Tuesday with Tim
Tuesday was great too. I took the journalist, Tim Johnson, into Santa Cruz, where he bought a T shirt. Then we went to Las Nieves and thence to San Andres (via the usual viewpoints) to stuff...
View ArticleNew Cherenkov Telescopes
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is negotiating with the IAC to site more Cherenkov telescopes on La Palma. It’s not guarenteed that they’ll come here, but it’s highly likely. What is certain is...
View ArticleSunset at the Roque de Los Muchachos
The Roque de Los Muchachos is a spectacular place to watch the sunset. For one thing, you’re usually above the clouds (which is one reason the observatory is there.) In fact, sometimes the clouds are...
View ArticleTransvulcania runners visit the Observatory
Today 11 of the Transvulcania runners visited the observatory, together with about 20 journalists. Lucky me, I got the job of being their guide. So I showed them around GTC and the MAGIC. It felt a...
View ArticleExplaining Astrophysics to this year’s Transvulcania Winner.
One of the fun things about Thursday’s job was meeting Luis Alberto Hernando. Not only was he the favourite to win this year (which he did in an amazing 6:52:39), but he’s also my kind of bonkers....
View ArticleFeeding Ravens at the Roque
This morning the ravens came to say hello to my group of tourists. To begin with they’d eat food I left for them, then they moved on to eating out of my hand, and now they’ll jump onto my arm or...
View ArticleA new instrument for GTC
Gran Telescopio Canarias has a (sort of) new spectrograph. The HORS spectrograph is very high resolution, and of course GTC’s huge mirror collects a lot of light from even the most distant object....
View ArticleKing Felipe of Spain visits the ORM
Saturday was the 30th anniversary of the inauguration of the Canarian observatories, and His Majesty the King of Spain visited both the Observatorio de Teide (OT) and the Observatorio del Roque de...
View ArticleSunset at the Roque
For the last few days, Venus and Jupiter have been very close together in the evening sky. I wanted to take photos on Wednesday and Thursday, but it was cloudy. I wished I’d asked to go up to the...
View ArticleNew enormous Cherenkov telescopes
It’s not quite a done deal, but it looks as though La Palma will be getting another 20 Chrenkov telescopes. The board of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) met on the 15th and 16th of July, and...
View Article“Astrofest La Palma” opens the doors for registration.
From 25th September 2015 to October 9th, the island of La Palma in the Canaries will host Astrofest, a festival of astronomy, with activities for all ages and knowledge levels. There will be an...
View ArticleA Breathtaking Window on the Universe
Yes, it’s my book. “A Breathtaking Window on the Universe: A guide to the observatory at the Roque de los Muchachos SECOND EDITION” By Sheila M. Crosby (Non-Fiction Paperback) 164 pages (16 more than...
View ArticlePainting a telescope
Yesterday I showed a group around the WHT, and I noticed that the Swedish Solar Telescope is being repainted. (Follow the link for more about the telescope.)
View ArticleSunset at the Roque de Los Muchachos
The Roque de Los Muchachos is a spectacular place to watch the sunset. For one thing, you’re usually above the clouds (which is one reason the observatory is there.) In fact, sometimes the clouds are...
View ArticleStarmus 2016
Starmus is a big festival of science and art in Tenerife, with many famous speakers like Stephen Hawking, Brian May and Neil de Grasse Tyson. On Thursday morning I met the VIP visitors from Starmus at...
View ArticleWork starts on the Large Size Telescope
Work has finally started on the Large Size Telescope. The first stone ceremony was held on October 9th. This week the bushes have been cut down ready for the bulldozers to move in. Like the MAGIC, the...
View ArticleButterfly
Today I was doing my talk on the heliport, and this butterfly landed on a guest’s T shirt. I think it thought it was a flower. You can see the butterfly’s long tongue, looking for nectar.
View ArticleFoundations for the Large Sized Telescope
The digger’s started wotk on the foundations for the Large Size Telescope I gather the plan is to dig down 3 m, which is less than I’d thought for such a big structure. But the the MAGIC telescope is...
View ArticleBikers
Today’s visit to Gran Telescopio Canarias was a bit different. Most of the group were bikers from Gran Canaria. It made for a good photo op as they left.
View ArticleThe ravens are back
I saw very little of the ravens over the summer. I think they were so many tourists with tasty food that they didn’t need me, thank you so very much. Now that it’s getting colder there are fewer ham...
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