- Who
- Luigi Sannino
- Where
- Italy (La Spezia,Monte Viseggi Observatory)
- When
On 4 September 1999, 18-year old Luigi Sannino (Italy) became the youngest ever astronomer to discover an asteroid. Using telescopes at Monte Viseggi Observatory, La Spezia, Italy, the young Sannino and observing colleague P. Pietrapiana tracked the course of the asteroid now named 12575 Palmaria (1999 RH1) by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Centre.
The discovery was officially recorded in the Minor Planet Circular No. 41032 on July 26th 2000, and also recorded in the "The Dictionary of the Minor Planet Names", 5th edition, pages 785 - 786 (2003). 12575 Palmeria is a small Main-belt asteroid with an Absolute Magnitude (brightness) of only 14.6; magnitude 6 being the highest numerical magnitude visible to the naked eye. It orbits the Sun every 3.47 years.
