The National Institute for Astrophysics (, or INAF) is an Italian

research institute A research institute, research centre, or research organization is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often implies natural ...

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

and astrophysics, founded in 1999. INAF funds and operates twenty separate research facilities, which in turn employ scientists, engineers and technical staff. The research they perform covers most areas of astronomy, ranging from

planetary science Planetary science (or more rarely, planetology) is the scientific study of planets (including Earth), celestial bodies (such as moons, asteroids, comets) and planetary systems (in particular those of the Solar System) and the processes of ...

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...

Research facilities

INAF coordinates the activities of twenty research units, nineteen in Italy and one in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

: * Bologna Observatory * Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica di Bologna * Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna * Cagliari Observatory * Catania Observatory * Arcetri Observatory (Florence) * Brera Observatory (Milan) * Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica di Milano * Capodimonte Observatory (Naples) * Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova * Palermo Observatory * Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica di Palermo * Rome Observatory * Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica di Roma * Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario di Roma *

Collurania-Teramo Observatory The Collurania Observatory, also Teramo Observatory, (, is an astronomy, astronomical observatory located in Teramo, in Abruzzo region of central Italy. It was founded by Vincenzo Cerulli in 1890, who was later honoured by having it bear his na ...

* Turin Observatory * Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario di Torino * Trieste Observatory * Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

, Spain) * Sardinia Radio Telescope ( San Basilio,

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

) * Noto Radio Observatory ( Noto,

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

)

International partnerships

Agreement signed for E-ELT MAORY adaptive optics system

INAF is involved in scientific collaborations with several international institutions, including: *the European Southern Observatory (Italy has been an ESO member since 1982) *the astronomical observatories located in Canary Islands ( Teide Observatory and

Roque de los Muchachos Observatory Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (, ORM) is an astronomical observatory located in the municipality of Garafía on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain. The observatory site is operated by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Can ...

) *the Large Binocular Telescope, in partnership with the United States and Germany *the Very Long Baseline Interferometry consortium *the

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

(ESA) *the American National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA)

Notable figures

* Giampaolo Vettolani, scientific director * Stefano Cristiani, board member * Nicolò D'Amico, president in 2015-2020

Projects

Projects include: * Mars Multispectral Imager for Subsurface Studies, instrument for the ExoMars rover '' Rosalind Franklin'' * Rapid Eye Mount telescope (REM) *Juno's JIRAM

References

External links

Official website of INAFPublic and press website of INAFWebsite of the Italian Telescopio Nazione GalileoWebsite of the Large Binocular Telescope
(

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...