Institutt for teoretisk astrofysikk | |
 The institute is located in Svein Rosselands hus at Blindern | |
| Abbreviation | ITA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1833 (as the Observatory), 1934 (as ITA) |
| Founders | Christopher Hansteen (the Observatory), Svein Rosseland (ITA) |
| Location |
|
| Coordinates | 59°56′19″N 10°43′04″E / 59.9386°N 10.7179°E |
| Leader | Per Barth Lilje |
Parent organization | University of Oslo |
Staff (2019) | ~65 (including 15 professors). ~20 Msc students |
| Website | astro |
Formerly called | 'Observatoriet' (lit. 'The Observatory') |
The Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics (Norwegian: Institutt for teoretisk astrofysikk, abbreviated ITA) is a research and teaching institute dedicated to astronomy, astrophysics and solar physics located at Blindern in Oslo, Norway. It is a department of The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Oslo. It was founded in its current form by Svein Rosseland with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation in 1934, and was the first of its kind in the world when it opened. Prior to that, it existed as the University Observatory which was created in 1833. It thus is one of the university's oldest institutions. As of 2019, it houses research groups in cosmology, extragalactic astronomy, and The Rosseland Centre for Solar Physics, a Norwegian Centre of Excellence.