Enzo Pascale · Research archive

Past research projects

A selection of previous research activities in observational cosmology, submillimetre astronomy and exoplanet science.

← Main page BOOMERanG BLAST EbEx H-Atlas EChO

The descriptions below reproduce the original text from the previous version of the personal web page, presented here with a new layout.

BOOMERanG

01 · Cosmology

BOOMERanG

The Balloon Observations Of Millimetric Extragalactic Radiation and Geophysics experiment is an instrument to measure the anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background and polarization.

The 1.2 m off-axis telescope flew three times, in 1997 from Palestine, TX, in 1998 and 2001 from McMurdo, Antarctica, in two successful Long Duration flights. Results gathered in the first two flights showed the spectrum of the sound waves in the primordial Universe. Data from the 2001 flight mainly concerns CMB polarization and are being analized.

To learn more, visit Boomerang at the University of Rome, or at CWRU.

BLAST

02 · Submillimetre astronomy

BLAST

The Ballon-borne Large Aperture Submillimetre Telescope operates from a high-altitude balloon platform to study the processes of star formation in our Galaxy and in galaxies at cosmological distances.

The focal plane measures dust emission in three photometric bands centered at 250, 350 and 500 um behind a Cassegrain telescope lifted into the stratosphere by a helium balloon.

The original BLAST instrument had three successful flights from Fort Sumner, TX (2004), from Kiruna in Sweden (2005), and McMurdo Station in Antarctica (2006). The addition of a submillimetric polarimeter turned BLAST into BLASTPol giving the capability of detecting dust cloud magnetic fields in the Galaxy to study their relevance on the processes of star formation.

BLASTPol was flown from McMurdo station in 2010 and 2012. The next flight will see an enhanced version of this submillimetric polarimeter with a larger telescope and focal plane of polarisation-sensitive Kinetic Inductance Detectors. This is BLAST, The Next Generation.

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

EbEx

03 · CMB polarization

EbEx

EBEX is a balloon-borne polarimeter designed to measure the intensity and polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation on mid-angular scales. Measurements of the polarization of the CMB could probe an inflationary epoch that took place shortly after the big bang and significantly improve constraints on the values of several cosmological parameters. EBEX will also provide critical information about the level of polarized Galactic dust which will be necessary for all future CMB polarization experiments.

To learn more, visit Ebex at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

H-Atlas

04 · Herschel survey

H-Atlas

The Herschel ATLAS is the largest key astronomical project awarded on ESA's Herschel Space Observatory as an Open Time survey.

The survey mapped one eightieth of the sky in 600 hours of Herschel time. The reduced data will be made publicly available.

Learn more visiting the Public Web Site.

EChO

05 · Exoplanet science

EChO

The Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory (EChO) was a candidate for the ESA M3 programme, and would have been the first dedicated mission to investigate exoplanetary atmospheres, addressing the suitability of those planets for life and placing our Solar System in context.

To learn more, follow this link.