Cavagna Telescope 0.5 m Ritchey–Chrétien Phone +39 366 274 9727 | Established 1986 (1986) Province Province of Como Code 587 | |
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Organization Gruppo Astrofili Brianza Altitude 1,128 meters (3,701 ft) Address Via Della Colma, 22030 Sormano CO, Italy Similar Baita Ristoro La Colma, Agriturismo Binda, Piano del Tivano ‑ Bivio Pia, Santuario Del Ghisallo, Comunità Montana del Trian | ||
The Sormano Astronomical Observatory (Italian: Osservatorio Astronomico Sormano, IAU code: 587) is an astronomical observatory north of Milan, Italy. Located near the Swiss border at 1000 meters altitude at the mountain village of Sormano in the pre-Alps, the observatory was privately funded by the Gruppo Astrofili Brianza and built in 1986.
The observatory is known for its astrometric observations of minor planets and comets in the Solar System. 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. 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 (M.P.C. 27130).
Discoveries
The Minor Planet Center credits the discovery of 344581 Albisetti directly to the Sormano Astronomical Observatory. It is named after Italian Walter Albisetti (1957–2013).