I originally came to La Palma to work at the astronomical observatory here. Almost as soon as I heard I’d got the job, my parents went to a travel agent to find out how much it would cost to visit. The girl at the desk said, “Las Palmas de Gran Canaris? Certainly Sir. I’ll just look it up for you.” “No,” explained my father. “The island of La Palma. My…
Ever since we lived in caves, people have gazed up at the night sky and wondered where the heck it all came from. It’s one of the things that makes us different from animals. Britain has produced famous astronomers since Charles II founded the Royal Greenwich Observatory in 1675. That’s why the international meridian goes through Greenwich. We’ve built wonderful telescopes ever since Isaac Newton. And now we’re going to…