Giacconi – si Peneliti Sinar X

Riccardo Giacconi, lahir di Genoa, Italia, pada tanggal 6 Oktober 1931,
merupakan salah satu dari tiga ahli astrofisika yang mendapatkan hadiah Nobel
Fisika tahun 2002. Kontribusi Giacconi yang membuatnya pantas mendapatkan
penghargaan bergengsi tersebut berkaitan dengan penemuan sumber-sumber
sinar-X kosmis.
Giacconi mengawali karirnya di bidang astrofisika saat ia mendapatkan
gelar Ph.D. dari University of Milan (1954) untuk bidang fisika sinar kosmis. Ia
tetap mengajar di sana (bidang fisika partikel elementer) sampai tahun 1956 saat
ia beremigrasi ke Amerika Serikat dan mengajar di University of Indiana dan
Princeton University. Pada tahun 1959 ia bergabung dengan ASE (American
Science and Engineering Corporation), sebuah lembaga penelitian swasta di
Cambridge, Massachusetts, yang ketika itu hanya beranggotakan 28 orang peneliti.
Giacconi ditugasi untuk merintis penelitian ruang angkasa di Space Research and
System Division (SR & SD) ASE, termasuk perancangan dan pembangunan
peralatan penelitian dan analisa dan reduksi data beberapa program penelitian
yang disponsori oleh Department of Defense (DOD) NASA. SR & SD ASE terus
berkembang hingga mencatat anggota sebanyak 500 orang pada tahun 1970.
Karirnya di ASE mencatat berbagai prestasi penting yang membuatnya dikenal
sebagai Bapak Astronomi Sinar-X. Pada tahun 1962 Giacconi bersama para
penelitinya yang menyelidiki radiasi sinar-X menemukan sumber sinar-X kosmis
yang pertama menggunakan detektor yang dipasangkan di roket yang diluncurkan
ke luar angkasa (sinar-X kosmis tidak bisa dideteksi di bumi karena saat
memasuki atmosfir bumi sinar itu diserap oleh lapisan atmosfir). Ia kemudian
menyusun program untuk meneliti sinar-X di jagad raya ini dan meluncurkan
(1970) satelit pengamat ruang angkasa, UHURU, yang merupakan satelit pertama
yang khusus didedikasikan untuk penelitian astronomi sinar-X. UHURU
menghasilkan berbagai penemuan penting dalam usaha memahami fenomena
sinar-X di ruang angkasa. Giacconi kemudian melanjutkan penelitiannya dengan
membangun observatorium baru (Einstein X-ray observatory) yang berhasil
merekam gambar pertama sumber-sumber sinar-X astronomis pada tahun 1978.
Penemuan-penemuannya telah berhasil meletakkan landasan-landasan penting
dalam astronomi sinar-X.
Pada tahun 1981 Giacconi bergabung dengan Space Telescope Science
Institute (STScI) dan menjadi direktur pertamanya sampai tahun 1993. Di sana ia
merintis program Hubble Space Telescope dan berhasil menjadikannya institut
penelitian nomor satu di masa itu. Ia kemudian pindah ke Jerman (1993-1999)
untuk menjadi Direktur Jenderal di European Southern Observatory. Di sana ia
membangun teleskop terbesar, VLT (Very Large Telescope), yang sangat terkenal
karena kemampuannya untuk menghasilkan gambar-gambar astronomi berkualitas
terbaik, lengkap dengan semua detilnya. Pada tahun 1999 Giacconi, yang sudah
resmi menjadi warganegara Amerika Serikat, kembali ke Amerika dan menjadi
presiden Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) di Washington, D.C. Ia juga tercatat
sebagai profesor penelitian fisika dan astronomi di John Hopkins University sejak
tahun 1998.
Kontribusi Giacconi di dunia astrofisika telah menghantarkan berbagai
penghargaan internasional termasuk Bruce Medal, Dannie Heineman Prize for
Astrophysics, Elliot Cresson Medal (Franklin Institute), Marcel Grossmann
Award (International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics), Gold Medal (Royal
Astronomical Society), dan Wolf Prize (Wolf Foundation).
Giacconi mendapatkan kejutan besar pada tanggal 8 Oktober 2002 saat ia
menerima telepon dari Stockholm, Swedia, pada pukul 05.30 pagi. Karya-karya
cemerlangnya di bidang astrofisika, khususnya astronomi sinar-X, telah
menghadiahinya Nobel Fisika yang diidamidamkan oleh semua fisikawan dunia.
Ia berencana untuk menggunakan hadiah uang yang didapatnya dari Nobel
Foundation untuk menyekolahkan cucu-cucunya. Kemenangannya ini dirayakan
juga oleh masyarakat Italia yang mencatat Giacconi sebagai orang keturunan Italia
yang ke-12 yang berhasil mendapatkan Nobel. Indonesia menyusul?


