The Departament d'Astronomia i Astrofísica (DAA) is responsible for coordinating the teachings in accordance with the program of the Universitat de València and for promoting research and other academic activities related to the field of Astronomy and Astrophysics and Relativity and Gravitation local area.
The department is affiliated with the Faculty of Physics.
The department was created at the meeting of 26 April 1994 (AJGUV 94/90) of the Board of Governors of the University of Valencia. The department began operating from 1 January 1995.
The Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics was formed initially from two groups of teachers from the Department of Theoretical Physics and Department of Applied Mathematics and Astronomy.
Nowadays, research in the department is divided into four main groups:
- Cosmology Group
This group studies the formation, evolution and properties of the galaxies and their associations. Also the Cosmic Microwave Background (FCM) is investigated in the context of the Planck mission.
- Group of Astronomy and Space Sciences
This group is dedicated to high energy astronomy and to the development of instrumentation for space missions.
- Relativistic Astrophysics Group
The research of this group is dedicated to understanding the underlying physics and dynamics of some of the most representative scenarios in the field of relativistic astrophysics.
- Radio Astronomy Group
This group applies the techniques of radio astronomy to galactic and extragalactic sources and to astrometry advance.
It also has some research projects in solar physics and light pollution.
The Department of Astronomy has the Astro Lab (Aula d'Astronomia), a teaching laboratory of the department, where students practice the subjects of Astronomy. Its purpose is to familiarize the student directly to knowlwdge of the celestial
objects using the usual methods and techniques in this discipline.
However, a commitment to bring the science of astronomy in society, this Astro Lab is also open to the general public and assumes a outreach task. This offer is useful both for schools and for groups or individuals interested in observing the sky.
