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More than 1,400: the number of people that work for INAF, made-up of researchers (including research students and post-docs), technicians and administrative staff, that make everything possible. 19: the number of national research institutes, and one in the Canaries which operates the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. 91 million euro: the basic operational fund assigned to INAF. Divided by the number of employees (or researchers) this corresponds to a pro capite basic operating grant which is amongst the lowest of the research organisations overseen by the MIUR (ministry of research). 200: the number of international research institutes that collaborate with INAF. Between 3,000 and 4,000 (8-11 a day): the scientific publications (articles, posters, popular articles) written by INAF researchers each year. 13: the number of INAF or INAF-associated researchers who appear in the list of "Highly Cited" Italian scientists in all disciplines (including the president and three members of the "Consiglio Scientifico" - the scientific advisory panel). 10 terabytes, equivalent to 2,000 DVDs: INAF's digital astronomical data archive. The archive grows by 55 gigabytes (12 DVDs) per day. 13 billion light years: the distance to the most distant object observed by an INAF researcher; a world record. It's a gamma ray burst produced by the explosion of a star when the Universe was only 5% of its current age. 1.3 billion kilometres: the distance to the farthest INAF instrument. This is VIMS, the spectrometer on-board the Cassini probe in orbit around Saturn. 34,000 square metres: the combined surface area of INAF's radio telescopes; the same as Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome, able to host a million people. Each parabola is able to detect the radio signal from a mobile phone on the Moon, 400,000 kilometres away. 2,000: the number of gamma ray bursts discovered by space missions in which Italy participates, 1,300 of which by the "made in Italy" satellites Beppo Sax and AGILE. 125,000: the number of ancient volumes of physics and astronomy in INAF's historic libraries, including twenty or so incunabula, books from the end of the 15th century, amongst the first printed using the movable type invented by Gutenberg.

Unlocking the secrets of the first Quasars: how they defy the laws of Physics to grow

Nov 20, 2024

Unlocking the secrets of the first Quasars: how they defy the laws of Physics to grow New evidence has been discovered explaining how supermassive black holes formed in the first billion years of the Universe's life. The study, conducted by INAF researchers, analyses 21 distant quasars and reveals that these objects are in a phase of extremely rapid accretion. This provides valuable insights into their formation and evolution, together with that of their host galaxies

Filippo Zerbi elected as chairperson of the SKAO Council from 2025

Nov 06, 2024

Filippo Zerbi elected as chairperson of the SKAO Council from 2025 Italian astrophysicist Dr Filippo Zerbi has been elected as the next chairperson of the SKA Observatory Council, the intergovernmental organisation’s governing body

The first 3D view of the formation and evolution of globular clusters

Nov 05, 2024

The first 3D view of the formation and evolution of globular clusters A study published today in Astronomy & Astrophysics marks a significant milestone in our understanding of the formation and dynamical evolution of multiple stellar populations in globular clusters