Have a look at the pictures I manage to shot into this fabulous Astronomy trip through the Canary Islands.
You can have a look at the photos HERE
About Astronomy Club Toutatis
20 March 2013
Astronomy Trip to the Canary Islands IN PHOTOS!
Have a look at the pictures I manage to shot into this fabulous Astronomy trip through the Canary Islands.
You can have a look at the photos HERE
About Astronomy Club Toutatis
19 March 2013
Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC)
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| Radio Telescope (not in use) San Cristóbal de La Laguna Credit: Astronomy Club Toutatis |
Today we introduce the reason for all the astronomical activities in the Canary Islands: The Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC) or Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands.
There are
very few places in the world that can boast all of the conditions needed for
modern astronomy. The mountain summits of Tenerife and La Palma in the Canary
Islands enjoy these exceptional conditions and this has converted them into a
“magnet” for some of today’s most advanced telescopes. Spain set up the IAC to
make the most of the scientific and technological opportunities offered by this
outstanding access to the sky over the islands, which constitutes in its self a
valuable natural resource.
The Spanish
authorities have also protected the astronomical qualities of the sky by
imposing restrictions by means of the “sky law” that regulates, among other
things, the use of outdoor lighting. As a result the IAC observatories are
considered to be an astronomy reserve.
UNESCO, as
part of its Starlight initiative is currently working to recognize and catalog
exceptional sights, like the Teide and Roques de los Muchachos Observatories,
as “world class astronomy reserve”.
18 March 2013
Daniel López, Astrophotographer extraordinaire. In search of Comet Pan-Starrs
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| Alfred Rosenberg, Daniel López, David and Stefan Lamoureux @ Teide Observatory chasing Comet Pan-Starrs. Credit: Daniel López IAC (Click on picture to enlarge) |
Follow our Astronomy Club Toutatis through our visit to the Canarian astronomy in Tenerife, Canary Islands.
As I visited the Teide Observatory with Dr. Alfred Rosenberg González we met with Astrophotographer extraordinaire Daniel López. I had seen his work on the Internet and somewhat visited his website, but as I met with him, he struck me to be a down to Earth guy with modest ways of photographing. One thing was for sure, he knew exactly where to go to catch the elusive Comet Pan-Starrs (C/2011 L4) and get at the same time a great shot of the Teide Observatory, Mount Teide and the island of La Palma. El cielo de Canarias.com is an impressive website with all of Daniel's work in it.
His work has been all over the place and in all sort of astronomy magazines and astronomy papers. He works now full time as a photographer, but he is an engineer by trade. He work closely with the Institute of Astrophysics of Canary Islands to provide them with pictures of the night sky and/or Astro-photos related to the Canary Islands. Please have a look at his website. And yes we finally catch the Comet Pan-Starrs and it was barely a naked eye object. See picture above and click on it to enlarge.
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| Comet Pan-Starrs in the Sunset sky over the Teide, Tenerife. Credit: S. Lamoureux/ KTY Toutatis (Click to enlarge picture) |
Have a look at this awesome Timelapse of the Comet Pan-Starrs made by Daniel López with in foreground the incredible Teide Observatory, Mount Teide and the island of La Palma.
Please visit Daniel López website El cielo de Canarias.com HERE
WIKI: Comet Pan-Starrs (C/2011 L4)
Read more about Astronomy Club Toutatis. Kustavi, Finland.
17 March 2013
Teide Observatory with Dr. Alfred Rosenberg González, Tenerife, Canary Islands
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| Teide Observatory, Tenerife, Canary Islands Credit: Astronomy Club Toutatis (Click the picture to enlarge) |
Astrophysics
in the Canary Islands began at this observatory, which is situated 2400 metres above
sea level in Izaña, an area near the National Park of Teide, Tenerife.
Its
geographical location together with the clarity and excellent quality of the
sky, mean that the Teide Observatory is ideally suited for studying the Sun.
For this reason it is home to some of Europe’s finest solar telescopes,
foremost among them are Themis and the German Gregor and VTT telescopes, as
well as instruments for studying Solar Seismology.
In addition
to these instruments for solar observation, the OT has a number of other
telescopes, such as the “Carlos Sanchez” telescope, a very productive
instrument that introduced many Spanish astronomers to the specialty of
infrared astronomy. The latest generation of robotic telescopes is represented
by STELLA, which consists of twin telescopes with complementary
instrumentation. The European Space Agency’s optical ground station (OGS),
which was built for laser communication with orbiting satellites, is also used
for identifying and tracking space debris. The IAC - 80 telescope is used for
observing objects with long-term variability and as a test-bed for new
astrophysical instruments as well as for teaching astronomy to graduate
students. There are also other highly specialized telescopes, like the Quijote,
which is used to study background radiation from the “Big Bang” at the origin
of the Universe.
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| Teide Observatory with crescent Moon Credit: Astronomy Club Toutatis (Click the picture to enlarge) |
I had the chance to visit this incredible complex of telescopes and instruments with the help of public spokes person (public relations) Dr. Alfred Rosenberg González. Dr. Rosenberg González dedicated his astronomy career to Globular Clusters and publish quite a few papers on the subject (see Dr. Alfred Rosenberg González personnel pages (IAC). After his studies, he started as a support astronomer at the Teide Observatory before his Post-Doc and continued his career with the Institute of Astrophysics of Canary Islands as a Post-Doc student at the IAC. Later on he went to be the public spokes person (public relations) for the Institute of Astrophysics as well as for the Teide Observatory. As he showed me around the complex at the Observatory, I noticed how smooth he was at his job. He knew everyone in the complex, it was second nature for him to explain "hard" facts about the Observatory and astronomy in general. I raise my hat to his enthusiasm and knowledge of astronomy and the Teide Observatory. I had a wonderful time and I couldn't have a better "guide" for the job. Big Thanks to Dr. Alfred Rosenberg González and good luck with your future projects.
