INAF Arcetri Journal
The monthly newsletter of the INAF Astrophysical Observatory of Arcetri
12 June 2025 - The new seminar room of the INAF Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory was inaugurated and dedicated to Franco Pacini. Franco Pacini was a world-renowned scientist and full professor of astrophysics at the University of Florence. Pacini was director of the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory for twenty years (1978-2001), and here he gave a huge boost to scientific and technological research in the Italian astronomical community. He was one of the founders of the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF), President of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and of the Council of the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
News (ITA): https://www.arcetri.inaf.it/articoli/eventi/aula-pacini-dedica-e-inaugurazione
Unveiling a protoplanet candidate embedded in the HD 135344B disk with VLT/ERIS
Thanks to the new VLT’s Enhanced Resolution Imager and Spectrograph (ERIS) instrument, a planet forming within the protoplanetary disk around the star HD 135344B may have been directly observed for the first time. The candidate planet was observed right at the base of one of the disc’s spiral arms, exactly where theory had predicted they might find the planet responsible for carving such a pattern.
Read the paper on Astronomy&Astrophysics and the ESO press release.
Authors: Francesco Maio, Davide Fedele et al.
Image: (Left) VLT/ERIS: The central black circle corresponds to a coronagraph. The white circle indicates the location of the planet. (Right) Combination of previous observations taken with SPHERE/VLT (red) and ALMA (orange and blue). Credit: ESO/F. Maio et al./T. Stolker et al./ ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/N. van der Marel et al.
LXVI National Congress of the Italian Astronomical Society
Florence, from 3 to 6 June 2025
The Congress celebrated the important scientific contribution of missions that are about to end or have recently ended the observation phase, and it also highlighted the expected progress in all astrophysical fields, both from a scientific and technological point of view, thanks to the new space missions and ground-based projects. The teaching of astronomy in schools and the valorization of the historical-bibliographical heritage were also discussed.
4th June 2025
Firenze | June- July 2025 | Contacts