INAF

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica

Established	1999
Location	Rome, Italy
Website	http://www.inaf.it/

The National Institute for Astrophysics (Italian: Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, INAF) is the most important Italian institution conducting scientific research in astronomy and astrophysics. Researches performed by the scientific staff of the Institute go from the study of the planets and minor bodies of the solar system up to researches of cosmological interest such as the large-scale structure of the Universe and groups and clusters of galaxies.^[1]

Research facilities

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

• Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna
• Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica di Bologna
• Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna
• Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari
• Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania
• Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri
• Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera (Milano)
• Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica di Milano
• Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Naples
• Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova
• Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo
• Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica di Palermo
• Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma
• Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica di Roma
• Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario di Roma
• Osservatorio Astronomico di Teramo
• Osservatorio Astronomico di Torino
• Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario di Torino
• Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste
• Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (Canary Islands, Spain)

International partnerships

Agreement signed for E-ELT MAORY adaptive optics system.^[2]

INAF is involved in scientific collaborations with several international institutions, among which we mention:

• 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)
• the Large Binocular Telescope, in partnership with the United States and Germany
• the Very Long Baseline Interferometry consortium
• the European Space Agency (ESA)
• the American National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA)

Notable figures

• Giovanni Fabrizio Bignami, president of INAF since 2011^[3]

See also

• Rapid Eye Mount telescope

References

1. "National Institute for Astrophysics—Home". INAF. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
2. "Agreement Signed for E-ELT MAORY Adaptive Optics System".
3. Curriculum vitae di Giovanni Fabrizio Bignami

External links

• Official website of INAF
• Public and press website of INAF
• Website of the Italian Telescopio Nazione Galileo
• Website of the Large Binocular Telescope (Arizona, US)
• Italian Astronomical Archive Center
• VObs.it: Italian Virtual Observatory