Andes, green light for the Italian space project to search for life in the universe
The European Southern Observatory (Eso) signed the agreement with an international-led consortium from the National Institute of Astrophysics (Inaf) for the design and construction of Andesa very high-tech tool that will be installed on the Extremely Large Telescope (Elt) of ESO, under construction in the Chilean Andes.
“Andes it will be used to search for signs of life in exoplanets and study the first stars that lit up in the Universe, but also to test variations in the fundamental constants of physics and measure the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe”, he explains the Inaf.
The agreement was signed by the Director General of ESO, Xavier Barconsand from Roberto Ragazzoni, president of the National Institute of Astrophysics, the body that leads the ANDES consortium. They were also present at the signing ceremony Sergio MaffettoneConsul General of Italy in Munich, e Alessandro Marconi of the University of Florence and Inaf associate, Principal Investigator of Andes, as well as other representatives of ESO, INAF and the ANDES consortium, which sees the participation of Institutes, Universities and Research Bodies from 13 countries. The signing took place at ESO headquarters in Garching, Germany.
“Andes it is a machine that exploits many of the technologies developed in Italy and which complements the efforts that we as Inaf are making to identify alien worlds” he comments Guys“being able to chemically analyze the composition of the atmosphere is one of those formidable problems that put the technological supply chain, both research and industrial, to the test. Even if it is at the limit of its capabilities, it could be able to provide direct measurements of the expansion of the universe, but it will certainly open up new questions that will prompt further technological developments, in a virtuous circle that the Inaf has been going on for a long time.”
Previously named Hires, Andes (ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph) is a sophisticated spectrograph, an instrument that splits light into its component wavelengths so that astronomers can determine important properties of astronomical objects, such as their chemical composition. The instrument will have unprecedented performance in visible light and near infrared observations and, in combination with the powerful system of mirrors and adaptive optics that constitute Eltwill allow enormous advances in the study of the Universe.
“Andes it is a tool with enormous potential for breakthrough scientific discoveries, which can profoundly influence our perception of the Universe far beyond the scientific community,” he says Alessandro Marconi.
Andes will allow detailed investigations of the atmospheres of exoplanets similar to Earth, allowing astronomers to analyze their composition, looking for traces linked to the presence of life.
It will also be able to analyze chemical elements in distant objects in the early Universe, making it likely the first instrument capable of detecting star signatures Population III, the first ever stars to form in the Universe. Additionally, astronomers will be able to use the Andes data to test whether the fundamental constants of physics vary over time and space.
Its data will also be used to directly measure the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe, one of the still unsolved puzzles of astrophysics. The contribution of Inaf to Andesin addition to the responsibility for managerial and engineering management of the project at system and software development level (with the offices involved in Trieste for management, Milan for system engineering and Bologna for the scientific connection part), also covers the design and subsequent opto-mechanical and software implementation of some component modules Andes.
In particular, the headquarters Inaf of Florence with the contributions of those of Trieste and Brera is responsible for both the fiber optic connection which will allow the passage of light between the various modules of Andes that of the adaptive optics module. In addition to the technological aspect, the scientific one sees the participation of researchers from almost all Inaf offices, with the one in Trieste also responsible for coordinating the scientific package that will study galaxies and the intergalactic medium.
The telescope Elt of Exo It is currently under construction in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. When it comes into operation at the end of this decade, the ELT will be the largest telescope ever built in the world, literally opening a new era in ground-based astronomy.
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