Calendar

Speaker Oleh Petruk, I.Chinnici (NAF)

Titolo: Italian mission to Crimea to observe the solar eclipse of August 1914

Abstract:

Total solar eclipse of 21 August 1914 attracted the attention of astronomers. There were plans for a few dozen expeditions but the beginning of the Great War limited the number of actual missions. They observed the total eclipse in Crimea (Teodosia), in Kyiv and a few locations in Sweden. We describe a mission of Italian scientists to Crimea, its composition, venue, instruments, program of observations and scientific results.

Speaker: Giancarlo Truffa (History of Science Society)

Titolo: L’astrolabio, uno strumento in viaggio nel tempo e nello spazio. Il ruolo della Sicilia, ponte tra le culture del Mediterraneo.

Abstract:

L’astrolabio è stato lo strumento astronomico più utilizzato dall’antichità classica fino all’invenzione del cannocchiale e fu diffuso dal bacino del Mediterraneo all’Asia sud-orientale, dal Nord Europa ai margini meridionali del Sahara, dalle steppe dell’Asia centrale all’Oceano indiano.
Dopo aver percorso la sua storia, viste le sue caratteristiche e l’importanza del suo studio, descriverò alcuni esempi che potrebbero essere stati realizzati in Sicilia e dei testi che ne descrivevano la costruzione e l’uso, opera di autori siciliani.

Titolo: Supernova remnants in radio: a multiple approach

Speaker: Adriano Ingallinera, INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania

Abstract: Supernova remnants (SNRs) are one of the most prominent sources in the Galactic plane. Emitting throughout the electromagnetic spectrum, they have been a unique laboratory for plasma physics. The radio band is particularly suitable for studying these objects, with more than 95% of all known Galactic SNRs detected at centimetre wavelengths. Here I present a few cases in which we used radio data to characterize SNRs, following different approaches. In the first work, we exploited the unprecedented sensitivity of MeerKAT, the SKA-MID precursor, to achieve a spectral characterization of the radio emission of a sample of 29, poorly studied, SNRs in the southern hemisphere. Results, implications and future work will be summarized. The interferometry has some limitations when observations of objects more extended than a few arcminutes are carried out at frequencies above 10 GHz. In these cases, single-dish telescopes are of great help. In an ongoing work, we are studying the SNR KES 73, using observations we made with the Sardinia Radio Telescope between 7 and 24 GHz. A spatial variation of the spectral index is under investigation. KES 73 is located in a very complex region and it is possibly interacting with some nearby sources. A multiwavelength characterization of the environment and the modeling of its non-thermal emission will be presented. Finally I will discuss the new SKA science book, a collection of science cases for SKA of which I am in charge of coordinating the chapter on SNRs. The book is aimed at giving the community a comprehensive view of the impact of the upcoming SKA observatory.