Enzo Pascale

Research Interests

Extrasolar planets, Observational Cosmology, Cosmic Microwave Background, CMB polarozation, High Z Submillimetre Galaxies, Astronomy Instrumentation.

Short CV

I was an undergraduate at the University of Rome "La Sapienza", where I graduated in 1996. After graduation, I assumed a Visiting Associate position at the California Institute of Technology followed in 1999 by a research position at the National Research Council in Italy. In 2003 I started my Ph.D. at the University of Toronto. Graduated in 2007, I assumed a Lectureship at Cardiff University which I left as Reader in 2017. Since Noveber 2017 I have been an associate professor at La Sapienza University of Rome, Department of Physics

Research activity

ARIEL

The Atmospheric Remote-Sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey (ARIEL) is a candidate for the ESA M4 (medium class) mission opportunity for launch in 2026. This mission will be devoted to observing spectroscopically in the IR a large population (~500) of known transiting planets in our Galaxy, opening a new discovery space in the field of extrasolar planets and enabling the understanding of the physics and chemistry of these far away worlds.

The ARIEL mission is based on a telescope with an elliptical primary mirror (1.1 x 0.7 meters), a spectrometer covering the band from 1.95 to 7.8 micron, and a four-band photometer in the visible and in the near-IR (0.5 to 1 micron) to monitor the stellar activity, measure the albedo and detect clouds. If selected, ARIEL will be launched in 2026 and during its 3.5 years operations from an L2 orbit it will continuously observe exoplanets transiting their host star.

To learn more, visit AREIL's official web page.

EXCITE

EXCITE (EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope) is a balloon-borne experiment designed to study the atmospheres of hot-Jupiter exoplanets through phase-resolved spectroscopy. By continuously observing a planet over a large fraction of its orbit, EXCITE will measure how its infrared spectrum changes between the hot dayside and the cooler nightside. These measurements provide information on atmospheric composition, temperature structure, and the circulation of energy around the planet.

The experiment combines a 0.5-m telescope with a moderate-resolution near-infrared spectrometer covering approximately 0.8–3.5 µm. EXCITE is designed to operate from a long-duration stratospheric balloon, at an altitude of about 40 km, above more than 99% of the Earth's atmosphere. This platform enables long and stable observations that are difficult to obtain with general-purpose space observatories and provides access to spectral signatures of important atmospheric species. Following a successful engineering flight from Fort Sumner, New Mexico, in 2024, EXCITE is being prepared for long-duration science observations.

To learn more, visit EXCITE's official web page.