CENTRA is a research unit of Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Lisbon. Black holes, gravitational waves, big bang, inflationary universe, supernovae, solar physics and stars are the main topics of research of CENTRA.

CENTRA is composed of three groups: Gravitation in Técnico (GRIT), Scientific and Space Instrumentation and Modeling (SIM) and Cosmos and Stars (COSTAR) and its members are at IST, Universidade do Algarve, Faculdade de Ciências of Universidade de Lisboa, and Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto.