Daniele Gasparri

My scientific career began with a degree in astronomy from the University of Bologna, where I focused on methods for detecting extrasolar planets. In 2007, I discovered the transit of a planet (HD17156b), marking the first time this was accomplished worldwide using amateur equipment.

I continued my studies at the University of Bologna, earning a master’s degree in astrophysics and cosmology, where I specialized in the study of resolved stellar populations in the Galactic bulge.

Shortly after, I moved to the Atacama Desert in Chile to work under the world’s darkest, clearest night skies and alongside some of the largest astronomical observatories on Earth. At the University of Atacama, I obtained a Ph.D. in astronomy and planetary sciences, focusing on the study of stellar populations in galaxies.

Since 2022, I have been a researcher at the same university, where I study galaxy formation and evolution processes through spectroscopy and photometry. My research has allowed me to observe with some of the most advanced telescopes and instruments globally, including the VLT and the James Webb Space Telescope. You can find a list of my scientific publications here.

I have also been dedicated to science communication for over twenty years. I have collaborated with the astronomy magazine Coelum and have written articles for some of the world’s leading popular science magazines. I have been writing popular science books on astronomy for fifteen years and have published over forty titles. From the vastness of the Atacama Desert, I also write and present astronomy-themed documentaries in Spanish.

For more than twenty years, I have been devoted to astrophotography. On this site, you’ll find a gallery of over a thousand astronomical images I’ve captured over the years in nearly every corner of the world. I am also a Photo Ambassador for ESO, the European Southern Observatory.

I have traveled far and wide to explore our planet and the wonders of the Universe. If I had to describe myself in one phrase, I would say I am a citizen of the world, raised on “bread and the Universe.”