The Inaf-Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari hosted the EVN TOG + GMVA TG meeting from September 1 to 5, 2025.
EVN stands for “European VLBI Network” and is the European scientific consortium of radio telescopes working in VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry). This technique involves observing the same cosmic objects with numerous radio telescopes spread across Europe (and also in other parts of the world, especially the Far East) to simulate a giant radio telescope as large as the distances separating the antennas. This requires almost perfect synchronization, which is why extremely precise clocks and a series of advanced technical and technological measures are used.
TOG stands for Technical and Operations Group and is the technical group composed of international staff that keeps this highly complex observational machine running. The coordinator of the EVN TOG is our Sergio Poppi, who is also the Operations Manager (RdO) of the Sardinia Radio Telescope.
The TOG meets every 8-12 months to discuss operational issues, evaluate the results of past observations, and discuss technical developments. Every 16-24 months – and here we finally explain the last acronym – the TOG also meets with the Technical Group (TG) of the GMVA (Global Millimeter-VLBI Array), which is an additional observation network specialized in millimeter frequencies, precisely those that SRT has recently reached thanks to the new receivers built through the PON project directed by the observatory’s Director, Federica Govoni.
The Inaf-OAC staff involved was numerous, but special thanks go to the astrophysicist Gabriele Surcis, EVN representative for our radio telescope.
In the photo, the participants during the meeting at the Sardinia Radio Telescope (Credits: Paolo Soletta – INAF 2025).