The HCT collaboration (HARPS-N Collaboration Time) discovered and characterized two planets orbiting TOI-1453 and spanning the radius valley. Using data coming from the high resolution spectrograph HARPS-N (High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher for the Northern hemisphere) installed at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo and the NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), the team was able to identify the two exoplanets orbiting TOI-1453. The inner planet, TOI-1453 b, is a small super-Earth of about 1.2 Earth radii orbiting its star in 4.3 days. The outer planet, TOI-1453 c, is a sub-Neptune with 2.2 Earth radii which orbits its star in 6.6 days. The planets hence span the radius gap separating super-Earths from sub-Neptunes, namely the radius valley. The origin of this valley, as well as the compositional nature of sub- Neptunes, are still heavily debated. The planetary system TOI-1453 could provide important clues. The two planets are in a configuration close to the 3:2 mean-motion resonance, which is indicative of orbital migration and provides valuable insights into the formation history of this planetary system. Additionally, the old star TOI-1453 is part of a binary system (a pair of stars orbiting each other). Currently, few small planets have been characterized in binary systems, and the stellar companion to TOI-1453 might have a significant impact on the radius valley.

An international team of astronomers, using the HARPS-N spectrograph on the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, La Palma, has made a groundbreaking discovery: a new super-Earth orbiting in the habitable zone of the nearby red dwarf star GJ 3998, located just 59 light-years away. This planet, named GJ 3998 d, is the third planet found in this system, further highlighting the critical role of the TNG in advancing the search for exoplanets.

TOI-1803 is an orange star located 388 light years away from the Sun with a mass of 76% of the mass of the Sun. The star hosts two Neptune-sized planets named TOI-1803 b and TOI-1803 c, which reside in an orbital configuration close to a 2:1 mean motion resonance. In particular TOI-1803 b orbits the star every ~6.3 days, while TOI-1803 c has a period of ~12.9 days. The discovery of such a resonance is of great interest as it provides insights into planetary migration and the dynamical evolution of exoplanetary systems.

The "eSiFAP" is a next-generation instrument for simultaneous optical and near-infrared (J and H bands) fast photometry, an enhanced version of SiFAP2, mounted at the Nasmyth A focus of the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG).