Observatories and Instruments

Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, La Palma.

Mountain observatories seem to be very popular with the visitors to this site. At 2396 m, the elevation of the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma doesn’t come close to that of the Sphinx Observatory (3571 m), but it’s not too far behind the Pic du Midi de Bigorre Observatory (2877 m) and it far surpasses Lick Observatory (1329 m).

The Roque de los Muchachos Observatory comprises one half of the European Northern Observatory; the other half consists of the Teide Observatory on Tenerife (2390 m, if you’re curious). Both institutions are operated by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). The ENO represents more of Europe than you might guess (seriously, since when does the Canary Islands speak for an entire subcontinent?). Much of the instrumentation was provided by Denmark, Sweden, and the UK, and eight European countries signed up to be charter members of the International Scientific Committee (CCI) associated with the IAC. And by my count, the IAC has signed agreements of cooperation with seventeen other nations, including the United States. As at most major observatories in the world, observing time is determined through application, either directly to the Time Allocation Committee (CAT) or to the country that owns the instrument needed for the project.

Click on the image for standard wallpaper sizes.

[Edited to correct the grammatical errors and tortured prose produced during a late night writing session.]

Winter night at Pic du Midi. Image credit: Allain Sallez and David Romeuf

Okay, not a true wallpaper, but certainly one of my favorite APOD photos. Most people hit this site looking for information on Sphinx Observatory (look, I just generated 1000 more hits!) and I’ve always wondered: why isn’t the Pic du Midi de Bigorre Observatory as popular? It’s also a high-altitude observatory, located in a sufficiently dramatic mountain setting. Snow. Cold. Clear skies. Why does all the attention go to Sphinx?

Just for good measure, I’m including a second Pic du Midi image from APOD. What’s not to love?

A Glimpse of CLIMSO. Image credit: Allain Sallez

ESO's Very Large Telescope with Laser Beam. Image courtesy: ESO/G. Hüdepohl

Because you can never have too many laser beams, I give you one of the Unit Telescopes of European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope with laser beam fully operational. Click on the image to go to the download page.

Cover of ESO 2012 Calendar. Photo credit: ESO/José Francisco Salgado

Today’s image is a prompt to find a high quality color printer. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has made available for download a 15-page 42 x 42 cm calendar featuring stunning images—astrophotography, ESO instruments and observatories, and landscapes such as Cerro Paranal, featured on the calendar’s cover. More information about the calendar and the cover image is available on ESO’s website. The link to download the .pdf for the calendar is on the right sidebar of the page. If that doesn’t work, try this direct link:

http://www.eso.org/public/archives/calendars/pdfsm/cal2012.pdf.

If the calendar linked above doesn’t do it for you, try the European Space Agency (ESA) calendar pages, available for free at the Hubble Space Telescope site.

Happy 2012!

De Leidse Sterrewacht (Leiden Observatory) on Winter Solstice Day 2010. Photo credit: I. Harsten

This week’s selection features Leiden Observatory, the oldest university observatory in the world. The observatory was established in the Academy Building of the Leiden University on Rapenburg Gracht (Canal) in 1633. The “new” observatory (the two domes at the left), now called the Old Observatory, was built next to the Witte Singel (White Canal) in 1860. The photo above was taken from the Witte Singel/Zoeterwoudsesingel bridge a year ago, on December 21, 2010, to mark the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Happy Winter Solstice!