Italy Roma

National Institute for Astrophysics

The National Institute for Astrophysics (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, INAF) is the Italian national research body for astronomy and astrophysics, established in 1999 and supervised by the Ministry of University and Research. Its headquarters are in Rome, and it brings together the… The National Institute for Astrophysics (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, INAF) is the Italian national research body for astronomy and astrophysics, established in 1999 and supervised by the Ministry of University and Research. Its headquarters are in Rome, and it brings together the historic astronomical observatories of Italy — among them Brera, Padua, Arcetri, Capodimonte, Palermo and Turin — together with institutes for space astrophysics, radio astronomy and cosmic physics, at some sixteen sites nationwide. INAF employs around 1,400 researchers, technologists and technical staff. It operates and shares in major ground-based and space facilities, including the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo on La Palma, the Sardinia Radio Telescope, the Medicina and Noto radio observatories, and Italian participation in ESO, the Square Kilometre Array and numerous ESA and NASA missions. Its research spans cosmology and galaxy evolution, stellar and planetary astrophysics, high-energy astrophysics, solar physics, and the design and construction of astronomical instrumentation.