Amerigo Vespucci and cosmic rays, a ‘spatial’ encounter

(by correspondent Domenico Palesse) (ANSA) – SINGAPORE, 26 OCT – Tradition and innovation, but also, and above all, research. In its world tour, the Amerigo Vespucci also becomes a gigantic mobile laboratory, one of the few capable of collecting constant data and information crossing every corner of the globe. For this reason, an apparatus from the National Institute of Nuclear Physics for the detection of cosmic rays has been installed on board for twenty days. The ‘running in’ was completed by the Institute’s researcher Davide Serini, who boarded the sailing ship from Darwin to Singapore. Over two thousand miles of navigation useful for studying and collecting data for unpublished research that could have historical implications. “We installed this object that measures cosmic rays, the particles that arrive from space and that allow us to understand the mysteries of the universe – says Serini, who also kept a logbook on social media during the trip -. The usefulness of installing it on the ship comes from the fact that these particles are influenced by the Earth’s magnetic field, by latitude and longitude, i.e. by the position of the ship.” The detector will remain on board until the end of the Vespucci’s world tour, when it will reach the port of Genoa in June 2025. “The device will continue to collect data 24 hours a day – explains Mario Nicola Mazziotta, also an Infn researcher -. As soon as we have access to the internet from the ship they will then be transferred to our servers to study and analyze them”. “Being able to be on board the Vespucci is a truly unique opportunity – continues Mazziotta – because during its route the ship will intercept very particular areas to study cosmic rays. It is a unique opportunity which is also giving us some satisfaction. Darwin in Singapore, for example, we observed the effect of the sun on cosmic rays, which gave us unexpected and unprecedented results for the first time.” Once the first month of navigation is over, therefore, the detector – created by the Bari section of the Infn – will remain on board without assistance, continuing to send data to the ground that will allow researchers to carry out a complex study with potential “historical results” . The Vespucci tradition at the service of research innovation for a meeting, it is precisely the case to say, “spatial”. (HANDLE).