Davide Mele

Review of Osservatorio astronomico di Pi...

The astronomical observatory of Capodimonte is loc...

The astronomical observatory of Capodimonte is located in a suggestive location, the Miradois hill, a hill close to the palace of Capodimonte. It was the first structure designed and built as an observatory, at the behest of Gioacchino Murat, the works ended in 1819.
Today the observatory is the seat of the Neapolitan section of the National Institute of Astrophysics, INAF, the main Italian body for astronomical and astrophysics research from the ground and from space. The Observatory of Naples is involved in major research areas of modern astrophysics in collaboration with universities and other national and international institutions. At Capodimonte they study the Sun and solar system through the analysis of cosmic dust and construction of tools for key space missions of ESA and ASI. With the observations made to the large telescopes of ESO, located in the Atacama desert in Chile, we investigate the life of the stars, from their formation to the last evolutionary stages characterized by the great explosions of supernovae and gamma-ray bursts, these associated, in some case to the emission of gravitational waves. With the observations of satellites we study the physical properties of extreme objects such as neutron stars and black holes, while with research on the evolution and dynamics of galaxies we understand the properties of dark matter. New generation instruments are designed for the large telescopes of the future such as E-ELT.
Finally, the Capodichino Astronomical Observatory also houses the only public astronomical museum in central-southern Italy open to visitors, the "MuSA" (museum of scientific instruments); which also contains a library, with ancient texts, starting from the middle of the 16th century, works of art, prints, drawings and paintings. The Observatory is open to the public through organized events and conferences, for a guided tour of the museum, and for visits to the new planetarium, one of the largest in Italy by diameter of the structure.