Gianluca Masi

Gianluca Masi (born 22 January 1972) is an Italian astrophysicist and astronomer, as well as a discoverer of minor planets and variable stars.

Scientific career
He started his interest in astronomy in childhood, later becoming a professional astronomer, earning a PhD in astronomy at the Sapienza University of Rome in 2006. At the same time, he devoted a lot of effort to science communication, on the international stage.

Vincent van Gogh painting
His professional interests include asteroids and comets, variable stars and extrasolar planets, with many contributions in all those fields. He was able to determine the date that Vincent van Gogh painted Starry Night Over the Rhone by studying the star placement.

Virtual Telescope project
In 2006 he started the Virtual Telescope project (part of Bellatrix Astronomical Observatory), consisting of several robotic telescopes, remotely available in real-time over the Internet. Through this system, real-time online observations are performed; sharing the universe with the world. More than 1,000,000 individuals each year observe the sky through the Virtual Telescope.

Awards and honors
He received a number of prizes, including the Ruggieri Prize (2003), the Gene Shoemaker NEO Grant (2005) and the Tacchini Prize (2006) as well as other acknowledgements for his scientific activities. The Nysian asteroid 21795 Masi, discovered by his college Franco Mallia in 1999, was named in his honor.