The National Institute for Astrophysics ( it, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, or INAF) is an Italian

research institute A research institute, research centre, research center 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 i ...

in astronomy and

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

, 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 their f ...

to cosmology.

Research facilities

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

Bologna Observatory Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

* Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica di Bologna * Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna *

Cagliari Observatory The Cagliari Observatory ( it, Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, or OAC) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Italy's Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (National Institute for Astrophysics, INAF). It is located 20 km away ...

Catania Observatory The Catania Observatory ( it, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania) is an astronomical observatory in the city of Catania, on the island of Sicily in southern Italy. It is operated by INAF, the National Institute for Astrophysics. See also * List ...

Arcetri Observatory The Arcetri Observatory ( it, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri) is an astrophysical observatory located in the hilly area of Arcetri on the outskirts of Florence, Italy. It is located close to Villa Il Gioiello, the residence of Galileo Gal ...

(Florence) *

Brera Observatory The Brera Observatory ( it, Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera) is an astronomical observatory in the Brera district of Milan, Italy. It was built in the historic Palazzo Brera in 1764 by the Jesuit astronomer Roger Boscovich. Following the suppre ...

(Milan) * Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica di Milano * Capodimonte Observatory (Naples) * Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova *

Palermo Observatory The Giuseppe S. Vaiana Astronomical Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in Palermo, Sicily, Italy, housed inside the Palazzo dei Normanni. It is one of the research facilities of the National Institute of Astrophysics. The observat ...

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

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

, Spain) * Sardinia Radio Telescope ( San Basilio, Sardinia) *

Noto Radio Observatory The Noto VLBI Station is a radio observatory located on Sicily, southern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterrane ...

( Noto, Sicily)

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 The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 mem ...

(Italy has been an ESO member since 1982) *the astronomical observatories located in Canary Islands ( Teide Observatory and Roque de los Muchachos Observatory) *the Large Binocular Telescope, in partnership with the United States and Germany *the Very Long Baseline Interferometry consortium *the

European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...

(ESA) *the American

National Aeronautic and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

(NASA)

Notable figures

Giampaolo Vettolani Giampaolo Vettolani (born 27 December 1950) is an Italian astrophysicist, scientific director of the National Institute for Astrophysics in Rome (INAF) since 2012. Biography In 1973 he graduated with a distinction in physics from the Universi ...

, scientific director *

Stefano Cristiani Stefano Cristiani, (born 4 November 1958) is an Italian astronomer and astrophysicist. Career Cristiani graduated in Physics at the University of Rome La Sapienza, carrying out his thesis work at the Asiago Astrophysical Observatory. He held a ...

, board member *

Nicolò D'Amico Nicolò D'Amico (1953-2020), also known as Nichi D’Amico, was an astronomer and President of Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica. Personal life He was born on 28 June 1953 in Palermo. He was married and had a daughter. He died on 15 September ...

, president in 2015-2020

Projects

Projects include: *

Mars Multispectral Imager for Subsurface Studies Mars Multispectral Imager for Subsurface Studies (MA-MISS) is a miniaturized imaging spectrometer designed to provide imaging and spectra by reflectance in the near-infrared (NIR) wavelength region and determine the mineral composition and stratig ...

, instrument for the ExoMars rover ''

Rosalind Franklin Rosalind Elsie Franklin (25 July 192016 April 1958) was a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid), viruses, co ...

'' *

Rapid Eye Mount telescope The Rapid Eye Mount telescope (REM) is a fully automatic, 60 cm aperture telescope located at ESO's La Silla Observatory at 2,400 metres altitude on the edge of the Atacama Desert in Chile. The telescope's aim is to catch the afterglows of gam ...

(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, US)
Italian Astronomical Archive CenterVObs.it: Italian Virtual Observatory
Research institutes in Italy Astrophysics institutes Rome Q. XV Della Vittoria 1999 establishments in Italy {{italy-org-stub