Dumont d’Urville – In early February, the summer expedition to Antarctica of a team of Italian researchers, led by La Sapienza University researcher Marco De Petris, came to an end. The group measured atmospheric emissions at 3,233 meters of altitude, thanks to Casper – an instrument composed of a spectrometer operating in the millimeter band and a telescope of 62 centimeters in diameter. The team’s ultimate goal was to study the universe by reducing as much as possible the filter of the atmosphere, whose water molecules limit the absorption of the celestial radiations. The exploration of the sky at millimeter wavelengths requires a dry and stable atmosphere. Only by meeting these conditions, it becomes possible to “capture” the smallest signals from the cosmos and then study their evolution since the Big Bang. For its research, the mission was based at the French-Italian Concordia base in Antarctica, on the Dome C plateau, which is one of the best points of observation for this spectral band at high geographical latitudes and/or at high altitudes on Earth. The monitoring of the atmosphere in a dry site allows to anticipate future cosmic microwave background radiation observations made through dedicated telescopes. In addition to Marco De Petris, the team includes Daniel Buzi doctoral student in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Sciences of La Sapienza University and Tor Vergata, and Alexander Baù of the Milan Bicocca Department of Physics. The research program also involves the CNR Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate in Bologna. (9Colonne)
