Nucleus of Teaching and Research in Astronomy (NEPA) of University of State of Amazonas

The Nucleus of Teaching and  Research in Astronomy (NEPA) of the University of  State of  Amazonas, located in the North Region of Brazil.

NEPA's infrastructure is composed of two planetariums - one located in Manaus (capital of Amazonas state) and the other in Parintins (an island located 27 hours by boat from Manaus); one ST 40/400 PST coronal telescope and two Greika telescopes of 114mm diameter; A pedagogical laboratory (where educational materials are produced), a mini-auditorium; a library specialised in Astronomy and Astronautics; a remote station to monitor NEOs; a mini-laboratory with 5 computers; a co-ordination room and secretariat.

The NEPA team is composed of the coordinator - Nelio Sasaki and 25 women, therefore it is a mostly female team. We encourage the engagement of women in Astronomy, in agreement with the 17 SDGs suggested by UN/UNESCO, agenda 2030 and IAU/OAD.

Besides female participation, NEPA's projects are geared towards the following purposes: educational - promoting inclusive education; scientific dissemination; social - helping to develop the North region of Brazil, welcoming young people in vulnerable situations.

At NEPA, there are 24 research lines, namely: 1. Astrobiology, 2. Astrophilosophy, 3. Astrophysics, 4. Astrophotography, 5. Astrogeography, 6. Astrogeology, 7. Astrohistory, 8. Astrolanguage, 9. Astronomy and Arts, 10. Astromathematics, 11. Astromusicality, 12. Cultural astronomy, 13. Afro-Brazilian astronomy, 14. Astronomy for the deaf community, 15. Astronomy for students with low vision, 16. Astronomy for Down's Syndrome students, 17. Brazilian Indigenous astronomy; 18. Astropedagogy, 19. Astrochemistry, 20. Robotics; 21. Space Engineering; 22. Astronomy within the planetarium; 23. Observational Astronomy; 24. Female Empowerment in Astronomy and Astronautics.

In 2020, during the beginning of the Pandemic, the Republic of South Africa, in partnership with other African institutions, launched a call for proposals in which there was funding for projects in the middle of the pandemic. NEPA was one of the beneficiaries of the funding. Since 2020, the money invested by South Africa has helped many young people, families, students and teachers to overcome this moment of the pandemic, and at the same time, to get involved in astronomy and related sciences.