Multimessenger Astronomy
The Department of Aerospace Science and Technology of the Politecnico di Milano is in the list of the Institutes which contributed to the first multimessenger observation of a neutron star merger, which opened a new era of astronomy. Indeed, the coordinated observations in almost all the portions of the electromagnetic spectrum made it possible, for the first time, to pinpoint the source location of a gravitational wave event, as well as to obtain important clues about how elements heavier than iron, such as lead and gold, are produced as a consequence of the collision.
The result, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, has been classified the 2017 Breakthrough of the Year by Physics World, membership magazine of the Institute of Physics.
