Giuseppe Donatiello

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Giuseppe Donatiello
Giuseppe Donatiello in 2017
Born(1967-12-14)December 14, 1967 (age 57)
Italy
OccupationAmateur astronomer
Notes
Discoverer of twelve nearby dwarf galaxies in the Local Volume

Giuseppe Donatiello (born 14 December, 1967) is an Italian amateur astronomer. He is known for discovering twelve nearby dwarf galaxies in the Local Volume, including three in the Local Group.[1][2] He is the principal investigator and coordinator of the National Deep Sky Research Section of the Italian Amateur Astronomers Union.[3]

Donatiello II dwarf galaxy imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Contributions

Donatiello has identified 12 different galaxies within the Local Volume since 2016, when he discovered a dwarf galaxy 10 million light years away in the constellation of Andromeda; it was named Donatiello I and is the first galaxy to be named after an amateur astronomer.[4][5][6]

In 2020, he discovered the ultra-faint dwarf galaxy named Pisces VII/Triangulum III,[7][8] identified as a possible satellite galaxy of the Triangulum Galaxy (Messier 33 or NGC 598).[9][10] Pisces VII is the first Local Group galaxy to be discovered by an amateur astronomer[11][12]

Then in 2021, Donatiello discovered three new satellite galaxies of the Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253);[13][14] all were later observed and confirmed as satellites of the Sculptor galaxy by the Hubble Space Telescope and named Donatiello II, III, and IV as his namesake.[15][16]

In 2022, he discovered an ultra-faint dwarf satellite galaxy of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31 or NGC 224), which was named Pegasus V/Andromeda XXXIV (Peg V/And XXXIV).[17] Pegasus V was later found to be particularly ancient, and serves as a potential fossil of early star formation.[18][19]

In 2024, the discovery of five more satellite galaxies of the Sculptor Galaxy was announced; these new objects were named Donatiello V, VI, VII, VIII and IX.[20][21]

In 2025, the discovery of a giant stellar stream in the spiral galaxy Messier 61 was reported. Although scientific confirmation came from images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, Donatiello had already reported its presence in 2020 in his own ultra-deep images.[22][23]

In 2026, the discovery of Andromeda XXXVI, another ultra-faint dwarf galaxy of the Andromeda Galaxy, was announced.[24]

Night-vision image of Donatiello and his son using a Maksutov-Cassegrain reflecting telescope on 21 June, 2016.

Donatiello has also discovered some candidates for potential planetary nebulae[25] and the participation in the discovery and analysis of several dozen stellar streams.[26][27]

