= Riccardo Giacconi
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{wiki}
= R. Giacconi
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{synonym}
<Riccardo Giacconi> pioneered <X-ray astronomy> using instruments carried above <Earth>'s absorbing <atmosphere>. His team's 1962 rocket flight found a strong source outside the <Solar system>, later known as <Scorpius X-1>, together with a diffuse <X-ray> background.<Evidence for x Rays From Sources Outside the Solar System by Riccardo Giacconi and others>[pp. 439–443: rocket-counter observations and directional excess]{ref}
His Nobel lecture traces the subsequent transition from brief rocket measurements to more sensitive surveys and imaging instruments. Increasing collecting area, observing duration and angular resolving power changed the questions that could be asked: sources could be located, separated and studied as physical systems.<The Dawn of X-Ray Astronomy by Riccardo Giacconi>[Historical account of the first extrasolar X-ray source and development of X-ray observatories]{ref}
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{title=Portrait of <Riccardo Giacconi>}
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