The Promenade of Stars of Science is an original idea of Anselmo Pestana, the President of the Island Council back in 2015, when the project started. The Cabildo Insular de la Palma, the Santa Cruz Town Hall and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias are participating in the project. Unfortunately, the Prominade has taken 5 years to be carried out as first, the remodelling of the beach had to be completed. The event held this December 2020 has revealed the Stars that currently make up the “Paseo de la Ciencia”. The four scientists awarded have personal and professional links with the island, hence, have been the first ones to be acknowledged.

Stephen Hawking

The first star is by Stephen Hawking, a renowned physicist and cosmologist linked to the Starmuss Festival held on La Palma and who was last on the island in 2016, shortly before his death. Hawking, who was the first to receive his star in 2016, is the author of many of the discoveries in modern astrophysics, such as the new theory of space-time and black hole radiation (“Hawking” radiation). Hawking worked throughout his life to unravel the laws that govern the universe and, together with Roger Penrose, he demonstrated that Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity implies that space and time must have a beginning, which would be the theory of the Big Bang, and an end, within black holes.

Alexei Leonov

The second star was for cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, who has also visited the island several times; Leonov was the first man to go on a space walk, on 18 March 1965, having been part of the first group of 20 cosmonauts in the Soviet space programme, set up in 1960. He was also the Soviet team commander of the first joint mission between the Soviet Union and the United States, Apollo-Soyuz.

Takaaki Kajita

The third Star (awarded in 2017) went to Takaaki Kajita of Japan, director of the Cosmic Neutrinos Centre at the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research (ICRR), who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2015, along with Arthur B. McDonald for their research on neutrino oscillations. Their research showed that these subatomic particles have mass. As the Swedish Academy’s prize jury pointed out, “their studies changed the understanding of the innermost behaviour of matter and may be crucial for understanding the Universe”.

Kajita is currently leading a major international collaboration project, the “Cherenkov Telescope Array“, which aims to study the gamma radiation that reaches the Earth and how it is produced. La Palma is the northern hemisphere headquarters for this project. Kajita laid the first stone of the prototype (LST) of the 23 telescopes projected on La Palma, just one week after receiving her Nobel Prize.

Samuel Ting

The fourth and last Star awarded to date (2018) has been for Samuel Ting, Nobel Laureate in Physics in 1976. The American particle physicist of Chinese origin belongs to the prestigious MIT in the United States, and has been a professor there since 1969. He received the Nobel Prize in 1976 for the discovery of the J particle, which once again consolidated the standard particle theory. Samuel Ting leads a project for the observation of neutrinos on the Space Station, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-0), with the aim of testing fundamental questions in modern physics including the existence of antimatter, the origin of comic rays and dark matter.

This collaborative project, involving more than 600 physicists, has collected 80 billion cosmic rays in 10 years. Ting’s team also aims to test whether the Big Bang model is true, when it predicts that there should be an equivalent amount of matter and antimatter in the Universe. For the moment, astronomers have not been able to find the antimatter and this is one of the great mysteries of the Universe. This is why many physicists believe that primordial antimatter simply does not exist. AMS-0 could prove whether it exists, or if on the contrary, a completely new theory is needed to explain antimatter or the Big Bang.

Next….Jocelyn Bell

It has been awarded the fifth Star, but unfortunately it has not yet been delivered due to the covid19. The Star is for Jocelyn Bell, the discoverer of the first radio pulsar signal in 1967, what has been an undoubted contribution to science. We will have a special article dedicated to Jocelyn Bell soon.

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If you cannot come to La Palma to see the telescope in sittu or, while the visits to the Observatory are suspended due to the covid19, you can make the visit virtually in the video (language: Spanish). The video explains what the telescope does, how it works and what the real post-covid visits will be like.

More about Science at the Gran Telescopio de Canarias can be found on the official website: http://www.gtc.iac.es/

Visits to the  Observatory at Roque de Los Muchachos will resume in 2021. Information & bookings here. More information about the Observatory on the official website of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC).

Video

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• the darkness of the island
• a stable atmosphere
• the low air and light pollution
• the observatory being above the cloud level for more than 300 days on a given year
• the sky of La Palma is also protected by law from 1989 (Law of the sky), enforcing the control of light pollution by regulating street lighting and air communication routes.

Visits to the Observatory can be booked here: Daytime Visits.

New telescopes at Observatory Roque Muchachos

The newest incorporation to the Observatory facilities in recent years are 23 Cherenkov telescopes which will be part of the International Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). La Palma will be the northern site for this network. The largest Cherenkov telescopes will have 23 m in diameter. In 2016, the fundation has been laid for the 3rd Cherenkov telescope in La Palma.

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the next generation ground-based observatory for gamma-ray astronomy at very-high energies. With more than 100 telescopes located in the northern and southern hemispheres, CTA will be the world’s largest and most sensitive high-energy gamma-ray observatory. This network will be capable of observing the whole of the sky, inside and outside our galaxy as it will have 120 telescopes between both hemispheres. It will also cover a very wide range of energies ranges from several dozen Gev to 100TeV (1 TeV = 1012 eV) seeking to understand the origin and role of relativistic cosmic particles, probe extreme environments and explore physics frontiers.

