Visiting the Observatory

GranTeCan, the huge new Spanish telescope

La Palma is home to one of the three most important astronomical observatories in the world. (The other two are Hawaii and the Atacama desert in Chile.) The observatory sits at the top of the island, at the Roque de los Muchachos.

It’s a fascinating place to visit, but it’s not normally open to tourists – they’re too busy doing science.

You can visit the mountain top and see the buildings from the outside any day of the year. But please note:

• Days only, not nights. The William Herschel Telescope could see a candle on the moon, and the MAGIC telescope is even more sensitive. They really don’t like car headlights. Some years ago there was an incident some years ago where a bus shone its lights right at the Herschel’s dome. Now there’s a barrier across the road which is shut a little before sunset, and raised a little after dawn.
• The road to the observatory is usually blocked for a few days each winter, by snow or landslides. Use your common sense. If the sign at the bottom of the mountain road says it’s blocked, don’t go up. I once rescued a couple of German tourists who’d spent the night in the car in the drainage ditch, after going past the sign, thinking that the weather couldn’t be all that bad in the Canaries. It can. That night it was thick fog, 60 mph winds, and -5ºC. Thank God they didn’t try to walk, because they’d have frozen to death for sure.

Sine the MAGIC gamma ray telescope doesn’t have a building, you get quite a good view from the outside. You can get fairly close by parking on one of the helipads (the bottom left as you go up the hill). From there, a footpath goes closer, and there’s a display panel that explains how the telescope works.

The observatory is open to visitors for a few days a year. This year’s dates haven’t been decided yet. You reserve your place on the form at http://www.iac.es/orm/visitas/novedad/visitas.htm Each visit lasts about two hours, and you get a guided tour in English or Spanish (say which when you book!) round several telescopes. Be warned that the schedule sometimes slips, and you might have to wait around.

They also hold private visits, usually for schools or visiting astronomers. You can email your request to adminorm@iac.es. Ana, who reads the email, speaks English. To be honest, they’re unlikely to organise a visit for the average tourist, but if there’s a visit organised anyway, you might be able to tag along. Cross your fingers!

The MAGIC gamma-ray telescope

Posted by sheila

Sheila came to La Palma with a six month contract and has stayed 24 years so far. She used to work as a software engineer at the observatory, but now she's a writer and Starlight guide.