Observatorio Cabezo de la Jara Starlight Stellar Park

The Observatorio Astronómico de Cabezo de la Jara sits about 7 km from Puerto Lumbreras in the Región de Murcia. It stands at about 800 meters on the highest of the hills around the Cabezo de la Jara hostel. The Fundación Starlight certified it as a Starlight Stellar Park in February 2020, the first place in Murcia to get that status. Starlight describes the summit as free of interference for watching the night sky.

The observatory has a domed observing room with a 12 inch Meade LX200 reflector, plus an astronomy classroom with CCD cameras for photos and video. A waiting room shows the telescope's live image on a screen, so groups and visitors with reduced mobility can follow along. Members of the Agrupación Astronómica de la Región de Murcia guide the visits, which include a short talk, naked eye observing and views of the main objects through the telescope.

Around the observatory, an eco trail of almost 1,500 meters lays out a scale model of the solar system, starting from the Sun at the bottom of the climb. It adds two sundials, a lunar dial and three viewpoints, which could serve as daytime scouting for wide shots. Starlight publishes no sky quality reading for the site.

Our data puts the best core months at June, May and July, with the core peaking about 24 degrees above the southern horizon and a season from about February to October.