Galhassin Robotic Telescope observatory
Image: Wikimedia Commons
At the Gal Hassin Centro Internazionale per le Scienze Astronomiche in Isnello, Sicily, the Galhassin Robotic Telescope Observatory has been scanning the sky for comets and near-Earth objects since 2019.
About Galhassin Robotic Telescope Observatory
The observatory is built around a 400mm aperture Ritchey-Chrétien telescope with an f/3.8 focal ratio and an 83x83 arcminute corrected field, constructed by Officina Stellare and mounted on a 10 Micron GM3000-HPS. It carries an FLI ProLine 16803 camera with a 4096x4096 pixel sensor, and is registered with the Minor Planet Center under the designation L34.
Telescopes & research
The telescope's main mission is monitoring comets and Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), work that was funded in part by The Planetary Society's Shoemaker NEO Grant in 2019. In May 2020 it captured a supernova in the galaxy M61, an explosion whose light had travelled roughly 52 million years to reach Earth.
Location & getting there
The observatory is located in Isnello, in the Europe region of Sicily, Italy, as part of the Gal Hassin international astronomy centre.
Visiting Galhassin Robotic Telescope Observatory
Since the telescope operates robotically as part of a research centre, check the Gal Hassin centre's own visiting information or website before you go.
See your named star from here
A telescope built to hunt down faint comets and distant supernovae is more than capable of picking out a single named star. Look up its coordinates in our catalogue, or name a star to start your own search.
Opening hours and public-visit programs vary by season. Check Google Maps for current times before you travel.
