The Sormano Astronomical Observatory (,
obs. code:
587) is an
astronomical observatory north of
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
, Italy. Located near the Swiss border at 1000 meters elevation at the mountain village of
Sormano 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.
History ...
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 warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...
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 "Sola ...
.
After its
first light in January 1989, several amateur astronomers such as
Marco Cavagna,
Valter Giuliani,
Piero Sicoli,
Pierangelo Ghezzi,
Francesco Manca,
Paolo Chiavenna,
Graziano Ventre and
Augusto Testa 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, an ...
. Astronomers at Sormano have developed their own custom software to make follow-up observations of
near-Earth objects such as
4179 Toutatis and
99942 Apophis.
The
Eunomia asteroid
6882 Sormano, 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. 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.
Funct ...
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
*
List of astronomical observatories
*
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