I observe from Ceccano (FR, Italy), 90 km south of Rome. I graduaded with full marks in Physics (Astrophysical address) at the University of Rome “La Sapienza” and I earned a PhD in Astronomy at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”. My interest in astronomy started late in the ’70s, inspired by those old science fiction series: Star Trek and Space 1999. In 1980 I read a book titled “La Conquista del Cielo” (“The Conquest of the Sky”), by G. Ruggieri. I was definitely captured by the images of nebulae and galaxies. In 1983 I received my first telescope, a 6cm refractor. With it, I managed to observe the Moon, the Sun, a few double stars and the Great Nebula in Orion.
In 1985 I received a new telescope, still perfectly working: a Vixen 150mm-f/5 reflector with computerized equatorial mount: thanks to it, I observed tons of deep-sky objects, especially galaxies and star clusters. Few years later I started doing astrophotography and, after the first attempt,s the technique was good enough to have some pictures hosted by national magazines and newspapers. On Aug. 4, 1989 I was the first in Italy to spot the desappearance of one of the Jupiter’s equatorial bands.