The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is very possibly another incorporation to the Observatory. It is planned to be located on Mauna Kea (Hawaii) but its construction has been temporarily halted due to protests by Native Hawaiian americans. In 2015, the State Supreme Court of Hawaii invalidated the TMT’s building permits and it is likely that the telescope cannot be built in Hawaii. Hence Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in La Palma is the alternative site. At the end of 2017, the final decision of the site for TMT will be decided.

The TMT is much larger than existing telescopes (although the E-ELT telescope is still bigger) and it is designed to observe from near ultraviolet to mid-infrarred (wavelength 0.31 to 28 μm). It also have adaptive optics which will help to correct errors caused by Earth´s atmosphere helping the telescope to reach its maximum resolution.

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The TNG is equipped with 3 instruments permanently installed in its foci and offers a variety of observing modes covering the optical and near-infrared spectrum, offering wide-field imaging up to high-resolution spectroscopy.

Its most relevant instrument is the HARPS-N “High Precision Radial Speed ​​Planter in the Northern Hemisphere. It is one of the most accurate spectrographs in the world that has the main objective of discovering and characterizing extrasolar planets the size of the Earth (Echelle spectrometer at 383-633 nm wavelengths and with spectral resolution of R = 115000). In practice HARPS-N measures the slight oscillation of the star caused by the presence of the planet (in m/s) with which it can estimate the mass of the exoplanets, their chemical composition and distance to the star.

History

The agreements for the construction of the telescope in La Palma were signed in 1979 and the telescope The telescope saw its “first light” in 1998. Until June 2004, the telescope was operated by the Galileo Galilei Genter, created in 1997 by the Consorzio Nazionale per l’Astronomia e l’Astrofisica (CNAA). From  July 27, 2004, the new Galileo Galilei Foundation, funded by the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF), is responsible for the management of the TNG.

Results

The TNG is currently looking mainly for exoplanets, a very relevant field in astrophysics at the moment. The first exoplanet discovered by the TNG was the Kepler 78 b, a planet similar to Earth in size and mass but much hotter, surface temperature can reach 5,000 degrees. Another exoplanet also in the news, and found by the TNG (published May 2017), belongs to the star GJ625 (Gliese 625), a red dwarf close to the Sun, is in the area of ​​habitability, which means that could host lifetime. The Kepler 78b and the planet of GJ625 are some of the more than 1,000 already discovered exoplanets (Earth-like planets).

Curiosities

In February 2013, an international team, led by Spanish astrophysicists, characterized the 2012 asteroid DA14 using the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) and the Galileo Nazionale Telescope at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in La Palma. They were able to measure the maximum approach to Earth.

In the TNG, all the rooms are kept at a certain temperature, which varies depending on the room. The telescope should be half a degree below the minimum outside temperature recorded the previous night to minimize the airflow around the telescope and avoid turbulence that greatly reduces the image quality caused by the temperature gradient when opening the telescope.

The second building, dome of the telescope is a structure of an approximate height of 26 m. And occupies an area of ​​about 400 m2. The building is entirely made of metal structure, with a fixed first floor, while the other 3 can rotate around the vertical axis of the building, in solidarity, in synchrony with the rotation of the telescope.

In the TNG, all the rooms are kept at a certain temperature, which varies depending on the room.. The telescope should be half a degree below the minimum outside temperature recorded the previous night to minimize the airflow around the telescope and avoid turbulence that greatly reduces the image quality caused by the temperature gradient when opening the telescope.

The second building, dome of the telescope is a structure of an approximate height of 26 m. And occupies an area of ​​about 400 m2. The building is entirely made of metal structure, with a fixed first floor, while the other 3 can rotate around the vertical axis of the building, in solidarity, in synchrony with the rotation of the telescope.

More about the other telescopes at the Observatory Roque de Los Muchachos can be found on the official web of the Observatory. Also here at Gran Telescopio de Canarias and William Herschel Telescope.

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Light pollution is defined as the introduction of artificial light to an ecosystem (into naturally dark situations), degrading its natural state with the emission of light of different intensities, directions, spectral range and/or unnecessarily varying a light/dark schedule (ie. having lights on a empty office building or streets lights on after certain times).

It is obvious that humans need and use artificial light during the night just…well…simply to live. But the use of artificial light should be in equilibrium with the nocturnal life, energy efficiency and health (avoiding the alteration of sleep patterns and the effect of artificial light at night on some cancers). We should try to minimize the impact of light pollution reducing the negative effects by designing better street lighting, scheduling of street lights, etc.

Light pollution increases the background brightness of the sky by reflecting and diffusion artificial light into the gases and particles in the air. This results in a reduction of visibility of the stars and other celestial objects.

