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 ...

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

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 ...

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount (lexicographer), Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in ...

Research facilities

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

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

: * Bologna Observatory * Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica di Bologna *

Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna The Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna (Institute for Radio Astronomy of Bologna) is one of research facilities of the Italian Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (National Institute for Astrophysics). Staff conduct research in astronomy, physics ...

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 Galile ...

(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 The Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte ( it, Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, italic=no) is the Neapolitan department of Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (National Institute for Astrophysics, INAF), the most important Italian institu ...

(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 The Astronomical Observatory of Rome (''Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma'' in Italian) is one of twelve Astronomical Observatories in Italy. The main site of the Observatory is Monte Porzio Catone. Part of the INAF, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisi ...

* 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, ( it, Osservatorio Astronomico di Collurania "Vincenzo Cerulli"), is an astronomy, astronomical observatory located in Teramo, in Abruzzo region of central Italy. It was founded by Vincenzo Ce ...

Turin Observatory The Observatory of Turin ( it, Osservatorio Astronomico di Torino, links=no, also known as Pino Torinese; obs. code: 022) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Italy's National Institute for Astrophysics ( it, Istituto Nazionale d ...

* Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario di Torino *

Trieste Observatory Astronomical Observatory of Trieste ( it, Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste or OAT) is an astronomical center of studies located in the city of Trieste in northern Italy. Origins The observatory traces its origins from the Nautical School fo ...

Telescopio Nazionale Galileo The Galileo National Telescope, ( it, Telescopio Nazionale Galileo; TNG; code: Z19) is a 3.58-meter Italian telescope, located at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain. The TNG is operated b ...

(

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 The Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) is 64-metre fully steerable radio telescope near San Basilio, Sardinia, San Basilio, Province of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. Completed in 2011, it is a collaboration between the Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bolo ...

( San Basilio,

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

) *

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 Noto ( scn, Notu; la, Netum) is a city and in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy. It is southwest of the city of Syracuse at the foot of the Iblean Mountains. It lends its name to the surrounding area Val di Noto. In 2002 Noto and i ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

)

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 Teide Observatory ( es, Observatorio del Teide), IAU code 954, is an astronomical observatory on Mount Teide at , located on Tenerife, Spain. It has been operated by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias since its inauguration in 1964. It becam ...

and

Roque de los Muchachos Observatory Roque de los Muchachos Observatory ( es, Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, 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 ...

) *the

Large Binocular Telescope The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) is an optical telescope for astronomy located on Mount Graham, in the Pinaleno Mountains of southeastern Arizona, United States. It is a part of the Mount Graham International Observatory. When using both 8 ...

, in partnership with the United States and Germany *the

Very Long Baseline Interferometry Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) is a type of astronomical interferometry used in radio astronomy. In VLBI a signal from an astronomical radio source, such as a quasar, is collected at multiple radio telescopes on Earth or in space. The ...

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, scientific director * Stefano Cristiani, 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 ExoMars (Exobiology on Mars) is an astrobiology programme of the European Space Agency (ESA). The goals of ExoMars are to search for signs of past life on Mars, investigate how the Martian water and geochemical environment varies, investigate ...

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 (REM) *Juno's

JIRAM Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) is an instrument on the ''Juno'' spacecraft in orbit of the planet Jupiter. It is an image spectrometer and was contributed by Italy. Similar instruments are on ESA ''Rosetta'', ''Venus Express'', and '' C ...

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 ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, 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