Marco Micheli (born 1983) is an Italian astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets. He is a researcher at the Centre for Earth Observation of ESA's Space Situational Awareness Programme in Italy.[1]
Marco Micheli | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1983 |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | astronomy, planetary science |
| Institutions | ESA Centre for Earth Observation Pan-STARRS |
Career
editMicheli was born in Brescia, Italy, in 1983. He graduated in 2007 in astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Pisa with a thesis on the YORP effect, and moved for his doctorate to the University of Hawaii where he studied Near-Earth objects and how their streams cause meteor showers.[2] He then moved to ESA's Centre for Earth Observation in Frascati, Italy.[3]
As a member of the Pan-STARRS astronomical survey team, he holds the record of new asteroids detected in a single night since 29 January 2011.[4] According to the Minor Planet Center (MPC) he discovered between 2005 and 2010 twelve asteroids, partly in collaboration with Wladimiro Marinello and Gianpaolo Pizzetti (see list).
In June 2018 he published a study on 1I/ʻOumuamua, the first Interstellar object, where the discovery of a non-gravitational acceleration acting on the object is reported. This suggests that the celestial body may be a comet, although it has not shown any noticeable activity in the visual spectrum during transit in the Solar System.[5][6]
List of discovered minor planets
edit| 177853 Lumezzane | 5 August 2005 | list [A] |
| 229836 Wladimarinello | 28 August 2009 | list [A] |
| 233559 Pizzetti | 4 August 2007 | list [B] |
| 266710 Pedrettiadriana[7] | 31 August 2009 | list |
| (284994) 2010 KD60 | 20 May 2010 | list |
| 352148 Tarcisiozani | 4 August 2007 | list [A] |
| (379472) 2010 DT40 | 16 February 2010 | list |
| (406983) 2009 RE5 | 14 September 2009 | list |
| (407261) 2010 BQ3 | 21 January 2010 | list |
| (436214) 2009 XR22 | 13 December 2009 | list |
| (485044) 2010 AA78 | 15 January 2010 | list |
| (485914) 2012 GZ15 | 13 December 2010 | list |
| Co-discovery made with: A G. P. Pizzetti and B W. Marinello | ||
|---|---|---|
Awards and honors
editAsteroid 10277 Micheli, discovered by American astronomer Schelte Bus at the Siding Spring Observatory in 1981, was named in his honor. The official naming citation was published by the MPC on 13 April 2017 (M.P.C. 103974).[1][8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "10277 Micheli (1981 EC27)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ Micheli, Marco (2013). Exploring connections between near-Earth objects and meteoroid streams (PhD). University of Hawaiʻi. ProQuest 1512644675.
- ^ Micheli, Marco (22 June 2020). "La sfida di impedire che gli asteroidi colpiscano la Terra" (in Italian). Giornale di Brescia. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- ^ Cipolloni, Daniela (1 March 2011). "Record: 19 asteroidi scoperti in una notte" (in Italian). INAF. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
- ^ Micheli, Marco (27 June 2018). "Non-gravitational acceleration in the trajectory of 1I/2017 U1 ('Oumuamua)". Nature. 559 (7713): 223–226. Bibcode:2018Natur.559..223M. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0254-4. PMID 29950718. S2CID 49477508.
- ^ "Delusione! 'Oumuamua è "solo" una cometa". 27 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ Ramponi, Loris (4 January 2023). "Un bresciano scopre un asteroide e lo regala alla madre per dirle grazie" (in Italian). Giornale di Brescia.
- ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 8 June 2021.