Kitt Peak Observatory Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Community Science and Data Center
Public visits & activities canceled
As COVID-19 continues to spread globally, NOIRLab is actively responding to the situation and taking measures to ensure the safety of its staff and the public. We are currently not hosting visitors to the summit or base facilities. Visit Coronavirus COVID-19 Measures at NOIRLab for the latest updates on the restart of Science Operations at all locations.
Credit: National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory/AURA/NSF/P. Marenfeld
NOAO Unites with Gemini and LSST
As of 1 October 2019, NOAO has joined with Gemini Observatory and LSST operations to create a new organization, NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NSF’s NOIRLab). As the preeminent US center for ground-based optical-infrared astronomy, the new organization brings together diverse pathways for astronomical exploration, serves as a focal point for community coordination and collaboration, and enables the discoveries of the future. The integration is part of a long-term evolutionary trend and is reminiscent of the origin of NOAO itself.
Read more in this Currents article and in the NSF’s NOIRLab press release.
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NEID, on the 3.5-m WIYN telescope on KPNO, has made its first observations. It will measure the motion of nearby stars with extreme precision, allowing us to typify Earth-sized exoplanets. -
DESI, a new instrument on the Kitt Peak 4-m Mayall telescope has opened its array of thousands of fiber-optic “eyes” to the cosmos and successfully captured the light from distant galaxies. -
Dynamical footprints of two ancient migration events have been uncovered in our galactic neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy, using the KPNO Mayall and Gemini North telescopes. -
Astronomers have discovered the most distant protocluster of galaxies detected to date, 13 billion light years away. NOAO astronomer Chien-Hsiu Lee is a member of the discovery team. -
The Event Horizon Telescope team that made the first image of a supermassive black hole has been awarded the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. NOAO Astronomer Tod Lauer is a team member. -
Pandia, Ersa, Eirene, Philophrosyne and Eupheme — these are the new names of five of the moons of Jupiter that were discovered last year with the Dark Energy Camera on the Blanco 4-m telescope at CTIO. -
The SOAR telescope at CTIO has just completed the first observing night for AEON, a new network of telescopes designed to enable rapid follow up of the changing night sky.
NOAO is the national center for ground-based nighttime astronomy in the United States and is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA). under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. If you would like information about solar astronomy, visit the National Solar Observatory. If you would like information about radio astronomy, visit the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.