Calar Alto Observatory

Calar Alto Observatory
	Enclosure of the 2.2-meter telescope at Calar Alto Observatory
Alternative names	Spanish Astronomical Centre in Andalusia
Organization	Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC); Council of Andalusia
Observatory code	493
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)
Website	www.caha.es
Telescopes
Unnamed
Unnamed	3.5 m reflector; 37°13′15″N 2°32′49″W / 37.220791°N 2.5468465°W
Unnamed	2.2 m reflector; 37°13′23″N 2°32′46″W / 37.2231427°N 2.5461943°W
Unnamed	1.5 m reflector; 37°13′30″N 2°32′55″W / 37.2249718°N 2.5484985°W
Unnamed	1.23 m reflector; 37°13′23″N 2°32′52″W / 37.223074°N 2.5476775°W
Unnamed	0.8 m Schmidt reflector; 37°13′26″N 2°32′54″W / 37.223927°N 2.5483678°W
	Location of Calar Alto Observatory
	Related media on Commons
	[edit on Wikidata]

Minor planets discovered: 7 ^[1]
see § List of discovered minor planets

The Calar Alto Observatory (Centro Astronómico Hispano en Andalucía or "Spanish Astronomical Centre in Andalusia") is an astronomical observatory located in Almería province in Spain on Calar Alto, a 2,168-meter-high (7,113 ft) mountain in the Sierra de Los Filabres subrange of the Sierra Nevada.^[2]

Until 2018, Calar Alto was owned and operated jointly by the German Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, and the Spanish Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC) in Granada. It was named the "German–Spanish Astronomical Centre" (in Spanish, Centro Astronómico Hispano-Alemán (CAHA); in German, Deutsch-Spanisches Astronomisches Zentrum). In 2019, the Council of Andalusia takes over the German partner, sharing the observatory with the Spanish National Research Council through its head institute, IAA-CSIC.

Calar Alto telescopes are used for a broad range of observations, from objects in the Solar System^[2] to cosmology (the Alhambra and CALIFA surveys), including the search for exoplanets (the CARMENES survey).

The 3.5-meter telescope is the largest telescope in mainland Europe, though there are three larger telescopes on the Spanish island of La Palma at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory. The minor planet 189202 Calar Alto, discovered by Felix Hormuth at Starkenburg Observatory in 2003, was named in honor of the observatory site.^[2]

^ Cite error: The named reference MPC-Discoverers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b ^c Cite error: The named reference MPC-Calar Alto was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[MPC-Discoverers-1] Cite error: The named reference MPC-Discoverers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[MPC-Calar_Alto-2] Cite error: The named reference MPC-Calar Alto was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1]

[2]