A guide for visiting astronomers on Calar Alto
In this guide you will find useful information for your stay at
Centro Astronómico
Hispano en Andalucía (CAHA) on
Calar Alto. Part of this information may also be of interest for remote
observers. If it is your first time on the mountain, please read this introduction carefully in order
to get acquainted with the basic rules of the observatory.
In the following you find information about:
(the little green arrow
brings you back to the index)
Preparing your stay
The Calar Alto staff wants to provide you with adequate support to make
your stay as pleasant and productive as possible. In order
to do this, it is important for us to get detailed information about:
- Who will be observing.
- Dates of arrival and departure.
- Any special requirement for your stay (e.g. food allergies).
- Full details about the required instrumentation: filters, grisms...
Please send us this complete information at least 2 weeks in advance
using the form
Arrival and Needs of Guest Observers (please fill in one form per observer/run).
Calar Alto returns a receipt (maybe with a delay of 4-5 days).
In case you don't receive
anything please contact us by phone (+34 950 632 500) or by email.
Here you find briefly what you may expect during your stay:
- A fully dedicated staff.
- Comfortable logding and good food.
- A technical library (in the laboratory) with old periodicals, catalogues, sky atlases and handbooks.
- Computers (Linux/Windows operating systems) for basic data reduction and analysis.
- A car during nighttime (see On site transportation).
- A torch.
- A library (in the hotel) with belletristic literature.
- Music players in the hotel lobby, as well as in the observer's
rooms
of the telescopes.
- A TV room, small gymnasium, billiard, table soccer and table tennis for leisure/sports.
- Prepare euros or a credit card to pay the bill for the
hotel, meals, merchandising, taxi, ... Foreign currencies
cannot be accepted.
- Bring warm clothes. In spite of its latitude, the temperatures during the day on
Calar Alto rarely
exceed 25°C in summer and can reach -10°C in winter. Expect ca. 10°C less at night. From
November to April you should reckon with snow.
Prices (VAT included)
| Room (without breakfast) as of January 1st, 2024 |
50.00 € | Meals |
16€ |
| Taxi
| LEI airport - Calar Alto | 80.00 € |
| Almería - Calar Alto | 70.00 € |
| Almería - Airport | 14.00 € |
| Waiting time | 10.00 € / hour |
| Gergal (train station) - Calar Alto | 47.50 € |
Breakfast is served by vending machines (bread, fruits and yogurts are available for free).
General
Upon arrival at the "Hotel" (ring the bell or call from the phone inside the white box), each Visiting Astronomer (VA) picks up an envelope
at the entrance containing the apartment key, a torch, an electronic card
for the cafeteria as well as a couple of forms needing the VA signature. The VA may also check out an alarm clock
from the administration office, to be returned before leaving
Calar Alto.
The hotel contains the administration office, the cafeteria,
lounges incl. TV and leisure rooms, and
dormitories.
Additional astronomer's lodging (apartments) lie in a separate complex near the hotel
(see map).
All meals are prepared by an external catering service from a nearby village (Las Menas de Serón). Lunch or/and dinners have to be ordered in a sheet displayed in the hotel cafeteria (the first day meals can be specified in the
arrival form). Make sure that you
have placed your orders in advance by checking on the sheet provided.
The latest ordering time for lunch, served at 13:00 hours, is 11:00 hours.
The latest ordering time for dinner is 15:00 hours.
Dinner (local) time varies according to the season:
- 17:00 (CET) from last Sunday of October to last Saturday in March.
- 18:30 (CEST) from April to October.
Breakfast may be taken at any time (self service). Hot and cold drinks are
also available via self service.
If you have special requirements for food (e.g. allergies) or lodging please inform us in advance in the
arrival form and check again with the administrative staff upon arrival.
SPECIAL NOTE: speaking about food, please do NOT feed the wildlife at Calar Alto! This is dangerous for the animals as well as for the CAHA staff and visitors. Several people were bitten by hungry foxes in the recent years, and needed medical assistance -- remind the closest healthcare center is a half-hour drive when the weather conditions allows to do so...
Internal calls: internal telephone lists are next to all phones. Simply
lift the receiver and dial the 3-digit desired number.
Outgoing calls: outgoing calls may be made from the phones in the observing rooms. To place a national call, first dial '0' and the desired number. For an
international call, add '00' after the initial '0', the international country code (e.g. '49' for
Germany), followed by the number. Please favour using your mobile phone (Wifi signal is good in most places of the hotel and in the lab) for long distance, private calls.
