The Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy) is a research institute of the Max Planck Society. It is located in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany near the top of the Koenigstuhl, adjacent to the historic Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl astronomical observatory.
The institute was founded in 1967. Its founding directors were H. Elsässer and G. Munch, who were followed by K.-H. Böhm, G. H. Herbig, and S. V. W. Beckwith. The current directors are Hans-Walter Rix and Thomas Henning.
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Current research interests include formation of planets, stars in the group of Thomas Henning and galaxies and cosmology in the group of Hans-Walter Rix.
The MPIA also builds instruments or parts of them for ground-based telescopes and satellites, including the following:
The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Astronomy and Cosmic Physics is a graduate program offering a Ph.D. in astrophysics. The school is run in cooperation with the University of Heidelberg.