The beautiful region of Valle D'Aosta, or Aosta Valley, is in the mountainous north-west of Italy. As the name suggests, it is full of beautiful valleys and the mountains offer stunning views across its picturesque landscape. Any visit to the area should include time to take in the great beauty of this distinctive landscape. However, it is not only what is on earth that can be admired in Valle D'Aosta. The Astronomical Observatory of Valle D'Aosta gives visitors to the region the opportunity to take in amazing views of the skies above as well. For something special to do one evening, once you've found your perfect vacation rental in Valle D'Aosta, why not spend some time gazing at the stars?
The observatory opened in August 2003 at an altitude of 1,675 metres, in the Saint-Barthélemy Valley. This particular setting was chosen as the district has low light pollution and little atmospheric turbulence and enjoys at least 240 calm nights per year.
With such perfect viewing conditions and a location perched so high from the earth, it really is the ideal place for such an institution.
The observatory conducts scientific research at national and international level as well as reaching out to the general public and schools in a variety of programs and educational events.
With such perfect viewing conditions and a location perched so high from the earth, it really is the ideal place for such an institution.
The observatory conducts scientific research at national and international level as well as reaching out to the general public and schools in a variety of programs and educational events.
The facility is made up of observation stations, a meteorological station, a helium physics laboratory, an IT room and an indoor exhibitions area, which is open to the public and includes two indoor exhibits and a “Sentiero dei Pianeti” (Planet Pathway) made up of a series of illustrated panels depicting the Solar System. In addition to this, a planetarium, which was built in 2008 is located next to the observatory.
The astronomical instrumentation installed in the observatory is among the most important in Italy and in Europe.
It allows for high level scientific research and the team there collaborates with other national and international scientific bodies. Several research projects are active including the “Extra-solar system planets project”, the goal of which is to search for small radius planets around red dwarfs near the Sun, and the “Asteroids Project”, which studies the composition, position and period of the asteroids of the Solar System.
Outreach programs are hosted by the observatory to offer education about its work to schools at all levels and they also open their doors to the general public offering guided tours, daytime and nighttime observation activities as well as animation, practical-experimental and theoretical activities. While you can go on daytime visits, I would recommend the nighttime visits which are composed of two hour sessions of observation of the sky with the naked eye and by using telescopes from the educational terrace with description of the main constellations visible and of the celestial objects observed through a telescope. There is also an outdoor space where groups can come with their own equipment to take in the views and the planetarium is also worth a visit for anyone holidaying in the Aosta Valley area.
The astronomical instrumentation installed in the observatory is among the most important in Italy and in Europe.
It allows for high level scientific research and the team there collaborates with other national and international scientific bodies. Several research projects are active including the “Extra-solar system planets project”, the goal of which is to search for small radius planets around red dwarfs near the Sun, and the “Asteroids Project”, which studies the composition, position and period of the asteroids of the Solar System.
Outreach programs are hosted by the observatory to offer education about its work to schools at all levels and they also open their doors to the general public offering guided tours, daytime and nighttime observation activities as well as animation, practical-experimental and theoretical activities. While you can go on daytime visits, I would recommend the nighttime visits which are composed of two hour sessions of observation of the sky with the naked eye and by using telescopes from the educational terrace with description of the main constellations visible and of the celestial objects observed through a telescope. There is also an outdoor space where groups can come with their own equipment to take in the views and the planetarium is also worth a visit for anyone holidaying in the Aosta Valley area.
Photo credits
picture 1: P. Calcidese–Fondazione C. Fillietroz, ONLUS/ESO / CC BY 4.0;
picture 2: Gerrit / CC BY-SA 3.0
picture 1: P. Calcidese–Fondazione C. Fillietroz, ONLUS/ESO / CC BY 4.0;
picture 2: Gerrit / CC BY-SA 3.0
