VST Science Workshop 2026

Session

Session 2: Large Programs at VST

9 Apr 2026, 14:10

Sala Cimmino (Monte Mario)

7. STEPping stones between the Clouds: the star formation history of the Magellanic Bridge

Francesco Ficara (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))

09/04/2026, 14:10

Contributed talk

In the last decades, our understanding of dwarf galaxies has significantly advanced, driven by efforts to characterize their evolution and interactions with their surrounding environments. Ground-based observations, particularly those utilizing wide field-of-view telescopes like VST, have enabled detailed studies of both the central regions and the outer edges of the closer dwarfs, such as the...

17. The search for very nearby astrophysical transients with the VST

Luca Izzo (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))

09/04/2026, 14:30

Contributed talk

In this talk, we present the use of the VST to search for and study selected astrophysical explosions. The VST is one of the most powerful facilities for scanning wide regions of the southern sky and identifying transient phenomena. I will highlight several particularly interesting cases currently being pursued by the TNT group in Naples and describe our data reduction and analysis procedures,...

18. From Autopsy to Diagnosis: Direct Detection of Episodic Mass Loss in SN Progenitors

Fabrizio Bocchino (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))

09/04/2026, 14:50

Contributed talk

Red Supergiants (RSGs) are the canonical progenitors of Type IIP/L supernovae. While standard stellar evolution models depict them as quiescent stars undergoing steady-state mass loss, this picture is increasingly challenged by evidence of complex, dense circumstellar material (CSM) surrounding the explosion site. These interaction signatures indirectly point to intense, episodic mass-loss...

10. VST-SMASH: the outskirts of IC 5332 and the discovery of new satellite candidates in the field of NGC 5068

Crescenzo Tortora (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF))

09/04/2026, 15:10

Contributed talk

The VST Survey of Mass Assembly and Structural Hierarchy (VST-SMASH) program targets a volume-limited sample of 27 local galaxies within 11 Mpc and the Euclid survey footprint in g-, r-, and i-bands, achieving a surface brightness limit of μ ≥ 29 mag arcsec⁻² in g- and r-bands and shallower levels in i-band. VST-SMASH gives a unique opportunity to detect faint stellar streams, tidal remnants...

19. HAGRPS: an H-alpha narrow-band imaging survey of galaxy groups in the Local Supercluster

Elena Sofia Mangola (LAM, Aix Marseille Université, CNRS)

09/04/2026, 16:00

Contributed talk

I will introduce HAGRPS, an H-alpha narrow-band imaging survey of galaxy groups in the Local Supercluster, which is a large observing program carried out with the VLT Survey Telescope (VST). 
H-alpha imaging data are gathered to study the role of the environment on galaxy evolution.
Indeed, H-alpha observations reveal the ionized hydrogen emission, which is a direct tracer of recent star...

5. VST-MAGNET: Mechanisms Affecting Galaxies Nearby and Environmental Trends with VST

Marco Gullieuszik (INAF - OAPd)

09/04/2026, 16:20

Contributed talk

The life of galaxies is regulated by the flow of gas in and out of galactic disks, hence a detailed understanding of how galaxies exchange material with their surroundings and what physical mechanisms can affect this flow is a key factor for understanding galaxy evolution. The environment in which galaxies reside plays an important role, as the effectiveness and importance of the different...