Busot observatory

Busot Observatory is a research telescope station tucked into the hills above Busot, in the Alicante province of Spain's Valencian Community.

About Busot Observatory

The facility stands at Urbanización Llano de los Pastores, roughly 185 metres above sea level, and is run jointly by the X-ray Astronomy Group (XRAGUA) at the University of Alicante and the Obrimed organisation.

Telescopes & research

Busot Observatory operates a computer-controlled telescope and dome capable of fully autonomous operation, including automatic dome driving, target selection and filter-wheel changes for calibration imaging. A weather station and an all-sky camera mounted on the upper part of the building monitor conditions and feed data back to the control system, letting the observatory run unattended overnight.

Location & getting there

Set on high ground in the Valencian Community in Spain, the observatory benefits from elevation and distance from coastal light pollution, the kind of siting university research groups look for when automating long observing runs.

Visiting Busot Observatory

Busot Observatory is primarily a research facility for the University of Alicante's X-ray astronomy programme rather than a walk-in visitor site. Anyone interested in a visit should contact XRAGUA or Obrimed directly to check current access arrangements.

See your named star from here

A computer-controlled telescope like the one at Busot only needs coordinates to find a target, which is exactly what comes with every star named through Star Register. Name a star or look it up in the catalogue to get its right ascension and declination.