Medicina Radio Observatory

Medicina Radio Observatory lies about 30 km from Bologna, Italy, home to two of the country's most striking radio telescopes and a long-running programme of radio astronomy research.

About Medicina Radio Observatory

The observatory is operated by the Institute for Radio Astronomy of Italy's National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF). Its main instrument is a 32-metre diameter parabolic antenna that observes between 1.4 and 23 GHz.

Telescopes & research

The 32-metre dish works as a single-dish instrument for astrophysical observations such as water and methanol maser spectroscopy, as well as SETI experiments and radar monitoring of Near-Earth Objects. In interferometric mode it also functions as a VLBI station, forming part of the European VLBI Network (EVN). Alongside it stands the Northern Cross, a vast 564 by 640 metre multi-element cylindrical-parabolic transit radio telescope used for observations at 408 MHz — one of the largest transit radio telescopes in the world.

Location & getting there

The site is situated in the countryside about 30 km from Bologna in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy.

Visiting Medicina Radio Observatory

As an active scientific research facility, access is more limited than at a typical public observatory. Check the official Medicina Radio Observatory website for information on tours or open days before planning a visit.

See your named star from here

While Medicina's giant dishes are tuned to radio wavelengths rather than visible light, they illustrate just how precisely an instrument can be pointed at a set of sky coordinates. A named star's exact position, found in the star catalogue, could be located with the same kind of precision using an optical telescope.