Osservatorio Astronomico Sormano

In the mountain village of Sormano, in Italy's Como province near the Swiss border, Osservatorio Astronomico Sormano has been scanning the sky from 1,128 metres elevation since 1986.

About Osservatorio Astronomico Sormano

The observatory sits in the pre-Alps above Como, privately funded and built in 1986 by the Gruppo Astrofili della Brianza, an amateur astronomy group that still operates the site today. It carries the international observatory code 587.

History

Since opening in 1986, Sormano has built a track record in solar observation and sunspot monitoring, comet tracking, supernova detection, and asteroid astrometry, alongside deep-sky photography of nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters.

Telescopes and research

The observatory's main instrument is a 50 cm telescope, backed up by a secondary Cavagna telescope. Together they support the group's ongoing programme of solar, cometary, supernova, and asteroid observations.

Location and getting there

Sormano sits at 1,128 metres in the pre-Alps north of Como, close to the Swiss border, a mountain setting that gives the observatory dark, relatively stable skies.

Visiting Osservatorio Astronomico Sormano

The Gruppo Astrofili della Brianza runs the site; check its official website for current opening times and any public observing evenings before you visit.

See your named star from here

Sormano's team already tracks comets, asteroids, and supernovae by coordinates every clear night. Name a star with Star Register and you'll get that same kind of precise coordinate data, viewable in our catalogue or ready for a telescope to find.