The Sormano Astronomical Observatory ( it, Osservatorio Astronomico Sormano,
obs. code:
587
__NOTOC__
Year 587 ( DLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 587 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calenda ...
) is an
astronomical observatory
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 ...
north of
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, Italy. Located near the Swiss border at 1000 meters elevation at the mountain village of
Sormano
Sormano ( Valassinese lmo, Surman ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about northeast of Como. It is part of the mountain community of the Triangolo lariano, ...
in the pre-Alps, the observatory was privately funded by the ''Gruppo Astrofili Brianza'' and built in 1986.
Description
The observatory is known for its
astrometric
Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, the Milky Way.
Histor ...
observations of
minor planet
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 ''minor ...
s and
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 in the
Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...
.
After its
first light in January 1989, several amateur astronomers such as
Marco Cavagna,
Valter Giuliani,
Piero Sicoli
Piero Sicoli (born 1954) is an Italian astronomer and discoverer of minor planets, observing at the Italian Sormano Astronomical Observatory. As the observatory's coordinator, he is responsible for close encounters computation of near-Earth objec ...
,
Pierangelo Ghezzi
This is a list of minor-planet discoverers credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of one or several minor planets (such as near-Earth and main-belt asteroids, Jupiter trojans and distant objects). , the discovery of 612,011 nu ...
,
Francesco Manca
Francesco Manca (born November 1966, in Milan, Italy) is an Italian amateur astronomer and discoverer of minor planets at the Sormano Astronomical Observatory in northern Italy.
Manca also performs follow-up astrometry of near-Earth objects (NEO ...
,
Paolo Chiavenna
Paolo Chiavenna is an Italian amateur astronomer and a co-discoverer of minor planets, credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 15 minor planets during 1995–2000.
He is an active observer at the Sormano Astronomical Observato ...
,
Graziano Ventre and
Augusto Testa
Augusto Testa (born 1950) is an Italian amateur astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets
This is a list of minor-planet discoverers credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of one or several minor planets (such as near-Eart ...
have made their
minor planet discoveries at the observatory using its 50-centimeter "Cavagna Telescope", a
Ritchey–Chrétien astrograph
An astrograph (or astrographic camera) is a telescope designed for the sole purpose of astrophotography. Astrographs are mostly used in wide-field astronomical surveys of the sky and for detection of objects such as asteroids, meteors, a ...
. Astronomers at Sormano have developed their own custom software to make follow-up observations of
near-Earth objects
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). ...
such as
4179 Toutatis and
99942 Apophis
99942 Apophis is a near-Earth asteroid and potentially hazardous asteroid with a diameter of that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 when initial observations indicated a probability up to 2.7% that it would hit Earth on April&nbs ...
.
The
Eunomia
In Greek mythology, Eunomia ( grc, Εὐνομία) was a minor goddess of law and legislation (her name can be translated as "good order", "governance according to good laws"), as well as the spring-time goddess of green pastures (''eû'' means ...
asteroid
6882 Sormano
6882 Sormano ( ''prov. designation'': ) is an stony Eunomia asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately in diameter. It was discovered on 5 February 1995, by Italian amateur astronomers Piero Sicoli and Valter Giuliani a ...
, discovered by Piero Sicoli and Valter Giuliani, was named in honor of the village and its discovering nearby observatory.
Naming citation was published on 3 May 1996 ().
Sormano 2 Observatory
A second observatory, Sormano 2 Observatory (obs. code:
L06) is located nearby, at 373 meters elevation, just south of
Bellagio Bellagio may refer to:
* Bellagio, Lombardy, an Italian town
* Bellagio (resort), a luxury resort and casino in Las Vegas
* Bellagio (Hong Kong), a private housing building
* Bellagio declaration, an intellectual copyright resolution
* 79271 Bellag ...
. The observatory also conducts astrometric observations, such as of the near-Earth object in February 2018, using a 0.28-meter reflector (f/10 + CCD).
Discoveries
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 the discovery of
344581 Albisetti directly to the Sormano Astronomical Observatory. It is Italian Walter Albisetti (1957–2013).
See also
*
List of asteroid-discovering observatories
The list of asteroid-discovering observatories contains a section for each observatory which has discovered one or more asteroids, along with a list of those asteroids.
For each numbered asteroid, the Minor Planet Center lists one or more discov ...
*
List of astronomical observatories
This is a list of astronomical observatories ordered by name, along with initial dates of operation (where an accurate date is available) and location. The list also includes a final year of operation for many observatories that are no longer in ...
*
References
External links
Homepage (Scientific) - The Sormano Astronomical Observatory
Homepage (Popularization) - Osservatorio Astronomico Sormano
including list of discoveries
of minor planets discovered at Sormano
{{Authority control
Astronomical observatories in Italy
Minor-planet discovering observatories