Calar Alto Observatory

Calar Alto Observatory
Organization Max Planck Institute for Astronomy,
Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia
Location Almería, Spain
Coordinates 37°13′25″N 2°32′46″W / 37.22361°N 2.54611°W
Altitude 2,168 m (7,113 ft)
Webpage www.caha.es
Telescopes
telescope 3.5 m reflector
telescope 2.2 m reflector
telescope 1.5 m reflector
telescope 1.23 m reflector
telescope 0.8 m Schmidt reflector
Asteroids discovered: 4
(63429) 2001 MH5 June 21, 2001
(94223) 2001 BU53 January 17, 2001
(99258) 2001 MF5 June 21, 2001
(124143) 2001 ME5 June 21, 2001

The Calar Alto Observatory (Centro Astronómico Hispano-Alemán or Deutsch-Spanisches Astronomisches Zentrum, respectively "German-Spanish Astronomical Centre" and "Spanish-German Astronomical Centre") is an astronomical observatory owned and operated jointly by the Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Max-Planck Institute for Astronomy) in Heidelberg, Germany, and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia - CSIC) in Granada, Spain. It is located in Almería province in Spain on Calar Alto, a 2,168-meter (7,113 ft) high mountain in Sierra de Los Filabres.

History

The site was proposed in 1970, and was officially opened in July 1975 with the commissioning of its 1.2-meter (47 in) telescope. The site developed due German and Spanish cooperation in astronomy. Eventually 4 more telescopes were commissioned.

The Schmidt telescope was moved to Calar Alto in 1976 from the Hamburg Observatory at Bergedorf, where it had been completed in 1954. It was decommissioned in 2000.

Equipment

2.2 meter at Calar Alto

The Max-Planck institute owns a 3.5-meter (138-inch), 2.2 m (87 in), and a 1.23 m (48 in) telescope, and an 80 cm (31 in) Schmidt reflector. The 3.5 meter is the largest telescope on European soil with an Equatorial mount. There is also a 1.5 m (59 in) telescope that is owned and operated by the Spanish OAN.

Work

The CALIFA Survey (Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area Survey) is an astronomical project to map 600 galaxies with imaging spectroscopy (integral field spectroscopy (IFS)).[1]

See Also

References

  1. "Calar Alto Observatory homepage". Centro Astronómico Hispano Alemán. Retrieved December 12, 2005.
  1. S. F. Sánchez et al (February 2012). "CALIFA, the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area survey. I. Survey presentation". Astronomy & Astrophysics 538 (id.A8): 31. Bibcode:2012A&A...538A...8S. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201117353.

External links

Publications

Coordinates: 37°13′14.85″N 2°32′47.67″W / 37.2207917°N 2.5465750°W