NOIRLab

National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab)
	File:NOIRLab logo.svg NOIRLab logo
Motto	Discovering Our Universe Together
Established	2019
Field of research	Astronomy
Director	Patrick McCarthy
Deputy Director	Stuartt Corder
Location	Tucson, Arizona, United States
Sponsoring agency	National Science Foundation
Operating agency	Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy

The National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab^{[pronunciation?]}) is the United States' national facility for ground-based, night-time optical and infrared astronomy. It is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), as a federally funded research and development center.

NOIRLab runs four observatories and a center for scientific software and research data archiving. It provides access to observing time for astronomers affiliated with any US institution.

History

NOIRLab was formed in 2019 by the merger of three predecessor organizations, which were all managed by AURA and funded by NSF. They were:

The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), which managed Kitt Peak Observatory in Arizona, Cerro Tololo Observatory in Chile, and the Community Science and Data Center
The Gemini Observatory, which operated Gemini North in Hawaii and Gemini South in Chile
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which was constructing the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope in Chile

On October 1, 2019, these three organizations merged their operations to form NOIRLab.^[4]

AURA operates the NOIRLab and its facilities under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF).^[5]

NOIRLab operates the following facilities:

Image of the NOIRLab Facilities

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v t e NOIRLab
Programs	Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Gemini Observatory Kitt Peak National Observatory Vera C. Rubin Observatory	File:NOIRLab logo.svg
Telescopes and Instruments	Víctor M. Blanco Telescope Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope DECam
People	Beth Willman Lars Lindberg Christensen Dara Norman
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File:NOIRLab logo.svg NOIRLab logo^[1]
Motto	Discovering Our Universe Together
Established	2019 (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