COAA is the well known astronomical observatory based in the Algarve region of southern Portugal, which is designed to give amateur astronomers the opportunity to use our telescopes under exceptionally favourable observing conditions in one of the sunniest corners of Europe.
Telescopes at COAA include a huge 0.5m f4.5 Newtonian on an equatorial, driven, fork mount in a rotatable dome, a 0.3m f5 Newtonian telescope on a Dobsonian mount, and a 0.2m f4.4 Newtonian on an equatorial mount, which can be used remotely over the Internet. COAA is IAU MPC observatory number 965.
We no longer provide accommodation and meals at COAA but we still offer visitors to the Algarve, the opportunity to observe the night sky using one of the largest telescopes in the country. Guided observing sessions are of two hours duration starting from the end of evening astronomical twilight; in midsummer that is around 22:30 local time and in the spring and autumn around 20:00 UTC (an hour later in local time when the clocks change to summer time). In winter we usually start observing around 19:00 local time. Sessions cost €25.00 per person, including VAT. Children under 10 years of age are free but must be accompanied by an adult. Sessions must be booked inadvance and can only take place when the sky is clear of cloud and there is no Moon in the sky.
Our equatorially mounted 0.2m f4.4 Newtonian reflector can be operated remotely over the Internet. Using a simple web browser interface, you can control the telescope's pointing and you can command image capture using our QHY8L one-shot colour camera. The images that are captured become available for download from our web site a few moments after they are captured, so you can see the results in near real time. Full details of this service can be found on this page.
This is the latest frame from our automated meteor monitoring system, which looks to the East to overlap with the coverage of a similar station in Spain to determine the full 3-D track of incoming meteors. Note that it will be totally overexposed during daylight hours.
This video shows a time lapse of the images from our meteor monitoring system, recorded during the hours of darkness last night. The video is updated each morning at 09:00 UTC.
Complete weather statistics for COAA are available on our weather page.
A few years ago, a new member of the solar system was discovered here at COAA. Click here to find out more about COAA's own asteroid discovery, 8225 (1996QC).
You can explore which Messier objects are visible from COAA (or from anywhere else) on a chosen date here.
For more information about COAA, please contact us at the address at the top of the page.