The observation of $^{26}$Al gives us the proof of active nucleosynthesis in the Milky Way. However the identification of the main producers of $^{26}$Al is still a matter of debate. Many sites have been proposed, but our poor knowledge of the nuclea
r processes involved introduces high uncertainties. In particular, the limited accuracy on the $^{25}$Mg($alpha$,n)$^{28}$Si reaction cross section has been identified as the main source of nuclear uncertainty in the production of $^{26}$Al in C/Ne explosive burning in massive stars, which has been suggested to be the main source of $^{26}$Al in the Galaxy. We studied this reaction through neutron spectroscopy at the CN Van de Graaff accelerator of the Legnaro National Laboratories. Thanks to this technique we are able to discriminate the ($alpha$,n) events from possible contamination arising from parasitic reactions. In particular, we measured the neutron angular distributions at 5 different beam energies (between 3 and 5 MeV) in the ang{17.5}-ang{106} laboratory system angular range. The presented results disagree with the assumptions introduced in the analysis of a previous experiment.
An upgraded GARFIELD + Ring Counter (RCo) apparatus is presented with improved performances as far as electronics and detectors are concerned. On one side fast sampling digital read out has been extended to all detectors, allowing for an important si
mplification of the signal processing chain together with an enriched extracted information. On the other side a relevant improvement has been made in the forward part of the setup (RCo): an increased granularity of the CsI(Tl) crystals and a higher homogeneity in the silicon detector resistivity. The renewed performances of the GARFIELD + RCo array make it suitable for nuclear reaction measurements both with stable and with Radioactive Ion Beams (RIB), like the ones foreseen for the SPES facility, where the Physics of Isospin can be studied.
