Neumayer Station III Magnetic Observatory

The Neumayer Station III Magnetic Observatory is a geomagnetic research facility buried in the ice of Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, one of the most remote scientific outposts on Earth.

About Neumayer Station III Magnetic Observatory

Opened in 2009 by the German Alfred Wegener Institute, the observatory is named after the geophysicist Georg von Neumayer. It sits roughly 20 kilometres inland from the main German Antarctic station, on the Ekström Ice Shelf, and is dedicated to monitoring fluctuations in Earth's magnetic field with sensitive magnetometers.

Telescopes & research

The magnetic measurement instruments are housed more than 15 metres below the ice surface, in a ten-metre-deep ice cave designed to shield them from surface disturbances. Remote sensor platforms sit 900 to 1,500 metres from the main station to keep readings free of interference, and only non-magnetic personnel and equipment are permitted near the instruments. Alongside magnetic monitoring, the site supports seismic, trace-element and acoustic research.

Location & getting there

Neumayer Station III lies in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, one of the most isolated inhabited research locations on the continent, reachable only as part of organised Antarctic scientific expeditions.

Visiting Neumayer Station III Magnetic Observatory

This is not a publicly accessible site; it is a working Antarctic research station operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute, with access restricted to scientific and support personnel.

See your named star from here

Antarctica's clear, dark polar skies are prized by astronomers, even though this particular observatory studies the Earth's magnetism rather than the stars above it. If you've named a star with Star Register, you can still look up its coordinates in our star catalogue and find it from any dark-sky site.