You may receive calls via the Spanish lines
at the following number:
where xxx is the Calar Alto extension.
Cell phones: thanks to an antenna located close to the 3.5 m,
there is a good cell phone network between the
observatory buildings (not so much inside the domes!) for all operators
based on the Movistar network.
Telefax (still used for some specific official documents): outgoing faxes should be handed to the
secretary during office hours (8:00 - 18:00 hours). Incoming faxes may be
received via the secretary's (+34-950-632504)
or via the public fax: +34-950-632506. This fax device
is located in the laboratory building, room no. 006.
Photocopies: the photocopier is located in the entrance area
of the laboratory building.
Travel reservations, confirmations, or changes may be made through the
administration staff. Due to the distance of the observatory from Almeria,
it is wise to make your departure plans well in advance. This will help our
administration staff to get everything ready prior to your departure.
Do not forget that the administration staff is not on duty during the weekend.
One car has been assigned to each telescope:
Telescope Car number
3.5m: 13 (after 14:00 (LT), if needed, all the day)
2.2m: 2 (after 14:00 (LT), if needed, all the day)
Drive safely (and fasten your seatbelt), being especially aware
of ice on the road in winter and remaining always within the observatory area. Pedestrians, pets, cattle and wild animals may cross (or walk on...) the road anytime, day and night.
When driving at night, favour parking lights + hazard lights under clear conditions; when foggy, please switch on the fog lights.
At the hotel entrance you will find, during the summer season, an assortment of bicycles which are at
your disposal.
Old technical books and journals may be read at the library, located in the laboratory
building. Books may be taken out (e.g. to your room) during the visiting period. When borrowing
a book, never forget to leave an adequate notice. All publications must be
returned to their former places before you leave.
The bibliographic data of any publications based on observations
at Calar Alto are to be communicated to CAHA as described in our Call for Proposals.
Publications must contain a footnote as follows:
"Based on observations collected at the Centro Astronómico
Hispano en Andalucía (CAHA) at
Calar Alto, operated jointly by the Junta de Andalucía
and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC)"
Before leaving Calar Alto, please do not forget to:
- Fill out a 'Closing Report', giving a brief report on your observing run including comments,
critics and suggestions. Knowing in particular the estimated success rate of your visior run may motivate us to add some data in service mode later on, when feasible. Please use the electronic form:
https://www.caha.es/CAHA/APPS/CLOSINGREPORT
- Clean your computer account (if any).
- Return any books to the library.
- Keep the dome and control room in order. Return everything
to its proper place and remove the remains of your snacks (incl. in the fridge).
- Cancel any bills at the secretary's office.
Remember you have to pay your bill for accommodation, meals, etc. before you leave the observatory. Payment
can be made in euros, by credit card or cash. Foreign currencies
cannot be accepted.
- Please return keys (important!), torch and magnetic card to the secretary, or throw it into the
box provided in the hotel entrance.
Observing instructions
The Calar Alto staff will provide adequate support and help to visiting
astronomers while they carry out their planned observations. Because of
limitations in the size of the staff, however, a successful observing campaign
requires the cooperation and participation of the VA to an extent greater than
may be the case at other observatories. These instructions have been written
in order to avoid any misunderstanding with regard to the nature of the
support that the VA may ask or expect to receive and the extent to which
the VA is expected to participate in the run preparation and in the actual observations.
Upon arrival at Calar Alto, the VA should contact by mail/by phone the coordinator (day shift) astronomer on duty who will provide her/him with support at the beginning of the
observation run. This astronomer coordinator is responsible for instructing the VA in the use
of the instrumentation
and for deciding when the VA is qualified to use the instrument. (S)he
is the primary contact between the VA and all other technical personnel
of Calar Alto. The VA, accordingly, should not directly approach a
technician to perform any task that falls outside regular duties, as
specified below.
Generally one Technical Astronomer (TA) is scheduled each for the 3.5 m and
the 2.2 m telescope.
As professional observers, they do not only perform mere operating tasks, but may also observe actively
on behalf of the VA. The technical astronomer is also responsible of the safety of the telescopes and instruments at night.
The working time of the TAs begins at sunset and finishes strictly at sunrise.
In case of a malfunction or failure in an instrument or telescope -- suspected
or real -- the VA should first communicate the trouble to the TA who may help in fixing it or in making a preliminary diagnosis and in contacting
a technician. In the uncommon case of simultaneous technical issues on various telescopes, these will be solved on the best effort basis, giving priority to the largest telescope/urgency of the malfunction.