The Sky Law in the Canary Islands (1989) controls gas emissions to the atmosphere on the island, as well as light pollution and air communications routes. The aim of the law is to have transparent and dark sky, with good (if not outstanding) quality for both amateur and professional astronomy. As a result, La Palma is a Dark Reserve (a Starlight Reserve) and thanks to this it has developed a Sustainable Tourism Industry based on the sky. There are many options for astrotourism in La Palma, we recommend you to enjoy the sky in one of our astronomy tours.

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What is the Milky Way?

The Milky Way is the galaxy in which Earth and the Solar System lies. It contains more than 200 000 million of stars and its diameter is estimated to be about 100 000 light-years (about 420 000 000 000 000 000 Km). From a dark location on Earth, we can only see a tiny part of our galaxy, only our neighbouring stars really. And only if you are on those dark locations you may be lucky enough to see the disk of the galaxy.

About 50 years ago, everybody was able to identify the Milky Way in the sky even if they did not know what it really was. Nowadays, due to light pollution, it is estimated than less of 70 % of Earth population in Europe or United States have ever seen the Milky Way. This is because, the light pollution has stolen the light of the stars. La Palma is still one of those few places on this planet from which the stars and dark sky are visible, even from populated towns. This is thanks to light pollution being controlled by law (Law of the sky, 1989). So, do come to La Palma! You now know that besides the beautiful landscapes and protected areas on the island, visitors can also enjoy the light of the stars. You can even try to reach them with the tips of your fingers!

If interested you may observe the Milky Way and the starry sky at one of the astronomical viewpoints or sites of astronomical interest on La Palma: Miradores astronómicos, or you can book one of our astronomy tours, where you can also see it through telescopes.

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More information

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History

       
The UK’s Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) began planning the telescope in 1974 with a final budget of 10 million pounds. In 1981, 20% of the SERC negotiated a 20% stake with Holland, so the telescope belongs to the United Kingdom and the rest to the Netherlands. The first light of the telescope was on June 1, 1981 using the instrument TAURUS-2.

Results
       
The most outstanding results extracted with data obtained in this telescope are:
       
* The discovery of the first evidence of a supermassive black hole (Sgr A*) in the center of the Milky Way.
   
* The first optical observation of a gamma ray burst

Curiosities

       
* The telescope takes the name of the astronomer William Herschel (Germany 1738 – England 1822), a musician without scientific formation who began his interest in the astronomy to the 35 years of age. This astronomer discovered the planet Uranus with a 1.2m reflecting telescope that built the same along with his sister since he could not afford to buy a refractor telescope of similar size to the use at the time. Herschel was also a pioneer in the design of the azimuth mount that is now used in telescopes like the WHT. In 1981, with the first light of the telescope, was the bicentennial of the discovery of Uranus, hence the telescope bears the name of William Herschel.

* The WHT is like a Swiss Army Knife. In each focus an instrument is placed and in turn has several instruments interchangeable with each other with relative ease. Currently professional astronomers can request observation time for the following instruments:

• • ISIS – espectrograph
  • LIRIS – infrarred espectrograph
  • ACAM – ccd camera and low resolution spectroscopy
  • AF2/WYFFOS – multiobject espectroscopy
  • NAOMI/OASIS – espectroscopy
  • Adaptative optics
  • NAOMI/INGRID – infrarred imaging

More about the other telescopes at the Observatory Roque de Los Muchachos can be found on the official website of the Observatory or at Telescopio Nazionale Galileo and Gran Telescopio de Canarias.

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History

After years in the drawing boards of the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands, in 1994 GRANTECAN SA when it was founded, with the aim of designing and building the world’s largest telescope: the Gran Telescopio Canarias. Subsequently, agreements were signed with the Government of Mexico, for two of their universities to participate in the project and also joined as a partner the United States, through the University of Florida. The telescope cost no less than 130 million euros and has an annual budget of nearly 9 million Euros.

The construction of the telescope at the Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos on the island of La Palma, began in 2000 and the start of the science phase began operating in March 2009. The telescope time is shared by Spanish scientists (90%), Mexico (5%) and the U.S. (5%), the same percentage who contributed to the initial project.

Curiosities

• We can compare the power of sight of the telescope to four million human eyes. It could distinguish the headlights of a car at about 20,000 miles away.
• The metal structure of the dome is assembled with screws 16,000 and 43,000 metal nuts.
• The mirrors are cleaned with powdered snow made of carbon dioxide. There are 6 spare mirrors.
• GTC employs about 65 people or so (about 45 on the island of La Palma alone). There are 4 working groups: maintenance, science, management and development.
• Any day between 10-20 people are working on the telescope, the rest work in offices remotely. However, at night, despite its size, the telescope requires only 2 people to run observations: an astronomer and a technician. It’s all computerized.

Results

The Gran Telescopio de Canarias studies the nature of black holes, star and galaxy formation of a very young Universe. A fairly booming field developed here is the study of distant exoplanets (Planetary Transits) and very energetic events such as: very distant supernovae & black hole collisions.

See scientific publications derived from the Gran Telescopio de Canarias data by clicking here.

More about the other telescopes at the Observatory Roque de Los Muchachos can be found on the official website of the Observatory or at Telescopio Nazionale Galileo and William Herschel Telescope.

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