La Murta Observatory

La Murta Observatory looks out from the Carrascoy mountains near the city of Murcia in southeastern Spain, a municipally owned facility with a track record that includes work alongside NASA.

About La Murta Observatory

La Murta is municipal property and holds the Minor Planet Center observation code J76. Since 2001 it has been dedicated primarily to public science dissemination alongside the systematic monitoring of comets and asteroids in the Solar System.

Telescopes & research

The observatory's asteroid-tracking work led to the discovery of the asteroid (448051) 2008 FW61 in 2008. La Murta has also collaborated with NASA on the Deep Impact and Dawn missions, and worked with the Institute of Space Sciences (CSIC-IEEC) and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) on further research, including studies of meteors and fireballs.

Location & getting there

The observatory sits in the Carrascoy mountains outside the city of Murcia, a range that offers darker skies than the coastal plain below. Use the map on this page for exact coordinates and directions.

Visiting La Murta Observatory

As a municipally run site with a strong outreach mission, La Murta welcomes public interest, though specific opening hours are not listed in our records. Check with the Murcia city authorities or local astronomy groups before visiting.

See your named star from here

An observatory built to hunt down faint, moving asteroids has all the precision needed to find a single named star too. Name a star from Star Register, or browse the catalogue to see stars already named.