The "Giuseppe S. Vaiana" astronomical observatory in Palermo, housed in the Norman Palace, is one of the research facilities of the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF).
Various research projects in the field of astronomy and astrophysics are carried out in the observatory, including the study of the solar and stellar corona, the birth and stellar evolution and the study of supernova remnants.
An integral part of the observatory structures is a laboratory for the development and testing of scientific instrumentation for telescopes in the X-ray band (X-ray Astronomy Calibration and Testing Facility, XACT) located in a branch, a high-tech computing center. services for the implementation of numerical models of astrophysical interest (Computing system for numerical astrophysics, SCAN) and the Museo della Specola, which contains a vast collection of astronomical instruments belonging to the Observatory.
The "Museo della Specola", located at the top of the Pisan tower of the Norman palace, is mainly composed of instruments from the 18th and 19th centuries, among which we find achromatic telescopes, a sextant, some barometers and thermometers, in addition to the two main devices already mentioned: the Ramsden circle and the Troughton equatorial.
There are other contemporary tools and a series of oil paintings that portray personalities from the scientific world.
INAF - Palermo Astronomical Observatory - Giuseppe S. Vaiana - Norman Palace
Address: Piazza del Parlamento, 1
Phone: +39 091 233111
Site:
http://www.astropa.inaf.it/Location inserted by
CHO.earth