I will provide a brief overview of our present knowledge of the demographics of planetary systems with (temperate) terrestrial, rocky planets. I will then outline how convergent multi-technique observational approaches in the coming two decades will help maximizing the scientific return of HWO's primary goal of searching for biosignatures in the atmospheres of tens of potentially habitable...
The exoplanet characterization follows the axiom: know the star, know the planet. In order to achieve the goal of Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) for the search of other Earths, a precise and accurate knowledge of the properties of their host star is necessary. The NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program has already released a list of ~160 nearby targets identified as the most accessible to...
Several missions have been recently selected to explore Venus, that during the next decade will focus on the analysis of its atmosphere, surface and interiors. Additionally, missions have been selected to search for and characterize terrestrial exoplanets and potentially habitable worlds, with the Habitable Worlds Observatory being the next generation space telescope devoted to this type of...
The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is designed to directly image and characterize temperate exoplanets, searching for signs of life through UV-optical-infrared spectroscopy. During the ongoing science and technology maturation phase it is particularly important to realistically inform target characterization and selection to consolidate and optimize the mission capabilities.
The OPAL...
The search for promising candidates for life necessitates moving beyond the traditional Habitable Zone paradigm, employing a multiscale approach that integrates biological, chemical, and astrophysical perspectives. This presentation will demonstrate how our current understanding of extremophilic microorganisms, coupled with their environmental tolerances, can effectively characterize the...
Understanding the processes that lead to star formation is essential for addressing key questions in modern astronomy, from the origin of the Solar System to the evolution of galaxies. While a broad framework for star formation in the Milky Way has been established, several critical aspects remain unresolved. In particular, the influence of the
environment properties, such as stellar density...
In this talk, I will review our current understanding of resolved stellar populations in nearby galaxies, with particular emphasis on the progress enabled by JWST. I will then discuss the advances expected from the ELT, focusing on the unprecedented spatial resolution achievable with the MORFEO-MICADO system. Finally, I will explore future prospects opened by HWO and its potential to push the...
The evolution of disks around young-low-mass stars and the related phenomena of accretion and outflows are hot topics in modern astrophysics. Our capability to investigate these key aspects for star- and planet-formation has recently received a boost thanks to the increasing quality of high spatial and spectral resolution observations and new analytic and numerical tools for theoretical...
I will present an overview of the frontiers and challenges for cosmology in view of the Habitable World Observatoryervatory
While primarily designed for the detection and characterization of exoplanets, the Habitable Worlds Observatory will also provide a transformative platform for time-domain astrophysics, particularly supernova science. Its combination of high-angular-resolution imaging, wide spectral coverage from the UV to near-infrared, and high-throughput spectroscopy will enable key advances in several...
Pollux is a high-resolution spectropolarimeter working from 100 nm to 1.6 microns proposed for HWO by a European consortium. Pollux will allow us to study stellar and (exo)planetary systems, as well as cosmic ecosystems. For example, Pollux will provide new insights on exoplanet formation and evolution, characterisation of the atmospheres and magnetospheres of stars and planets, and...
SHARP is a conceptual study for a near-IR (0.9-2.4 mu) spectrograph designed to exploit the capabilities of future ground-based AO-assisted Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) and space-based Habitable World Observatory (HWO). The instrument concept is driven by the goal of creating a spectrograph capable of tackling the most important questions in astrophysics and cosmology, from exploring...
With complementary strategies, two main space missions in the 2040s (WHO and LIFE) are being designed in order to investigate and interpret the atmospheres of temperate, rocky exoplanets - including the search for biological signatures. In this short review I will recap the main science goals, the strategy of both observatories, and the reliance on scientific milestones of the previous decade,...
SETI, the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence, started in 1959 when Giuseppe Cocconi and Phil Morrison (then both at Cornell) realized that radio communications between nearby stars was indeed possible even with the modest radio telescopes (30 meters in diameter) then available.
No ET Civilization was discovered up to 2025, but the amount of searched space is very small indeed.
By...
The Planetary Camera and Spectrograph (PCS) for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is a new instrument proposed for the direct detection and characterization of exoplanets in the neighbourhood of the Sun. This goal is achieved by a combination of eXtreme Adaptive Optics (XAO), coronagraphy and spectroscopy.
PCS will allow to gather both images and high-resolution spectra, allowing the...
The atmospheric characterisation of nearby rocky exoplanets will soon become achievable thanks to the next generation of telescopes, such as the ground-based Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) and the proposed space mission Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO).
This powerful synergy between ground- and space-based facilities will open new frontiers in the study of exoplanet atmospheres by...
MAVIS (MCAO Assisted Visible Imager and Spectrograph) is a new facility instrument for the ESO VLT being built by an Australian (Astralis - lead), Italian (INAF) and French (LAM) consortium. MAVIS pushes the frontier of new instrument technologies to provide, for the first time, wide-field, diffraction-limited angular resolution at visible wavelengths. Enhancing the VLT Adaptive Optics...
