The MPIA’s Research Goals –
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
In 1967, the
Senate of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft/ Max Planck Society decided
to establish the Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie/Max Planck
Institute of Astronomy in Heidelberg with the aim of restoring
astronomical research in Germany to a leading global position
after the major setbacks it had suffered due to two World Wars.
Two years later, the Institute commenced its work in temporary
accommodation on the Königstuhl, under the direction of Hans
Elsässer. The Institute moved into its new building in 1975
(Figure I.1). A long-term goal which was passed on to the newly
established MPIA was to build up and operate two high-performance
observatories, one in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern
hemisphere. In 1970, after an intensive
search for a location, the choice for
the northern hemisphere was made in favour of Calar Alto mountain
(height: 2168 metres) in the province of Almería, southern
Spain. This European location offers good climatic and meteorological
conditions for astronomical observations. 1972 saw the establishment
of the »Deutsch-Spanischen Astronomischen Zentrums/German-Spanish
Astronomical Centre« (DSAZ), known in short as the Calar
Alto Observatory.
The complex technological problems associated
with the planning and construction of the telescopes were sol
