With its headquarters at
Bangalore, The Indian Institute of Astrophysics is a premier national center devoted to research in astronomy, astrophysics, and related sciences. Its laboratories are situated at
Kodaikanal,
Kavalur,
Gauribidanur, Hanle and Hosakote.
The Institute traces its origin back to the Madras Observatory, set up in 1786. Indian Institute of Astrophysics had its first headquarters at Kodaikanal, before it was moved to Bangalore in 1976.
The year 1988 was phenomenal for the IIAP, when it discovered a new minor planet, which was named Ramanujan, after the Indian mathematical genius, Srinivasa Ramanujan. This was the first such discovery from India in the 20th century.
There is a vigorous graduate studies program here which gives much impetus to research and training. Students enrolled for full-time PhD take a 1-year course and complete a 3-month project before working on their theses. The Institute is also a major partner in the educational venture called Joint Astronomy Programme (JAP), organized by the Indian Institute of Science. The Nehru Planetarium and Science Park are associated with IIAP.
IIAP is about 11 km from the HAL Airport and 10 km from Bangalore City railway Station.
