An Italian delegation at Teide: science, diplomacy, and the future of Astrophysics

By Silvia Casu (INAF Officer responsible for the SRT PE and INAF-Cagliari) 

On May 22, I was on board the training ship Amerigo Vespucci, docked in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, to take part in Islas entre las ondas, a roundtable on the Italian bid for the Einstein Telescope, organised by the Italian Vice Consulate in Arona with the support of the Scientific Office of the Italian Embassy in Madrid. It was certainly an extraordinary experience, both for the topic and, of course, for the setting. But there is another experience that will stay with me for a very long time: the visit the following day to the Canary Islands Astrophysical Observatory on Mount Teide, where the ASTRI Mini-Array is located.

I had already been to Teide in 2013 for a European project on astro-tourism. At that time, that part of the observatory did not yet exist: there were a few telescopes and the solar tower, and then only volcanic ground, a lunar-like landscape, and the sky. Seeing it again now, with the red structures and shining mirrors emerging from the green landscape, struck me in an unexpected way.

The ASTRI Mini-Array, coordinated by INAF (PI: Giovanni Pareschi), is an instrument born from Italian ingenuity to explore the invisible Universe: the one revealed only through very-high-energy gamma rays, through violent and fleeting cosmic phenomena that still hide many of their secrets. I know those telescopes on paper, from scientific publications, and from colleagues who handle their communication. But seeing them in person, at altitude with the Atlantic in the background, is a completely different kind of knowledge. It made me reflect on how much time and how many people are needed to transform a scientific idea into steel, optics, and real data.

The visit was made possible thanks to Adriano Ghedina, director of the Fundación Galileo Galilei, which supports Italian facilities in the Canaries¹, who welcomed us with the generosity of someone who knows that certain encounters go beyond any agenda. With us were Alberto Masoni, senior researcher at INFN and coordinator of the ETIC project for the Einstein Telescope, Monique Bossi, Francesca Mazzotta and Marina Picari (INFN), and Sergio Scopetta, scientific attaché at the Italian Embassy in Madrid. A small group, but one that well represented the complexity and richness of Italian Astrophysics: different instruments, different institutions, but the same direction of vision.

The Italian delegation during their visit to the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC).
The Italian delegation during their visit to the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). Credits: Silvia Casu

Adriano told us not only the history of this project (a story rooted in vision, as ASTRI was conceived as the technological precursor of the future Small Size Telescopes of CTAO, the major international Cherenkov observatory that will be built in Chile) but also its scientific and technological essence. I was fascinated by the segmented dual-mirror design of the telescopes, a configuration that allows a field of view of over 10 degrees, enough to cover entire regions of the sky in a single pointing and observe dozens of sources simultaneously. A technology that, I am convinced, will have impacts and applications far beyond Astrophysics.

The link between the Canaries and Sardinia, between the ASTRI Mini-Array and the Einstein Telescope, between gamma rays, radio waves, and gravitational waves, was at the heart of the roundtable on board the Vespucci. Two islands, different research infrastructures, one shared vision: that of multi-messenger astronomy capable of reading the Universe through ALL its languages. Coming from Cagliari, I spoke about the Sardinia Radio Telescope, its role in the global observation network, and how each new instrument does not replace the previous ones but adds another sense to listening to the Universe. I spoke about cooperation, and how astrophysical knowledge is a team effort.

Bringing this message aboard a ship that travels the world as a symbol of Italy, in front of Spanish researchers, diplomatic institutions, and enthusiasts of physics and astronomy, was a privilege. And then returning to Teide, looking at our telescopes pointing toward a sky that never stops surprising us, brought the Spanish mission to a close in the most extraordinary—and I would say most fitting—way I could have imagined.

Note:

¹ First and foremost the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, but now also the ASTRI Mini-Array and the STRIP telescope for studying the cosmic microwave background radiation.

The ASTRI-1 telescope.
The ASTRI-1 telescope. Credits: Silvia Casu
Adriano Ghedina and the ASTRI-1 telescope.
Adriano Ghedina and the ASTRI-1 telescope. Credits: Silvia Casu

This post is also available in: Italian