Giuseppe Forti (December 21, 1939 – July 2, 2007) was an Italian

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

and a discoverer of

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

s. Forti was a trained solar physicist, and worked at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

's ''Radio Meteor Project'' and later at the

Arcetri Observatory The Arcetri Observatory () is an astrophysical observatory located in the hilly area of Arcetri on the outskirts of Florence, Italy. It is located close to Villa Il Gioiello, the residence of Galileo Galilei from 1631 to 1642. Observatory sta ...

, in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, Italy. He was a member of the third

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

Division: Planetary Systems Sciences. The

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Funct ...

credits him with the discovery of 49 numbered

minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...

s during 1977–2001. He died at the age of 67 on July 2, 2007.Obituary
/ref> The main-belt asteroid 6876 Beppeforti, discovered by his colleges

Andrea Boattini Andrea Boattini (born 16 September 1969) is an Italian astronomer and a prolific discoverer of minor planets and comets. Career After developing a growing interest in minor planets, he graduated in 1996 from the University of Bologna with a t ...

and Maura Tombelli at the Asiago Astrophysical Observatory in 1994, was named in his honor. Naming citation was published on 3 May 1996 ().

List of discovered minor planets

References

1939 births 2007 deaths 21st-century Italian astronomers Discoverers of minor planets * 20th-century Italian astronomers {{Italy-astronomer-stub