NOIRLab

{{Third-party|date=August 2020}}

{{Infobox laboratory

| name = National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab)

| motto = Discovering Our Universe Together

| logo = NOIRLab logo.svg

| logo_caption = NOIRLab logo{{cite web |title=NOIRLab logo |url=https://www.noirlab.edu/public/about/logo/ |accessdate=27 August 2020}}

| research_field = Astronomy

| city = Tucson

| state = Arizona

| country = United States

| director = Patrick McCarthy{{Cite web|title=Leadership |url=https://noirlab.edu/public/about/leadership/ |access-date=2023-01-22 |website=noirlab.edu |language=en}}

| head_label = Deputy Director

| head = Stuartt Corder{{Cite web|title=Stuartt Corder Appointed NOIRLab Deputy Director and AURA Mission Scientist in Chile - Stuartt Corder will start as Deputy Director of NOIRLab and AURA Mission Scientist in Chile on 7 November. |url=https://www.noirlab.edu/public/announcements/ann22024/ |access-date=2023-01-22 |website=www.noirlab.edu |language=en}}

| free_label = Sponsoring agency

| free = National Science Foundation

| operating_agency = Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy

| established = {{start date|2019}}

| website = {{official URL}}

}}

The National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab{{pronunciation needed|date=December 2024}}) 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:

On October 1, 2019, these three organizations merged their operations to form NOIRLab.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2019-10-01|title=NSF's National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory Launched|url=https://noirlab.edu/public/news/noirlab1909/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-09-11|website=}}

Organization

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AURA operates the NOIRLab and its facilities under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF).{{Cite web|title=NOIRLab|url=https://www.aura-astronomy.org/centers/nsfs-oir-lab/|access-date=2020-09-11|website=AURA Astronomy|language=en-US}}

Facilities

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NOIRLab operates the following facilities:

References