 104), also known as the ''San Marcello Observatory'' and the ''Pian dei Termini Observatory'' ( it, Osservatorio di Pian dei Termin ...

, was named after him in 1999 ().

References

External links

Osservatorio Astronomico Sormano website
1958 births 2005 deaths Discoverers of asteroids * 20th-century Italian astronomers {{Italy-astronomer-stub