{"id":6047,"date":"2026-01-29T09:54:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T09:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.astri.inaf.it\/index.php\/astri-mini-array-opens-a-large-window-on-the-gamma-ray-sky\/2026\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T16:26:48","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T16:26:48","slug":"astri-mini-array-opens-a-large-window-on-the-gamma-ray-sky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astri.inaf.it\/index.php\/astri-mini-array-opens-a-large-window-on-the-gamma-ray-sky\/2026\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"ASTRI Mini-Array opens a large window on the gamma-ray sky"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-mkz85vkq-a3c71a5bc3f55cca0e348ce9a457c8b2\">\n#top .av-special-heading.av-mkz85vkq-a3c71a5bc3f55cca0e348ce9a457c8b2{\npadding-bottom:10px;\n}\nbody .av-special-heading.av-mkz85vkq-a3c71a5bc3f55cca0e348ce9a457c8b2 .av-special-heading-tag .heading-char{\nfont-size:25px;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-mkz85vkq-a3c71a5bc3f55cca0e348ce9a457c8b2 .av-subheading{\nfont-size:15px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='av-special-heading av-mkz85vkq-a3c71a5bc3f55cca0e348ce9a457c8b2 av-special-heading-h3  avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_one_half  avia-builder-el-first '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >ASTRI Mini-Array opens a large window on the gamma-ray sky<\/h3><div class=\"special-heading-border\"><div class=\"special-heading-inner-border\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<div  class='flex_column av-askwai-efe17e247d82384a43c7d1b1384e11a6 av_one_half  avia-builder-el-1  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_one_half  first flex_column_div  '     ><section  class='av_textblock_section av-mkz8796w-7c2b97557ea129269a6f43d7ca8c6648 '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ASTRI Mini-Array is ushering in a new era in the study of the sky at the most extreme energies. This innovative experiment, led by the <\/span><b>Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(<\/span><b>INAF<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), is designed to observe the most energetic gamma rays, with energies ranging from 1 to over 100 tera electronvolts (TeV), using a new generation of Cherenkov telescopes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the most striking features of ASTRI Mini-Array is its exceptionally <\/span><b>wide field of view<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: more than 10 degrees in diameter. To give a sense of scale, this corresponds to a portion of sky more than twice as that observable with previous Cherenkov telescopes, which typically do not exceed 4\u20135 degrees in diameter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The secret behind this \u201cpanoramic view\u201d lies in its <\/span><b>innovative optics<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. ASTRI telescopes adopt a <\/span><b>dual-mirror Schwarzschild\u2013Couder configuration<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which allows optical aberrations to be corrected even toward the edges of the field of view, producing images of Cherenkov flashes from air showers with the same sharpness across the entire observed area. In more traditional Cherenkov telescopes, by contrast, images become progressively more blurred as one moves away from the center.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n<div  class='flex_column av-9l9tqy-f58f8fc4c2f1fd20f43c7e70b9136c64 av_one_half  avia-builder-el-3  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_one_full  flex_column_div  '     ><style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-mkz8ap20-af3061afe70c822488eb390516634288\">\n.avia-image-container.av-mkz8ap20-af3061afe70c822488eb390516634288 img.avia_image{\nbox-shadow:none;\n}\n.avia-image-container.av-mkz8ap20-af3061afe70c822488eb390516634288 .av-image-caption-overlay-center{\ncolor:#ffffff;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='avia-image-container av-mkz8ap20-af3061afe70c822488eb390516634288 av-styling- avia-align-center  avia-builder-el-4  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  av-has-copyright av-copyright-always'   itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><div class=\"avia-image-container-inner\"><div class=\"avia-image-overlay-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class='wp-image-5979 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-5979 avia_image ' src=\"https:\/\/www.astri.inaf.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/RB__6599.jpg\" alt='' title='Il telescopio ASTRI-1'  height=\"330\" width=\"495\"  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\"  \/><\/div><small class=\"avia-copyright\">Il telescopio ASTRI-1. Crediti: INAF\/R. Bonuccelli<\/small><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<div  class='flex_column av-7bv87e-ff44faf66fff95adbf660607c2b97a62 av_one_full  avia-builder-el-5  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_one_half  first flex_column_div  column-top-margin'     ><style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-mkz8g7n0-2ea21596349994b32392e9ca21b0b790\">\n.avia-image-container.av-mkz8g7n0-2ea21596349994b32392e9ca21b0b790 img.avia_image{\nbox-shadow:none;\n}\n.avia-image-container.av-mkz8g7n0-2ea21596349994b32392e9ca21b0b790 .av-image-caption-overlay-center{\ncolor:#ffffff;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='avia-image-container av-mkz8g7n0-2ea21596349994b32392e9ca21b0b790 av-styling- avia-align-center  avia-builder-el-6  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  av-has-copyright av-copyright-always'   itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><div class=\"avia-image-container-inner\"><div class=\"avia-image-overlay-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class='wp-image-5989 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-5989 avia_image ' src=\"https:\/\/www.astri.inaf.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_6533.jpg\" alt='Lo specchio primario (a sinistra) e secondario (a destra) del telescopio ASTRI-1.' title='Lo specchio primario (a sinistra) e secondario (a destra) del telescopio ASTRI-1.'  