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14-840: 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

28-626: A risk of impacting Earth in the few weeks following their discovery (see Potentially hazardous objects and § Videos ) . The Minor Planet Center was set up at the University of Cincinnati in 1947, under the direction of Paul Herget . Upon Herget's retirement on June 30, 1978, the MPC was moved to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, under the direction of Brian G. Marsden . From 2006 to 2015,

42-610: Is a project to examine approximately 300 M-dwarf stars for signs of exoplanets with the CARMENES instrument on Calar Alto's 3.5m telescope. Operating since 2016, it aims to find Earth-sized exoplanets around 2 M E ( Earth masses ) using Doppler spectroscopy (also called the radial velocity method). Close to a hundred minor planets have been discovered at Calar Alto by astronomers Luboš Kohoutek , Kurt Birkle , Ulrich Hopp , Johann Baur , Krisztián Sárneczky , Gyula Szabó , Felix Hormuth and Hermann Boehnhardt . In addition,

56-742: Is the largest telescope on European soil with an equatorial mount . There is also a 1.52 m (60 in) telescope that is owned and operated by the Spanish National Observatory and a robotic telescope operated by the Spanish Astrobiology Center (CAB). 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) ). The CARMENES survey (Calar Alto high-Resolution search for M-dwarfs with Exoearths with Near-infrared and optical Échelle Spectrographs)

70-607: Is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory . The Minor Planet Center is the official worldwide organization in charge of collecting observational data for minor planets (such as asteroids ), calculating their orbits and publishing this information via

84-647: The Minor Planet Circulars . Under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory , which is part of the Center for Astrophysics along with the Harvard College Observatory . The MPC runs a number of free online services for observers to assist them in observing minor planets and comets. The complete catalogue of minor planet orbits (sometimes referred to as

98-663: The Minor Planet Center , directly credits "Calar Alto" with the discovery of the following minor planets: Max Planck Institute for Astronomy Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 547316494 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:54:57 GMT Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center ( MPC )

112-517: The "Minor Planet Catalogue") may also be freely downloaded. In addition to astrometric data, the MPC collects light curve photometry of minor planets. A key function of the MPC is helping observers coordinate follow up observations of possible near-Earth objects (NEOs) via its NEO web form and blog, the Near-Earth Object Confirmation Page . The MPC is also responsible for identifying, and alerting to, new NEOs with

126-505: The 4-meter Eastern Anatolian Observatory telescope, 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. The site was proposed in 1970, and was officially opened in July 1975 with

140-683: 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 to cosmology (the Alhambra and CALIFA surveys), including the search for exoplanets (the CARMENES survey). The 3.5-meter telescope is the second-largest telescope in mainland Europe after

154-834: The MPC. The MPC periodically releases astrometric observations of minor planets, as well as of comets and natural satellites . These publications are the Minor Planet Circulars (MPCs), the Minor Planet Electronic Circulars (MPECs), and the Minor Planet Supplements (MPSs and MPOs). An extensive archive of publications in a PDF format is available at the Minor Planet Center's website. The archive's oldest publication dates back to 1 November 1977 (MPC 4937–5016). The Natural Satellites Ephemeris Service

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168-495: The commissioning of its 1.23-meter (48 in) telescope. The site developed thanks to German and Spanish cooperation in astronomy. Eventually, four 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. The observatory hosted the finish of Stage 11 of the 2017 Vuelta a España cycling race (the stage

182-459: The director of the MPC was Timothy Spahr , who oversaw a staff of five. From 2015 to 2021, the Minor Planet Center was headed by interim director Matthew Holman . Under his leadership, the MPC experienced a significant period of reorganization and growth, doubling both its staff size and the volume of observations processed per year. Upon Holman's resignation on February 9, 2021 (announced on February 19, 2021) Matthew Payne became acting director of

196-472: Was won by Miguel Ángel López ), having previously hosted stage finishes in 2004 (won by eventual race champion Roberto Heras ) and 2006 (won by Igor Antón ). Calar Alto was climbed on Stage 9 of the Vuelta (AUG 2021). There are 4 main telescopes on site: 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

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