OARPAF at DIFILab

The Regional Astronomical Observatory of the Antola Park in Fascia (OARPAF) is located in an area with very low optical pollution in the Ligurian Apennines: it is equipped with a very modern 80 cm optical telescope and has a latest generation planetarium and a conference room.

An agreement is in place with the Antola Park Authority for the management and use of the observatory by DIFI students and researchers. OARPAF represents a physically detached but logically integrated section of DIFILab. To enhance its usability for scientific, educational and dissemination purposes, DIFI has contributed to the work to make the tool completely and easily usable even remotely. DIFI is also the leader of the interdepartmental center for observations and research in astronomical sciences ORSA.

OARPAF is therefore configured as a unique infrastructure to allow the field test of optical detectors designed in the context of DIFILAB and in collaboration with the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF).

A SBIG CCD camera, an ATIK CCD camera and a high-resolution Echelle spectrograph are already present at OARPAF.

New instruments were also purchased.

  • a STX-16801 SBIG class 1 CCD camera with low noise, equipped with a filter wheel, a set of Johnson-Cousins photometric filters, an H-alpha filter and an adaptive optics system;
  • a LHires III spectrograph.

Hardware and software infrastructural improvements were also completed for the remote control and use of the telescope by several players, both for science and for dissemination and advanced teaching.