INAF Arcetri Journal
INAF Arcetri Journal
The monthly newsletter of the INAF Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory
January-February 2026 | Issue 1
January-February 2026 | Issue 1
Embedded Files
Highlight
Highlight
The international team led by Emanuele Nardini (INAF Arcetri) and Elisabeta Lusso (Unifi) has been allocated 325 hours of observing time, the largest program granted this year on ESA’s XMM-Newton space telescope. The project will study 18 extremely luminous quasars at redshift z~4, seen as they were over 12 billion years ago. By analyzing their X-ray and ultraviolet emission, the team aims to extend the Hubble diagram to earlier cosmic epochs and test possible tensions with the standard ΛCDM model. The observations will also provide new insights into how supermassive black holes grow and into rare quasars with unusually weak X-ray emission.
News UNIFI (Ita): https://www.fisica.unifi.it/art-754-accrescimento-e-cosmologia-con-i-quasar-ad-alto-redshift.html
Scientific Spotlight
Scientific Spotlight
For the first time, the effects of cosmic rays inside a stellar nursery have been directly measured using observations from the James Webb Space Telescope. The study focused on Barnard 68, a dark nebula about 400 light‑years away, revealing how high‑energy particles influence the physical and chemical processes that shape star formation. Marco Padovani (INAF Arcetri) is one of the authors of the study, which was published in Nature Astronomy and The Astrophysical Journal.
Direct detection of cosmic-ray-excited H2 in interstellar space , Bialy, S., Chemke, A., Neufeld, D.A. et al., Nature Astronomy (2026)
JWST Observations of Cosmic-Ray-excited H2 in Barnard 68: Spatial Variations and Constraints on Cosmic-Ray Attenuation, David A. Neufeld et al, ApJ (2026)
Awards
Awards
Teresa Fornaro, John Brucato, Giovanni Poggiali, Andrew Alberini, and Cristina Garcia-Florentino were awarded the 2024 NASA Honor Award, conferred on the scientific team of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission. The mission, with the Perseverance rover, explored the delta of an ancient river that once flowed into Jezero Crater on Mars, as well as the marginal unit of the crater, where a potential biosignature was discovered in a clay-bearing rock.
Ita: Teresa Fornaro, John Brucato, Giovanni Poggiali, Andrew Alberini e Cristina Garcia-Florentino hanno ricevuto il 2024 NASA Honor Award assegnato al team scientifico della missione della NASA Mars 2020 che ha esplorato con il rover Perseverance il delta dell'antico fiume che un tempo scorreva nel cratere Jezero su Marte e l'unità marginale del cratere, dove è stata scoperta la potenziale biofirma in una roccia argillosa.
INAF Arcetri
INAF Arcetri
on press and media
on press and media
Specula, an open-source software that simulates complex adaptive optics systems, developed by the Adaptive Optics Laboratory of INAF Arcetri
Events
Events
11th February 2026
International Day of Women and Girls in Science
High school students visited the INAF Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory to discuss astrobiology and the search for life with researcher Teresa Fornaro.
24th and 25th February 2026
XXIV Italian Astronomy Championships
The Interregional Final Round of the XXIV Italian Astronomy Championships (Toscana).
27th February 2026
Public Conferenze held by Germano Sacco in Piombino, organized in collaboration with the Associazione Astrofili di Piombino.
Firenze | Jan-Feb 2026 | Contacts
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