IV Edition of the National Competition "Young Astronomers at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo"
The Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) is pleased to announce the IV Edition of the National Competition "Giovani Astronomi al Telescopio Nazionale Galileo", organised in collaboration with the Società Astronomica Italiana (SAIt) and the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF).
The competition is open to students in the third, fourth and fifth years of Italian high schools, including Italian schools abroad, and aims to promote scientific and technological skills through astronomy.
The initiative encourages curiosity, creativity, independent thinking and teamwork, giving students the opportunity to work on a real astronomical research problem and discover the world of scientific research. Through this experience, the competition aims to contribute to the scientific education of the younger generation, bringing research into the classroom and stimulating students’ curiosity and desire to explore science. Students will have the opportunity to experience the work of a researcher firsthand, tackling a real scientific problem and taking part in the different stages of the research process, from the initial idea to the observations and the interpretation of the results, while discovering the wonders of the Universe
How to participate
To encourage the widest possible participation by schools, making the competition accessible also to students with less specific knowledge of astronomy, while at the same time providing more targeted support to the schools selected for the second phase, the competition is divided into two phases.
First phase
At the time of registration, each school must submit, by completing the appropriate form, a first description of the observing proposal it intends to carry out at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, according to the instructions provided in Annex 1. The link to the registration form is also provided in Annex 1.
The form must be completed by 23:59 on 27 November 2026.
Among all the proposals received, the Selection Committee will select 10 teams to proceed to the second phase. The results of the selection will be published on 11 January 2027.
Second phase
The 10 selected schools will be assigned a tutor, if requested, who will support them in developing and preparing their final observing proposal.
The proposal must be prepared according to the instructions provided in Annex 2 and submitted by 23:59 on 12 March 2027, in PDF format, as an attachment to the application for the final phase of the competition. The application form will be made available to the schools selected after the first phase.
Each school may submit only one observing proposal, prepared by a team of no more than five students and one science teacher, who will act as the project contact person. The formation of mixed teams of girls and boys is strongly encouraged.
The selected team will have the opportunity to carry out the observations needed to complete its proposal directly at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo.
The final results of the competition will be published on 9 April 2027.
Competition documents
- Call for applications – National Competition “Young Astronomers at the TNG” – IV Edition
- Annex 1 – IV Edition: Registration form and presentation of the observing proposal for the first selection
- Annex 2 – IV Edition: Form for the presentation of the observing proposal for the second selection. The form will be made available exclusively to the teams selected for the second phase.
- Letter of invitation to schools – IV Edition
S.O.F.I.A. Training Platform
To facilitate the work of both students and teachers, new webinars will be held during October and early November as part of a training course recognised for teachers’ professional training and development. The course will be included on the S.O.F.I.A. platform of the Italian Ministry of Education and Merit (MIM).
More information about the competition is available on the dedicated competition page.
Contact us: concorso-tng@inaf.it