ALOMAR Observatory

The ALOMAR observatory is located at the island of Andøya in the northern part of Norway (69.28° N, 16.01° E), north of the Arctic Circle, on the Ramnan mountain - which is 380 m above sea level and approximately 2 km from the coast.

The facility consists of an observatory with lidars, radars and passive optical instruments.

Today, scientists from 14 nations use Andøya Rocket Range and ALOMAR for advanced studies of the Arctic atmosphere.

ALOMAR Services

ALOMAR is owned and operated by Andøya Rocket Range, which offers launch capabilities for various rocket configurations.

The nearby town of Andenes is easily accessible by plane (commercial air transport, three hours from Oslo), ship and truck all year round.

The observatory building has a floor area of 400 m² and includes facilities such as:

- Laboratory space where one of the laboratories is equipped with optical domes for sky observations.
- Telescope hall with a retractable roof.
- Several scientific instruments.
- Living room and kitchen.
- Two bedrooms with a panorama view.
- Offices with WIFI and Internet access

ALOMAR is also responsible for maintaining all ground based, scientific instrumentation located at Andøya Rocket Range.

ALOMAR gives scientists the opportunity for a continuos (365 days / 7 days a week / 24 hours a day) in-depth study of the arctic atmosphere with state-of-the-art instrumentation.

Scientific Outputs

ALOMAR offers a unique infrastructure and highly interesting cluster of instrumentation within the arctic enviromental research.

a) The high-latitude location is favourable regarding the following:

b) It is close to the southern boundary of the polar vortex.

c) It lies within the auroral zone.

The climate is mild thanks to the Gulf Stream ocean current sweeping along the Norwegian coast.