height=\"563\" width=\"845\"  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\"  \/><\/div><small class=\"avia-copyright\">Lo specchio primario (a sinistra) e secondario (a destra) del telescopio ASTRI-1. Crediti: INAF\/R. Bonuccelli<\/small><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<div  class='flex_column av-6jfcmy-30ef1b6a39455bf16299ba2ed90c31b8 av_one_half  avia-builder-el-7  el_after_av_one_full  el_before_av_one_half  first flex_column_div  column-top-margin'     ><section  class='av_textblock_section av-mkz8iqqd-351c9ee6d613f5dff3c3f35b560b56b9 '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To better understand the difference, let us imagine using a Cherenkov telescope as if it were a conventional optical telescope and observe the \u201cW\u201d of the <\/span><b>Cassiopeia constellation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which spans about 10 degrees [1]. With a previous-generation Cherenkov telescope, this would be a bit like looking through a keyhole: only part of the constellation would be visible, and the stars near the edges would appear less well defined.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With ASTRI Mini-Array, instead, it would be like opening wide the door to the sky: the entire asterism (the W) would fit into the field of view in a single observation, and the bright stars of the constellation would be clearly observable even at the edges of the image.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It should be stressed that ASTRI is not an optical telescope, even though it observes in the visible band. Nevertheless, thanks to its structure and cutting-edge technology, it allows us to reconstruct the gamma-ray sky through observations of Cherenkov light generated by the interaction of cosmic gamma rays with the atmosphere. The reconstructed gamma-ray images appear uniformly sharp over a much larger area than was possible with past instruments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first observations confirm this fact. The ability to distinguish gamma rays from the background of cosmic rays in reconstructed images remains very high out to about 3.5 degrees from the center of the field of view, as confirmed by observations of the Crab Nebula carried out during the 2024\u20132025 commissioning phase, in <a href=\"https:\/\/pos.sissa.it\/501\/617\/pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this article<\/a> by Silvia Crestan and colleagues.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n<div  class='flex_column av-4l2cd6-229fc9be4eaf2d7429bef6a2f5ce8c5c av_one_half  avia-builder-el-9  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_one_full  flex_column_div  column-top-margin'     ><style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-mkz8jgy5-22d8a6762162c14f3e5c5a068170c4fa\">\n.avia-image-container.av-mkz8jgy5-22d8a6762162c14f3e5c5a068170c4fa img.avia_image{\nbox-shadow:none;\n}\n.avia-image-container.av-mkz8jgy5-22d8a6762162c14f3e5c5a068170c4fa .av-image-caption-overlay-center{\ncolor:#ffffff;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='avia-image-container av-mkz8jgy5-22d8a6762162c14f3e5c5a068170c4fa av-styling- avia-align-center  avia-builder-el-10  avia-builder-el-no-sibling '   itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><div class=\"avia-image-container-inner\"><div class=\"avia-image-overlay-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class='wp-image-6088 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-6088 avia_image ' src=\"https:\/\/www.astri.inaf.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Hevelius_Cassiopeia-en.jpg\" alt='The Cassiopeia constellation from Uranographia by Johannes Hevelius.' title='Hevelius_Cassiopeia en'  height=\"400\" width=\"313\"  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\"  \/><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div  class='flex_column av-39i8ka-97d62825a441e6ad156c8974858ad102 av_one_full  avia-builder-el-11  el_after_av_one_half  avia-builder-el-last  first flex_column_div  column-top-margin'     ><section  class='av_textblock_section av-mkz8m6t1-cb2a3820f964c8b507630db1983a0ba2 '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This wide field of view represents a major scientific advantage. For example, <\/span><b>ASTRI Mini-Array<\/b> <b>can observe many more sources simultaneously <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">than previous Cherenkov telescopes, collecting in a single pointing an amount of information that previously would have required many separate observations. This will be particularly important for the study of dense and complex regions of the sky &#8211; such as the Cygnus region &#8211; which can be observed without the need to continuously reposition the telescopes, thereby reducing the overall time required to detect sources of interest.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, being able to observe large portions of the sky increases the likelihood of discovering<\/span><b> unexpected or transient phenomena<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; brief and unpredictable events that can provide crucial clues about the most energetic processes in the Universe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thanks to the combination of a wide field of view and good angular resolution, ASTRI Mini-Array will help us answer still-open questions about the origin of cosmic rays, the nature of the most energetic sources in our Galaxy and beyond, and it will capture transient or fleeting phenomena in the gamma-ray sky.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[1]\u00a0This is roughly equivalent to 20 adjacent full moons.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thanks to a field of view exceeding 10 degrees and a dual-mirror optical design, ASTRI Mini-Array delivers uniformly sharp Cherenkov images across large regions of the sky. This enables the simultaneous observation of many gamma-ray sources and increases the likelihood of detecting transient phenomena.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6032,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astri.inaf.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astri.inaf.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astri.inaf.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astri.inaf.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astri.inaf.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6047"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.astri.inaf.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6092,"href":"https:\/\/www.astri.inaf.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6047\/revisions\/6092"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astri.inaf.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astri.inaf.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astri.inaf.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astri.inaf.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}