The Calar Alto Observatory (Centro Astronómico Hispano-Alemán or Deutsch-Spanisches Astronomisches Zentrum, respectively "German-Spanish Astronomical Centre" and "Spanish-German Astronomical Centre") is an astronomical observatory owned and operated jointly by the Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Max-Planck Institute for Astronomy) in Heidelberg, Germany, and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia - CSIC) in Granada, Spain.