Press Release

2021-October-19

“CTA Observatory: Connecting Minds Worldwide to Unravel the Mysteries of the Extreme Universe” at the Expo 2020 Dubai

Rendering of the Italian Pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai. Credit: 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 live streamed on the CTAO, INAF and Expo 2020 Dubai social media channels.

> Links to Live Streaming:

CTAO: Facebook, YouTube

INAF: YouTube

Expo 2020 Dubai: Facebook, YouTube

The goal of the event is to communicate to the large audience of the Expo 2020 Dubai that will be in attendance and will join remotely about the uniqueness of the CTAO, which will be the first ground-based gamma-ray observatory and the world’s largest and most sensitive instrument for the detection of gamma rays. High-accomplished speakers in the field will participate in three discussion panels driven by questions: Science, Technology and Opportunities. The first is dedicated to the broad scientific potential of the observatory that spans from understanding the role of relativistic cosmic particles to the search for dark matter. The second, focused on the technology, will delve into the innovative three types of CTAO telescopes, which will cover an unprecedented energy range, as well as the calibration systems and the novelty analysis tools based on machine learning. Finally, the Opportunity panel will explore the opportunities of collaboration and data usage for new partners that are not members of CTAO at the present and will bring the Italian and international competence of all nations involved in this prestigious project to Dubai.

 

“We are very excited to participate in the Expo 2020 Dubai and to bring CTAO, the future of high-energy astrophysics and particle physics, to a broad international audience”, says Federico Ferrini, CTAO Managing Director. “Global cooperation is fundamental: CTAO’s ongoing success would not be possible without worldwide support from a mounting number of agencies and organizations.”

The theme of the Italian Pavilion is “Beauty connects people – celebrating beauty as the connecting element between creativity and knowledge.” The pavilion itself is constructed from the hulls of three ships: “Inspired by the connecting routes of the Mediterranean, it will take visitors on a journey through history to the future.” Throughout history, the splendor of the night sky has inspired artists, philosophers and scientists. Thus, following this theme, the “CTA Observatory: Connecting minds worldwide to unravel the mysteries of the Extreme Universe” event will tap into the excitement of exploration and the bond that we all share in our quest to push beyond the boundaries of our understanding of the Universe.

 

“CTAO will be a very powerful observatory accessible by scientists of the international community. It will open a new window in the observations of the high-energy Universe”, says Marco Tavani, President of INAF. “With CTAO we will study in an unprecedented way the most extreme cosmic sources including black holes, neutron stars, supernova remnants, and other mysterious objects. We will unveil their secrets with the aim of learning about physical processes that can be useful to mankind.”

 

The event, which will be carried out in English, will be held in the Auditorium of the Italian Pavilion. Registration to attend is required and can be done through the Expo 2020 Dubai App and website, as well as through the Italian Pavilion App. The event will be also live streamed on the CTAO, INAF and Expo 2020 Dubai Facebook and YouTube channels.

 

The Expo 2020 Dubai is an a World Expo. It was initially expected to be performed between October 2020 and March 2021, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was delayed and will be open from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. This World Expo, whose topic is “Connecting Minds, Creating Future,” expects to gather more than 25 million visitors.

 

Speakers

Links to Live Streaming

 

CTAO: Facebook, YouTube

INAF: YouTube

Expo 2020 Dubai: Facebook, YouTube

Contacts

 

CTAO: Alba Fernández-Barral, CTAO Outreach & Education Coordinator

INAF: Marco Galliani, INAF Communication Officer