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Dynamics of the photosphere and chromosphere

The motions of the surface plasma of the Sun are a possible source of excitation for the Alfvén waves that, propagating through the chromosphere towards the corona, contribute to the heating of the upper layers of the solar atmosphere via the dissipation of the energy
they carry. In recent years there has also been a gradual re-evaluation of the role of the chromosphere as a fundamental interface region between the photosphere, where surface convection dominates and drives the structure of the magnetic field, and the corona, where the magnetic field determines the structure of the plasma in an essentially "force free" situation. In the field of photospheric and chromospheric studies the community of solar physicists has proposed the construction of the first Italian heliospheric mission (ADAHELI – ADvanced Astronomy for HELIophysics), with the feasibility study financed by ASI and currently awaiting funding for the successive phases. In this area, the ISODY instrument has been proposed, composed of a 40 cm Gregorian telescope and a focalplane suite, including a spectropolarimetric channel for the observation of photospheric and chromospheric lines using a double Fabry-Perot interferometer, a broad-band channel and an image stabilising system.

MeerKAT+: the MeerKAT Extension

Feb 21, 2024

MeerKAT+: the MeerKAT Extension The handover of the first dish of the MeerKAT extension signals an important milestone for the SKA-MID construction

The first discoveries of the Webb space telescope in Rome: public lecture on 29 February

Feb 21, 2024

The first discoveries of the Webb space telescope in Rome: public lecture on 29 February On Thursday 29 February at 6 pm, Prof. Roberto Maiolino of the University of Cambridge (UK) will hold a public lecture on the theme "The invisible Universe revealed by the James Webb Space Telescope" at the Department of Physics of Sapienza University of Rome

The AGILE satellite re-entered the atmosphere

Feb 14, 2024

The AGILE satellite re-entered the atmosphere After 17 years of thriving operations, the AGILE Italian scientific satellite re-entered the atmosphere, thus ending its intense activity as a hunter of some of the most energetic cosmic sources in the Universe that emit gamma and X-rays