NSF’s NOIRLab (National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory) is a United States federally funded research and development center for ground-based, nighttime optical and infrared astronomy.
Motto | Discovering Our Universe Together |
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Established | 2019 |
Field of research | Astronomy |
Director | Patrick McCarthy[2] |
Deputy Director | Stuartt Corder[3] |
Location | Tucson, Arizona, United States |
Sponsoring agency | National Science Foundation |
Operating agency | Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy |
Website | noirlab |
Before the foundation of the NOIRLab, NSF-sponsored optical-infrared ground-based astronomical facilities were managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), but were structured as separate organizations. These included the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), which managed Kitt Peak, Cerro Tololo, and the Community Science and Data Center. AURA also managed Gemini Observatory as well as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, then under construction. On October 1, 2019, these three observatories merged operations to form NOIRLab.[4]
The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) operates the NOIRLab and its facilities under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF).[5]
NOIRLab operates the following programs: