National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) is an American astronomical research institute that operates national facilities for ground-based nighttime optical and infrared astronomy. These include the Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona; Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile; and the Sunspot Solar Observatory in New Mexico. NOAO also manages US participation in international astronomical projects such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Gemini Observatory, Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, and Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
The mission of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory is to enable forefront research into the nature of our universe through innovative technology, instrumentation, and software development for ground-based telescopes; to train a new generation of scientists and engineers to use these tools; and to provide leadership in US efforts in wide-field imaging surveys of the sky.
NOAO was created within the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) by a merger between two long-standing organizations: Kitt Peak National Laboratory (KPNL), which operated Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO); and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO). KPNL had been established by AURA in 1958 as a center for technology development related to astronomical instrumentation and telescope construction; CTIO had been founded by AURA member institutions in 1962 as a southern hemisphere site for large telescopes. The two laboratories merged on October 1st, 1979 under a single directorate with headquarters at CTIO. From 1979 until 2018, KPNO functioned as a second division of NOAO known as NOAO West with its own staff and operations independent from those at CTIO. In March 2018, AURA announced that KPNL would be dissolved and its assets transferred back to NOAO East at CTIO; this transition was completed on October 1st, 2018.
As part of its mandate to operate national facilities open to all qualified researchers regardless of institutional affiliation or nationality, NOAO provides visitors programs at both Kitt Peak National Observatory and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory that offer observing time on several telescopes to astronomers who are not members of the host institutions’ faculties or staffs. Approximately 1200 visitor nights per year are awarded through a competitive proposal process overseen by scientific committees composed mostly of external reviewers.
In addition to operating world-class astronomical facilities available to all researchers through peer review proposals, NOAO is also responsible for developing state-of-the art instruments & software necessary for cutting edge science while simultaneously providing training & support so that users can maximize their scientific productivity using these tools