The Spaceguard Foundation (SGF) is a private organization based in

Frascati Frascati () is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated wit ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, whose purpose is to study, discover and observe

near-Earth object A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body whose orbit brings it into proximity with Earth. By convention, a Solar System body is a NEO if its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 astronomical units (AU). ...

s (NEO) and protect the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

from the possible threat of their collision. The

foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

is non-partisan, non-political and non-profit,English translation of the By-laws of The Spaceguard Foundation
and acts as the international organization grouping together the

spaceguard The term Spaceguard loosely refers to a number of efforts to discover, catalogue, and study near-Earth objects (NEO), especially those that may impact Earth ( potentially hazardous objects). Asteroids are discovered by telescopes which repeate ...

organizations in various countries, as well as individual

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, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

s and organizations interested in the foundation's activities. The foundation was established in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1996. Since then, it has moved into the

ESA Centre for Earth Observation The ESA Centre for Earth Observation (also known as the European Space Research Institute or ESRIN) is a research centre belonging to the European Space Agency (ESA), located in Frascati (Rome) Italy. It is dedicated to research involving eart ...

(ESRIN) at

.Planetary Defense
/ref> , Italian astronomer Andrea Carusi heads the foundation.

The Spaceguard System

The Spaceguard System is a collection of

observatories An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

engaging in near-Earth objects (NEO) observations.The Spaceguard System
The Spaceguard Central Node—the

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wi ...

of the foundation—manages the collection and provides the observatories with services which would optimize the international coordination of NEO followups. The individual observatories in the system participate in these services on a volunteer basis. , all the observatories in the system are ground-based.

Related organizations

* Spaceguard Croatia (

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

) * Spaceguard Foundation e.V. (

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

) *

Japan Spaceguard Association The is a not-for-profit organization based in Tokyo, Japan. Its formal status under the Japanese law is . Missions The aims of the Japan Spaceguard Association (JSGA) echoes that of The Spaceguard Foundation and other spaceguard movements: to ...

( Japan) * Spaceguard UK (

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

)

References

External links

The Spaceguard Central Node
**

Mirror A mirror or looking glass is an object that reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the direction of the im ...

site
The Spaceguard Central Node

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spaceguard Foundation Astronomical surveys Scientific research foundations Foundations based in Italy Organizations established in 1996 Planetary defense organizations

The Spaceguard System

Related organizations

See also

References

External links