LST-1 Discovers the Most Distant AGN at Very High Energies
On 15 December, the Large-Sized Telescope (LST) Collaboration announced through an Astronomer’s Telegram (ATel) the detection of the source OP 313 at very high energies with the LST-1.
The CTAO Will Double its Staff as Major Infrastructure Development Begins In 2024
On 6 September 2023, the CTAO’s two governing bodies, the Board of Governmental Representatives (BGR) and the CTAO gGmbH Council, gathered to agree on the significant forthcoming measures to advance the Observatory to its construction phase. During the meeting, both bodies unanimously certified their commitment to the progress of the CTAO, including a foreseen endorsement of up to approximately 30 million euro for 2024. This represents a significant increase in annual funding, which will enable the Observatory to not only move forward with substantial infrastructure development but also to double its workforce.
The “Strategic Plan for European Astronomy” Ranks the CTAO as Highest Priority in Ground-based Astronomy
The recently-released ASTRONET “Science Vision and Infrastructure Roadmap 2022-2035” includes the CTAO as the top-ranked priority amongst new ground-based infrastructure projects. The strategic plan highlights the CTAO as the future leader in the field to unravel the origins and production of non-thermal particles in the Universe.
Stuart McMuldroch, Designated Director General for the future CTAO ERIC, Joins the Management Board of the CTAO gGmbH
Dr. Stuart McMuldroch has been appointed as the second Managing Director of the Management Board of the CTAO gGmbH, starting from 30 April 2023, alongside the Observatory’s existing Director, Prof. Federico Ferrini. McMuldroch and Ferrini will work together on the final steps of the Observatory’s legal entity transition towards the ERIC. McMuldroch was recently selected as the first Director General of the CTAO ERIC by the Board of Governmental Representatives (BGR), a position he will officially assume when the ERIC is established in mid-2023.
Evento en Granada el 27 de Abril para Explorar la Ciencia Abierta y Oportunidades con el CTAO
El jueves 27 de abril a las 12:00 CEST, el CTAO y el IAA-CSIC celebrarán un evento gratuito y abierto para investigadores interesados en la Ciencia Abierta y posibles sinergias con el CTAO, así como para estudiantes de grado, máster y doctorado que deseen desarrollarse profesionalmente en el campo de la Astrofísica de muy altas energías. El seminario, que tendrá lugar en la sede del IAA-CSIC (Granada, España), reunirá a Roberta Zanin (Responsable Científica del CTAO), Juan Cortina (Coordinador de CTA-España), Rubén López-Coto (Co-Investigador Principal del Proyecto CTA en el IAA-CSIC) y Francisco Colomer (Coordinador de la Presidencia Española del Consejo de la UE en el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación).
The Astronomical Infrastructures of the Future Meet in Granada
On Wednesday, 5 October, the heads of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO), the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) met at the headquarters of the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC) in Granada, Spain to participate in the round table “The Universe that we will see.” Xavier Barcons (Director General of ESO), Philip Diamond (Director General of SKAO) and Wolfgang Wild (CTAO Project Manager) discussed the science, technology, impact and governance of these three major astronomical infrastructures, in a session moderated by Isabel Márquez (Deputy Director of the IAA-CSIC) and organized jointly between the IAA-CSIC and the CTAO.
The CTAO Science Data Management Centre Lays “First Stone”
On Wednesday, 2 March 2022, the first stone-laying ceremony for the CTAO Science Data Management Centre (SDMC) took place at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) campus in Zeuthen, Brandenburg (Germany). To celebrate this milestone, Brandenburg’s Science Minister, Manja Schüle, and Head of the Sub-Department Large-Scale Facilities and Basic Research at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Volkmar Dietz, participated in the ceremony on campus, together with the Managing Director of the CTAO gGmbH, Federico Ferrini and DESY Director-General, Helmut Dosch.
“CTA Observatory: Connecting Minds Worldwide to Unravel the Mysteries of the Extreme Universe” at the Expo 2020 Dubai
On Friday, 22 October 2021 at 11:00 Dubai time (9:00 CEST), the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) and the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) will host the event “CTA Observatory: Connecting Minds Worldwide to Unravel the Mysteries of the Extreme Universe” at the Italy Pavilion of the Expo 2020 Dubai (United Arab Emirates). The international event will serve as an introduction to the CTAO’s state-of-the-art technology, its enormous scientific potential and the extensive global network contributing to its development to all nations participating in the Expo 2020 Dubai. Among the renowned speakers and representatives that will participate in the event are Nobel Laureate in Physics 2015, Prof. Takaaki Kajita, and the Ambassador of Italy at the United Arab Emirates, Ambassador Nicola Lener. The event will be also live streamed on social media.
CTA Prototype LST-1 Detects Very High-Energy Emission from the Crab Pulsar
Between January and February 2020, the prototype Large-Sized Telescope (LST), the LST-1, observed the Crab Pulsar, the neutron star at the centre of the Crab Nebula. The telescope, which is being commissioned on the CTA-North site on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, was conducting engineering runs to verify the telescope performance and adjust operating parameters.
CTA Prototype Telescope, the Schwarzschild-Couder Telescope, Detects Crab Nebula
On 1 June 2020, scientists from the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) Consortium announced at the 236th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) that they have detected gamma rays from the Crab Nebula using a prototype telescope proposed for CTA, the prototype Schwarzschild-Couder Telescope (pSCT), proving the viability of the novel telescope design for use in gamma-ray astrophysics.