Thirty years of pulsar studies at ESO. The Italian contribution
Abstract
In May 1982, when Italy joined ESO, only two isolated neutron stars (INSs) had been identified in the optical: the Crab and Vela pulsars. Thanks to the ESO telescopes and the perseverance of a few Italian astronomers, now about 30 INSs have been identified in the optical/IR, and a new important channel in their multi-wavelength studies has been opened. In this contribution, I review the major steps in 30 years of INS studies at ESO, highlight the role of Italian astronomers, and introduce future perspectives with the E-ELT.
- Publication:
-
Memorie della Societa Astronomica Italiana
- Pub Date:
- 2012
- DOI:
- 10.48550/arXiv.1208.3305
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1208.3305
- Bibcode:
- 2012MmSAI..83.1157M
- Keywords:
-
- Stars: pulsars;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
- E-Print:
- 4 pages, To be published in proceedings of European Week of Astronomy and Space Science 2012, Memorie della Societa' Astronomica Italiana