The implementation of the HWO optics system presents several challenging aspects, as it must work under unprecedented requirements. In addition to achieving the exquisite angular resolution, one must address the problem of the mirror mass (with an areal density mass goal of approximately 10 kg/cm^2), a wide range of operational thermal conditions, and a broad reflection wavelength band. In the...
WaveFront sensing and control is considered an enabling technology for the the next generation space telescopes such as the HWO. We investigated the possible contributions of ground based Adaptive Optics for space telescopes and in particular the pyramid WaveFront Sensor and the concept of a contactless active primary mirror.
The PWFS, largely adopted on ground, is a pupil-conjugated sensor...
In March 2024, a group of European researchers working on high-contrast imaging (HCI) for exoplanet research organized the first “R&D for Space-Based HCI in Europe” workshop at the Paris Observatory. A second edition was held in May 2025 in Heidelberg. Acknowledging Europe’s long-standing contributions to HCI, the main goal of the workshop was to foster collaboration and provide an overview of...
In this talk we will present how Machine Learning and AI-Assisted algorithms, based on fully Bayesian methods, may help to define the observational strategies of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) mission by maximizing the scientific returns while making the best possible use of the available observing time.
We will focus on the proposed fully-bayesian approach for radial-velocity...
The study of exoplanetary atmospheres traditionally relies on forward models to analytically compute an exoplanet's spectrum by fine-tuning numerous chemical and physical parameters. However, the high dimensionality of the parameter space often results in significant computational overhead. In this work, we introduce a novel approach to atmospheric retrieval, leveraging machine learning...
We present the development and expected performance of an innovative photon-counting detector for far-ultraviolet, designed to overcome the dynamic range and lifetime limitations of traditional Microchannel Plate (MCP) based systems. The detector pairs new-generation MCPs, with ALD passivation, with custom readout electronics designed to maximize their potential.
We present the development and expected performance of an innovative photon-counting detector for far-ultraviolet, designed to overcome the dynamic range and lifetime limitations of traditional Microchannel Plate (MCP) based systems. The detector pairs new-generation MCPs, with ALD passivation, with custom readout electronics designed to maximize their potential.
The implementation of the HWO optics system presents several challenging aspects, as it must work under unprecedented requirements. In addition to achieving the exquisite angular resolution, one must address the problem of the mirror mass (with an areal density mass goal of approximately 10 kg/cm^2), a wide range of operational thermal conditions, and a broad reflection wavelength band. In the...
Understanding the processes that lead to star formation is essential for addressing key questions in modern astronomy, from the origin of the Solar System to the evolution of galaxies. While a broad framework for star formation in the Milky Way has been established, several critical aspects remain unresolved. In particular, the influence of the
environment properties, such as stellar density...
MAVIS (MCAO Assisted Visible Imager and Spectrograph) is a new facility instrument for the ESO VLT being built by an Australian (Astralis - lead), Italian (INAF) and French (LAM) consortium. MAVIS pushes the frontier of new instrument technologies to provide, for the first time, wide-field, diffraction-limited angular resolution at visible wavelengths. Enhancing the VLT Adaptive Optics...
I will present an overview of the frontiers and challenges for cosmology in view of the Habitable World Observatory
WaveFront sensing and control is considered an enabling technology for the the next generation space telescopes such as the HWO. We investigated the possible contributions of ground based Adaptive Optics for space telescopes and in particular the pyramid WaveFront Sensor and the concept of a contactless active primary mirror.
The PWFS, largely adopted on ground, is a pupil-conjugated sensor...
In March 2024, a group of European researchers working on high-contrast imaging (HCI) for exoplanet research organized the first “R&D for Space-Based HCI in Europe” workshop at the Paris Observatory. A second edition was held in May 2025 in Heidelberg. Acknowledging Europe’s long-standing contributions to HCI, the main goal of the workshop was to foster collaboration and provide an overview of...
IN questo breve talk presentero' lo status della missione PLATO e le possibili sinergie tra le due missioni
In this talk I will briefly review what are the advantages of studying the intergalactic medium from space and what would be interesting to do with a big telescope such as the HWO (in my biased view).
Pollux is a high-resolution spectropolarimeter working from 100 nm to 1.6 microns proposed for HWO by a European consortium. Pollux will allow us to study stellar and (exo)planetary systems, as well as cosmic ecosystems. For example, Pollux will provide new insights on exoplanet formation and evolution, characterisation of the atmospheres and magnetospheres of stars and planets, and...
In this talk, I will review our current understanding of resolved stellar populations in nearby galaxies, with particular emphasis on the progress enabled by JWST. I will then discuss the advances expected from the ELT, focusing on the unprecedented spatial resolution achievable with the MORFEO-MICADO system. Finally, I will explore future prospects opened by HWO and its potential to push the...
I will provide an abstract in the incoming weeks
