Vainu Bappu Observatory 2.3 meters and was first used in 1986. Along with the Vainu Bappu telescope, the observatory has two other telescopes: A 1-meter Zeiss manufactured and another 75-centimeter Cassegrain reflector currently being refurbished. The observatory also has a Fabry–Pérot interferometer. The 1-metre telescope is associated with two unique discoveries in the solar system. In 1972, atmosphere was detected around Jupiter's satellite Ganymede and in the year 1977, participated in the observations that confirmed rings were discovered around the planet Uranus. In 1984, Kavalur reported the discovery of a thin outer ring around Saturn. On 17 February 1988, a new minor planet
Minor planet more are discovered each month. The Minor Planet Center has documented over 188 million observations and 757,626 minor planets, of which 516,386 have orbits known well enough to be assigned permanent official numbers. Of these, 21,264 have official names. , the lowest-numbered unnamed minor planet is , and the highest-numbered named minor planet is 495759 Jandesselberger. There are various broad minor-planet populations: All astronomical bodies in the Solar System need a distinct designation. The naming of minor planets runs through a three-step process. First, a provisional designation is given upon discovery—because the object still may turn out to be a