La Sagra Observatory facts for kids

The La Sagra Observatory (also known as Observatorio Astronómico de La Sagra or OLS) is a special place in Spain. It's an observatory located in the province of Granada. This observatory uses four amazing robotic telescopes. These telescopes were designed and built by scientists from the Observatorio Astronómico de Mallorca (OAM).

The OAM scientists control these telescopes every day from far away using the Internet. They collect data from the telescopes and send it to Mallorca. Special computer programs help them process this data. This work has led to many discoveries, including the asteroid 367943 Duende. La Sagra Observatory is ranked 12th in the world for discovering asteroids! One of its main jobs is to track small objects in space, like near-Earth objects and even space debris. This is all part of its La Sagra Sky Survey project.

Discovering Space Objects

Scientists at the Observatorio Astronómico de Mallorca use the La Sagra Observatory to find new objects in space. They use the four robotic telescopes and the clear skies of Sierra de la Sagra.

The Duende Asteroid

On February 15, 2012, a team led by Jaume Nomen found an asteroid named Duende. They quickly figured out that this asteroid would pass very close to Earth the next year. On February 15, 2013, Duende passed only 27,700 kilometers (about 17,200 miles) from our planet! This was the closest any known asteroid of its size had ever come to Earth. It even passed inside the orbit of some geosynchronous satellites, which are about 35,786 kilometers (22,236 miles) away.

The La Sagra Sky Survey

The La Sagra Sky Survey (LSSS) was a big project carried out at La Sagra Observatory. During this survey, they discovered several comets. These include 233P/La Sagra, 279P/La Sagra, and 324P/La Sagra.

See also

In Spanish: Observatorio Astronómico de La Sagra para niños

• Miguel Hurtado