Under no circumstances should the VA attempt to carry out
readjustments or repairs, no matter how simple they may appear. Any malfunction
should be entered in the night report and described with as much detail as
possible. Malfunctions can only be fixed by the technical staff if there is
sufficient knowledge about it!
The technicians and engineers responsible for the maintenance of telescopes and instruments
are generally organized in a manner that technical help is available
every day of the week.
A technician on duty is on call until midnight (local) including on most week-ends and holidays. The VA should not
directly request the technical personnel to perform any task not previously
brought to the attention of the TA.
Technical support for your own specialized equipment can be given only
if arrangements have been made well in advance of your arrival. Even when
such arrangements exist, keep in mind that the major portion of their daily
activity is directed to the immediate needs of observatory operations,
so the effectiveness of any assistance will depend upon how careful the
advance planning was. Avoid making requests at the last minute.
For the protection of the telescopes and their equipment, no observing
activity shall be undertaken and the domes shall be maintained closed
under the following conditions:
- Risky clouds: 'Risky' meaning a nearby cloud susceptible to condensate into rain, hail, or (melted) snow. If windy, even the precipitation falling from distant clouds can reach the telescopes (without an immediate increase of the humidity measured).
- Excessive wind: Domes shall be closed when the wind gust velocity as
measured in the free air exceeds:
- 18 m/s at the 1.23 m and the Schmidt telescopes;
- 21 m/s at the 2.2 m telescope;
- 24 m/s at the 3.5 m telescope.
(The seeing and extinction monitors have lower limits of 11 and 12 m/s but the TA will take care of these at night.)
After closing the dome for a wind gust alert, a waiting time of 15 min is established as a security margin.
The dome may be re-opened only after such a time interval with wind gusts below the limit. Favour pointing targets downwind in case of nights with wind close to the limit.
- Excessive humidity:
Domes shall be closed when the external humidity exceeds 98%.
The domes shall be closed whenever the difference between the
coldest part of the telescope and the dew point is below 2 degrees.
In extreme cases, for instance during rapidly varying humidity
at high levels or during rapid increases of the dew point towards
the outside air temperature, the technical astronomer may decide to close
the dome earlier.
Domes can be reopened when the humidity has dropped below 95%.
In cases of ice build up and water condensation, the technical astronomers
may decide that the dome stays closed even if the humidity falls
below 95%.
- Excessive frost:
The domes shall be closed whenever the outside temperature is below
-15°C.
- Ice or Snow on the Dome: No dome shall be opened when there is
ice or snow on them. The technical staff or support astronomer will directly inform the TAs or the VA about the dome status in case of icy weather.
- Excessive airborne dust: No domes shall be opened if excessive
dust is present in the air at the altitude of the observatory. This condition is indicated when the surrounding
mountains (Sierra de Baza, to the West) are hidden from view OR if the dust sensor indicates concentrations of more than 50 micrograms/m3.
Dusty episodes (calima) are becoming more common at Calar Alto (even
during the winter, a possible effect of the global climate change?) and dome shall remain closed during most of the hazy nights to avoid accumulating layers of dust on the mirrors and electronics parts, dangerous for the safety of the equipments. Also take into account that it may rain "sand" from the Sahara even under dry conditions (humidity below 50%) so extra care should be taken when the conditions are windy and dusty. Believe in the experience of the CAHA astronomers when they say "We have to close now!" even if no warning appear on the CAHA main weather page.
The colour of the dome symbols in the weather page "LAST READING" means (for each telescope): GREEN (no apparent danger); YELLOW (risky, be prepared to close); RED (dome must be closed ASAP, if not already done!).
For the telescopes that can be used remotely (Schmidt and 1.23 m), the dome symbol can be changed manually by the TAs to a white cross with red background icon (meaning there's a risk, e.g. quickly coming clouds) informing the remote observer to close the dome ASAP. If the rest of the night seems lost (typically, after a snow fall impeding a safe reopening of the dome), the locker symbol shall be set by the TAs.
The TAs being responsible for the safety of the telescope and
the equipment, they may decide to close the dome or to keep it closed
even if the conditions seem decent to observe. Their decision is final and shall be
followed immediately.
All the data obtained are stored on the instrument computer disk. Moreover they are copied to the private archive of each PI (Prime Investigator, who is not necessarily the VA) and also to an anonymous ftp server if needed (e.g. to share data on-the-fly with CoIs), from where they can be retrieved. Ask the staff for details.
Find here a
some information about the IT dept. The CAHA engineers will do their best to solve any
computer-related issue during your stay.
Calar Alto, February 2024
