01.02.2012 /
Italian satellite AGILE wins the prestigious prize from the American Astronomical Society
The Italian satellite AGILE (Astrorivelatore Gamma a Immagini Leggero - Light Imager for Gamma-ray Astrophysics) won
the most sought-after international prize in the field of high-energy astrophysics, the “Bruno
Rossi prize”, presented each year by the American Astronomical Society. Named after the father of
cosmic ray physics, the Italian Bruno Rossi, the prize was presented to the research team led by
Marco Tavani, of the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF – Istituto Nazionale di
Astrofisica). The prize was assigned for the discovery of the variability of the gamma-ray emissionfrom the Crab Nebula, a prototype source.
Friuli Venezia Giulia made an important contribution. It was here that the researchers from
the Trieste division of the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN - Istituto
Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare) and the University of Trieste developed the experimental core of
AGILE, the silicon tracker, designed and constructed in the laboratories at AREA Science Park.
Guido Barbiellini, INFN coordinator of the AGILE project, states with satisfaction, “We had to
overcome a large number of experimental technical problems in the development of the instrument,
which worked for almost five years in the difficult environment of space”. For many years the
Crab Nebula was considered to be an ideal standard candle because of the stability of its
electromagnetic emissions. The discovery of the sudden increase in emission in the energy range
tested by AGILE has led to the review of many theoretical models and posed theoretical gamma-ray
astrophysics with a problem that is difficult to solve. “AGILE,” concludes Barbiellini, “is a
magnificent example of partnership between the various Italian research organisations and agencies.
INFN is proud to have developed the silicon tracker, which has proved to be the decisive factor in
determining the direction from which the gamma rays observed by the satellite come from.”<
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The entire Italian team is satisfied: Tavani is pleased that a so-called "small” satellite,
like AGILE, has shown itself able to compete with the bigger satellites. The President of INAF,
Giovanni Bignami, sees AGILE as “the image showing the better side of Italy” and "a bringing
together of top-of-the-range technology and elegance: developed with minimal funding and maximum
ingenuity, it has worked exceptionally well from the very beginning.”
AGILE/technical data
Launched into orbit on 23 April 2007, AGILE is an Italian Space Agency (ASI - Agenzia Spaziale
Italiana) mission. Designed by the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics , the Italian
National Institute for Nuclear Physics, the Italian National Research Council (CNR - Consiglio
Nazionale delle Ricerche) and numerous Italian university institutes, it was developed entirely in
Italy by scientific institutes and by an industrial consortium that brought together Carlo Gavazzi
Space, Thales-Alenia Space, Rheinmetall Italia and Telespazio. AGILE weighs just 350 kg and
makes use of the most advanced technology borrowed from particle physics, an INFN research area. It
has a 120° viewing angle, which means that it offers a very broad and interesting view and capture
function, with the ability to take very high resolution and top quality images. The most innovative
aspects of the instrument include the capacity for simultaneous acquisition of Gamma and X
rays. << indietro
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