Detektor Giaconni, detektor yang pertama kali mendeteksi
solar neutrino. Panjang 14,6 meter dan diameter 6,1 meter.
(Yohanes Surya)
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Giacconi - the X-ray Researcher
Riccardo Giacconi, born in Genoa, Italy, on October 6, 1931,
is one of three astrophysicist who received the Nobel prize
Physics in 2002. Giacconi contribution that makes it worth getting
prestigious award is related to the discovery of the sources
cosmic X-ray.
Giacconi began his career in the field of astrophysics when he got
Ph.D. from the University of Milan (1954) for cosmic ray physics. He
still teaching there (the field of elementary particle physics) until 1956 when
He emigrated to the United States and taught at the University of Indiana and
Princeton University. In 1959 he joined the ASE (American
Science and Engineering Corporation), a private research institute in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, who was then only consisted of 28 people researchers.
Giacconi was assigned to pioneer the space research at the Space Research and
System Division (SR & SD) ASE, including design and development
equipment research and analysis and data reduction some research programs
sponsored by the Department of Defense (DOD), NASA. SR & SD ASE continues
grown to record membership of 500 people in 1970.
His career in the ASE has recorded several important achievements that made him known
as Mr. X-ray astronomy. In 1962 Giacconi shared the
researchers who investigated the X-ray radiation to find the source of cosmic X-ray
the first to use the detector to be placed in the rocket that launched
into outer space (cosmic X-ray can not be detected on Earth because of the time
rays entering Earth's atmosphere is absorbed by the atmosphere). He then
put together a program to examine X-rays in the universe and launching
(1970) observer space satellite, Uhuru, which is the first satellite
specifically dedicated to the study of X-ray astronomy. Uhuru
produce a variety of important discoveries in understanding the phenomenon
X-rays in space. Giacconi then continued his research with
build a new observatory (Einstein X-ray observatory), which successfully
The first image recording sources of X-ray astronomical in 1978.
His findings have been successfully laid important foundations
in X-ray astronomy.
In 1981 Giacconi joined the Space Telescope Science
Institute (STScI) and became its first director until 1993. There he
pioneered the Hubble Space Telescope program and successfully made it institute
study number one in those days. He then moved to Germany (1993-1999)
to become Director-General at the European Southern Observatory. There he
build the largest telescopes, the VLT (Very Large Telescope), which is very famous
because of its ability to produce high quality astronomical images
The best, complete with all the details. In 1999 Giacconi, who already
officially became a citizen of the United States, returned to America and became
president of Associated Universities, Inc.. (AUI) in Washington, D. C. He also noted
as a research professor of physics and astronomy at Johns Hopkins University since
1998.
Giacconi contribution in the world of astrophysics has been delivering various
international awards including the Bruce Medal, the Dannie Heineman Prize for
Astrophysics, Elliot Cresson Medal (Franklin Institute), Marcel Grossmann
Award (International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics), Gold Medal (Royal
Astronomical Society), and the Wolf Prize (Wolf Foundation).
Giacconi get a big surprise on October 8, 2002 when he
received a call from Stockholm, Sweden, at 05.30 am. The works
brilliant in the field of astrophysics, particularly X-ray astronomy, has been
Physics Nobel diidamidamkan rewarded by all the physicists of the world.
He plans to use the prize money he got from the Nobel
Foundation to educate his grandchildren. This victory is celebrated
also by the noted Italian society as a person of Italian descent Giacconi
that the 12 who managed to get a Nobel. Indonesia follow?


Giaconni detector, the detector was first detected
solar neutrinos. The length of 14.6 meters and a diameter of 6.1 meters.
(Yohanes Surya)