Italian astronomer

Maura Tombelli

Maura Tombelli (born 1952 in Montelupo Fiorentino) is an Italian amateur astronomer who began her training in astronomy as an observer of variable stars. She is a prolific discoverer of almost 200 minor planets, including the main-belt a* 7794:Sanvito, and a member of the American *ociation of Variable Star Observers.

Contents

• 1 Career
• 2 Awards and honors
• 3 List of discovered minor planets
• 4 References
• 5 External links

Career

She is known as the only Italian female astrometrist. Together with Italian astronomers Ulisse Munari and Giuseppe Forti, she initiated a five-year survey of minor planets at Asiago Astrophysical Observatory in 1994. She also shared a lot of observing with the discoverers, especially the follow-up of near-Earth objects (NEOs), and she contributed to the discovery of 15817:Lucianotesi, the first NEO found from Italy. She is currently involved in a project to build a new observatory (Osservatorio di Montelupo) near the town of Montelupo, where she lives.

Awards and honors

The main-belt a* 9904 Mauratombelli, discovered by Italian astronomers Andrea Boattini and Luciano Tesi in 1997, is named in her honour.

List of discovered minor planets

See also: Category:Discoveries by Maura Tombelli

References

External links

• https://web.archive.org/web/20100910014553/http://www.meteoritedoro.it/albo_doro_tombelli.htm
• http://www.nove.firenze.it/vediarticolo.asp?id=97.05.21.00.14 (in Italian)