How the Italian names are assigned to asteroids and how many are those that threaten the Earth

Whenever a new asteroid is sighted, the International Astronomical Union and the Minor Planet Center assign it a provisional name, consisting of letters and numbers. It will then be who discovered it to propose a name. To get it approved there is a process, as astronomer Fabrizio Bernardi explains, who for several years worked with Mauna Kea telescopes and who today mainly deals with the monitoring of impacts.

Curated by Eleonora Giovinazzo