Observatories

Overview map of Europe with the locations of the research institutions involved in the VAO


With the already well established institutions in the Alpine and Prealpine regions, such as the observatories Sonnblick (Austria), Jungfraujoch/Gornergrat (Switzerland), Schneefernerhaus (Germany), Otlica (Slovenia), EURAC Research (Italy) and OSUG (France) and its associated facilities, outstanding research infrastructures have joined up to form the VAO. Other institutions such as ALOMAR (Norway) and Abastumani (Georgia), BEO Musala (Bulgaria) and the Observatory “Panska Ves” (Czech Republic) - on behalf of the Czech Academy of Science (CAS) –are associated with the VAO based on their shared thematic focus.

The above mentioned observatories and institutions are assisted by the LRZ-Supercomputing Centre (Germany) and the WMO/ICSU World Data Centre for Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere (Germany).The VAO is always open to new partners and is set for continued expansion in the coming years.

List of VAO-Partners

Research stations / institutions in the VAO Country Altitude
Umweltforschungsstation Schneefernerhaus (UFS) Germany 2.650 m
Observatorium Schauinsland Germany 1.284 m
Observatorium Hohenpeißenberg Germany 750 m
Observatoire de Haute-Provence France 650 m
Station Alpine Joseph Fourier, Lautaret-Pass France 2.058 m
Vallot observatory, Mont Blanc France 4.362 m
Sentinel Alpine Observatory, Rittner Horn Italy 2.260 m
Eurac-LT(S)ER site Macia/Matsch Italy 2.700 m
Observatorium Sonnblick Austria 3.106 m
Hochalpine Forschungsstationen Jungfraujoch (HFSJG) Switzerland 3.580 m
Hochalpine Forschungsstationen Gornergrat (HFSJG) Switzerland 3.135 m
Otlica Observatory Slovenia 945 m
Supporting research infrastructures
Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ), Garching Germany  
World Data Centre for Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere (WDC-RSAT), Oberpfaffenhofen Germany  
Observatoire des Sciences de l’Univers de Grenoble (OSUG) France  
European Academy of Bolzano (EURAC) Italy  

List of associated VAO-Partners:

Research stations / institutions in the VAO Country Altitude
BEO Musala Bulgaria 2.925 m
Observatory Panska Ves Czech Republic 315 m
Abastumani Astrophysical Observatory Georgia 1.700 m
Alomar Observatory Norway 380 m
Supporting research infrastructures
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