Montsec observatory

The Montsec Observatory (OdM) is a scientific infrastructure managed by the IEEC under an agreement with the General Directorate of Research of the Generalitat de Catalunya. It is located at 1570 meters above sea level in the Montsec mountain range, 50 km north of the city of Lleida, in the municipality of Sant Esteve de la Sarga and near Àger, in the Catalan foothills. This area is recognized as one of the most suitable in the European continent for astronomical observation, thanks to the combination of meteorological conditions and the low effect of light pollution. It is, without a doubt, an exceptional sky. The OdM consists of three facilities for astronomical research and two measurement stations. The two measurement stations are dedicated to meteorological study (Meteorological Service of Catalonia) and environmental pollution (Institut de Diagnosi Ambiental i Estudis de l'Aigua - CSIC). The astronomical equipment consists of three robotic telescopes: The TJO (Telescope Joan Oró): installed and managed by the IEEC. The TRAC (Telescope Ràpid d'Ample Camp): installed and managed by the IEEC in collaboration with the Port d'Informació Científica (PIC - IFAE) and i2CAT. The TFRM (Telescope Fabra-ROA Montsec): belonging to the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona and the Royal Navy Observatory. In addition, it houses a camera for the detection of fireballs and dangerous asteroids near Earth (All-sky camera, IEEC). The mission of the OdM is to provide the tools to carry out cutting-edge research in astronomy, as well as provide the necessary support for the exploitation of the facilities.

Facility

Images

Institutional Contacts / Head of Facilities

Provisional Contacts

Kike Herrero | OdM Manager |  eherrero@ieec.cat  | +34 630666044 |  ORCID 

OdM Manager

Kike Herrero |  eherrero@ieec.cat  | +34 630666044 |  ORCID 

Kike Herrero |  eherrero@ieec.cat  | +34 630666044 |  ORCID 

CERCA Institutes

Owners

Centres CERCA List

Equipments & Services Offered

Joan Oró Telescope (IEEC) Rapid Wide Field Telescope (IEEC) Fabra-ROA Montsec Telescope (RACAB) All-Sky Camera (IEEC) Weather Station (SMC) Environmental Monitoring Station (XVPCA – IDAEA)

Possible applications Industrial manufacturing control Smart buildings Smart cities

Categorització

RIS3CAT domains & other

RIS3CAT Domains

CERCA GINYS Categories

GINYS-IEEC -002

Access procedure & Fares

Oepn The needs of scientific cases and the isolation of the site, made robotic operations an essential requirement for the nominal operations of the observatory. Observers only need to submit proposals with the study sources and retrieve the acquired data and images. The telescope is configured to ensure high quality astronomical observations by using this mode