The "Internationale Amateursternwarte" referred to as the IAS, was established in Germany March 1999 by a group of dedicated amateur astronomers and supported by the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (Heidelberg, Germany).
The major objective of the IAS is the construction, operation and improvement of its state of the art observatories high in the Namibian desert, in order to offer telescopes to its members, suitable for all fields of astronomical observation and that at locations comparable to other well known astronomical sites such as those of Chile or Hawaii.
The Hakos Guest Farm (80 miles south west of Windhoek) and the nearby Gamsberg have been the chosen locations for the IAS observatories, providing capabilities for:
- Astronomical photography
- Observation of asteroids
- Observation of variable stars
- Spectroscopy
- Observation of close double stars
- Speckle interferometry,
- Any scientific observations, or just
- Visual observations, so as to study the splendid night sky over the IAS sites far from any light pollution and characterised by excellent seeing conditions on average.
The members of the IAS - currently about ninety - are coming from Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, UK, Namibia and Germany. New members and sponsors are always welcome to the IAS.
Interested parties will obtain further information at one of the semi-annual meetings of the IAS members and via the IAS-Geschäftsstelle:
The IAS is registered as a non-profit association.