See also

References

  1. Robert Lea (2024-05-22). "Amateur astronomer finds 5 fascinating new galaxies — and they're now named after him". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  2. Enthusiast, Space (2024-06-28). "Interview With Giuseppe Donatiello: Amateur Astronomer Who Discovers New Galaxies". Orbital Today. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  3. "Nasce il nuovo Programma di Ricerca "Profondo Cielo" dell'UAI – Unione Astrofili Italiani – APS" (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  4. Martínez-Delgado, David; Grebel, Eva K.; Javanmardi, Behnam; Boschin, Walter; Longeard, Nicolas; Carballo-Bello, Julio A.; Makarov, Dmitry; Beasley, Michael A.; Donatiello, Giuseppe; Haynes, Martha P.; Forbes, Duncan A.; Romanowsky, Aaron J. (2018-12-01). "Mirach's Goblin: Discovery of a dwarf spheroidal galaxy behind the Andromeda galaxy". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 620: A126. arXiv:1810.04741. Bibcode:2018A&A...620A.126M. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201833302. ISSN 0004-6361.
  5. Parisini, Stefano (2018-10-25). "Galassia nana scoperta da un astrofilo". MEDIA INAF (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  6. "An amateur astronomer has discovered a nearby galaxy!". SYFY Official Site. 2019-03-03. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  7. Martínez-Delgado, David; Karim, Noushin; Charles, Emily J E; Boschin, Walter; Monelli, Matteo; Collins, Michelle L M; Donatiello, Giuseppe; Alfaro, Emilio J (2021-10-05). "Pisces VII: discovery of a possible satellite of Messier 33 in the DESI legacy imaging surveys". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 509 (1): 16–24. arXiv:2104.03859. Bibcode:2022MNRAS.509...16M. doi:10.1093/mnras/stab2797. ISSN 0035-8711.
  8. "Astronomical object found by amateur identified as new dwarf galaxy | University of Surrey". www.surrey.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  9. Collins, Michelle L M.; Karim, Noushin; Martinez-Delgado, David; Monelli, Matteo; Tollerud, Erik J.; Donatiello, Giuseppe; Navabi, Mahdieh; Charles, Emily; Boschin, Walter (2024). "Pisces VII/Triangulum III – M33's second dwarf satellite galaxy". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 528 (2): 2614–2620. arXiv:2305.13966. doi:10.1093/mnras/stae199. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  10. "Pisces VII, la seconda galassia nana satellite di M33 - Cosmo2050" (in Italian). 2024-02-01. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  11. Lea, Robert (2021-11-19). "Amateur Astronomer Discovers New Dwarf Galaxy 3 Million Light Years Away". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  12. "Pisces VII is an ultra-faint dwarf galaxy whose discovery could be important in cosmological studies". 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  13. Martínez-Delgado, David; Makarov, Dmitry; Javanmardi, Behnam; Pawlowski, Marcel S.; Makarova, Lidia; Donatiello, Giuseppe; Lang, Dustin; Román, Javier; Vivas, Kathy; Carballo-Bello, Julio A. (2021-08-01). "Tracing satellite planes in the Sculptor group - I. Discovery of three faint dwarf galaxies around NGC 253". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 652: A48. arXiv:2106.08868. Bibcode:2021A&A...652A..48M. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202141242. ISSN 0004-6361.
  14. "Recently Discovered Dwarf Galaxy Donatiello II". www.noirlab.edu. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  15. Mutlu-Pakdil, Burçin; Sand, David J.; Crnojević, Denija; Jones, Michael G.; Caldwell, Nelson; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Seth, Anil C.; Simon, Joshua D.; Spekkens, Kristine; Strader, Jay; Toloba, Elisa (February 2022). "Hubble Space Telescope Observations of NGC 253 Dwarf Satellites: Three Ultra-faint Dwarf Galaxies*". The Astrophysical Journal. 926 (1): 77. arXiv:2108.09312. Bibcode:2022ApJ...926...77M. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac4418. ISSN 0004-637X.
  16. Mutlu-Pakdil, Burçin; Sand, David J.; Crnojević, Denija; Bennet, Paul; Jones, Michael G.; Spekkens, Kristine; Karunakaran, Ananthan; Zaritsky, Dennis; Caldwell, Nelson; Fielder, Catherine E.; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Seth, Anil C.; Simon, Joshua D.; Strader, Jay; Toloba, Elisa (2024-05-01). "The Faint Satellite System of NGC 253: Insights into Low-density Environments and No Satellite Plane*". The Astrophysical Journal. 966 (2): 188. arXiv:2401.14457. Bibcode:2024ApJ...966..188M. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad36c4. ISSN 0004-637X.
  17. Collins, Michelle L M.; Charles, Emily J E.; Martínez-Delgado, David; Monelli, Matteo; Karim, Noushin; Donatiello, Giuseppe; Tollerud, Erik J.; Boschin, Walter (2022). "Pegasus V/Andromeda XXXIV–a newly discovered ultrafaint dwarf galaxy on the outskirts of Andromeda". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. 515 (1): L72–L77. arXiv:2204.09068. Bibcode:2022MNRAS.515L..72C. doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slac063. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  18. Carter, Jamie. "Amateur Astronomer Discovers New 'Fossil' Of First Galaxies". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  19. Fiasconaro, Giuseppe (2022-07-01). "Pegasus V, un fossile nell'universo". MEDIA INAF (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  20. Martinez-Delgado, David; Stein, Michael; Pawlowski, Marcel S.; Makarov, Dmitry; Makarova, Lidia; Donatiello, Giuseppe; Lang, Dustin (2026), "Tracing satellite planes in the Sculptor group", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 705: A77, arXiv:2405.03769, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202450574
  21. Young, Chris. "An amateur astronomer had galaxies named after him. Here's how". Interesting Engineering. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  22. Romanowsky, Aaron J.; Martínez-Delgado, David; Donatiello, Giuseppe; Miró-Carretero, Juan; Laine, Seppo (2025-10-30). "A Stellar Stream around the Spiral Galaxy Messier 61 in Rubin First Look Imaging". Research Notes of the AAS. 9 (10): 292. arXiv:2510.24836. Bibcode:2025RNAAS...9..292R. doi:10.3847/2515-5172/ae1829. ISSN 2515-5172.
  23. "A Hidden River of Stars: Discovering a Stellar Stream Around Galaxy M61 with the Rubin Observatory". New Planetarium. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  24. Sakowska, Joanna D.; Martínez-Delgado, David; Collins, Michelle L. M.; Monelli, Matteo; Donatiello, Giuseppe; Doliva-Dolinsky, Amandine; Santos-Santos, Isabel M. E. (2026-03-30). "Andromeda XXXVI: discovery of a new ultra-faint dwarf galaxy towards M31". arXiv:2603.28492v1 [astro-ph.GA].
  25. "Planetary Nebulae". planetarynebulae.net. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  26. Martínez-Delgado, David; Cooper, Andrew P.; Román, Javier; Pillepich, Annalisa; Erkal, Denis; Pearson, Sarah; Moustakas, John; Laporte, Chervin F. P.; Laine, Seppo; Akhlaghi, Mohammad; Lang, Dustin; Makarov, Dmitry; Borlaff, Alejandro S.; Donatiello, Giuseppe; Pearson, William J. (2023-03-01). "Hidden depths in the local Universe: The Stellar Stream Legacy Survey". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 671: A141. arXiv:2104.06071. Bibcode:2023A&A...671A.141M. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202245011. ISSN 0004-6361.
  27. Miró-Carretero, Juan; Martínez-Delgado, David; Farràs-Aloy, Sílvia; Gómez-Flechoso, Maria A.; Cooper, Andrew; Roca-Fàbrega, Santi; Kuijken, Konrad; Akhlaghi, Mohammad; Donatiello, Giuseppe (2023-01-01). "A search for stellar tidal streams around Milky Way analogues from the SAGA sample". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 669: L13. arXiv:2209.08636. Bibcode:2023A&A...669L..13M. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202245003. hdl:1887/3715027. ISSN 0004-6361.