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| Panorama of Teide Observatory and Mount Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands Credit: Astronomy Club Toutatis (Click on picture to enlarge) |
Teide Observatory website (IAC)
WIKI: Teide Observatory
Photos of Teide Observatory
Dr. Alfred Rosenberg González personnel website (IAC)
READ NEXT POST HERE on our trip through Canarian Astronomy on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands.
About Astronomy Club Toutatis
16 March 2013
What is the Starlight foundation? Interview with Director Luis Martínez Sáez
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| President of the Starlight Foundation Mr. Luis Martínez Sáez Credit: Astronomy Club Toutatis |
I visited Mr. Luis Martínez Sáez Director of the Starlight Foundation at his office at the Institute of Astrophysics of Canary Islands (Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, IAC) in San Cristóbal de La Laguna. As he invited me in his office, we started the interview and I asked him what is this Starlight foundation all about?
Laughing, he asked me what is this Astronomy Club Toutatis all about? I replied with an honest and simple answer that it is our astronomy club in Finland and we are curious about all that is related to space and astronomy. He liked my answer and we continued the interview.
Follow us in our Astronomy Trip to the Canary Islands
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| Teide Observatory, Tenerife, Canary Islands Credit: Astronomy CLub Toutatis (Click to enlarge picture) |
Here we go again!
A dream come true, Top of the notch Astronomy wise!
This time we visit the Canary islands and the island of TENERIFE!
Before we left from Finland we contacted the Institute of Astrophysics of Canary Islands (Instituto Astrofisica de Canarias) and asked for an interview with the President of Starlight Foundation Luis Martínez Sáez and a guided visit to the Teide Observatory which we visited in company of public spokes person Dr. Alfred Rosenberg González
First we visited the headquarters of the Institute of Astrophysics in San Cristobal de la Laguna in the northern part of the island and sat down with Mr. Luis Martínez Sáez. Then we drove by car an hour to the National Parc of Teide to the Teide Observatory where we visited the many telescopes and installations of the Observatory companied by Dr. Alfred Rosenberg González. As we visited the installations of the Observatory we were introduced to Daniel López, Astrophotographer extraordinaire who tagged along before asking us if we would like to join him in a session of photography of the Comet Pan-Starrs near the grounds of the Observatory. It was simply magical!
The Sun set and the view was just amazing, we installed our cameras and look out for the Comet.
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| Teide Observatory and Mount Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands Credit: Astronomy Club Toutatis (Click on picture to enlarge) |
I have to say, this was a dream come true to visit the Observatory and the many telescopes on sight. The astrophotography session with Daniel López was simply incredible. Mr. Luis Martinez Saez back in San Cristobal de la Laguna gave us a royal welcome. Last but not least this could not have been possible without the best public spokes person Mr. Alfred Rosenberg González who attended to our every needs and gave us the GRAN tour.
Thank you very much Alfred, Luis, Daniel and David for your warm welcome and your great company.
Follow our astronomy trip through out Tenerife in our series of posts dedicated to this adventure. Follow us every day for a different article on Astronomy in the Canary Islands.
- An interview with Mr. Luis Martínez Sáez, President of the Starlight Foundation.
- An introduction to Institute of Astrophysics of Canary Islands IAC (Instituto Astrofisica de Canarias).
- Visit of Teide Observatory with Dr. Alfred Rosenberg González
- Astrophotography session with Daniel López. In search of Comet Pan-Starrs.
- Astronomy trip in Photos and much more...
About Astronomy Club Toutatis
05 March 2013
Where & When to look for Comet Panstarrs this March 2013
Look at the West 30 minutes after Sunset in March 2013. For the whole month of March, Comet Panstarrs (C/2011 L4) will be visible for Northern hemisphere observers. On March 12 2013, the crescent Moon and the Comet are close to each other. It could be a great photo opportunity. Gather friends and family and get out to see this great event in the "twilight" sky.
Read a great article on Comet Panstarrs from
Wikipedia: C/2011 L4 a.k.a. Comet PANSTARRS
Photo credit: TheWeatherSpace.com Network
About Astronomy Club Toutatis
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Read a great article on Comet Panstarrs from
Wikipedia: C/2011 L4 a.k.a. Comet PANSTARRS
Photo credit: TheWeatherSpace.com Network
About Astronomy Club Toutatis
01 March 2013
Astronomy Club Toutatis night out. Visit to the ruins of Kuusisto Castle, South Finland
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| Ruins of Kuusisto Castle near Kaarina, Finland Credit: Astronomy club Toutatis Kustavi |
Astronomy Club Toutatis night out!
Visit to the Ruins of Kuusisto Castle near the city of Kaarina, Finland.
Great night to catch the almost full Moon over the ruins of a medieval castle in Southern Finland. I few friends and family members came to see the ruins under a clear night sky with many night sky object to be seen.
The Moon was at it's best as it rose in the background of the ruins landscape. The planet Jupiter was the brightest object in the night sky and was still a challenge to see in our "field" telescope. (70mm Meade refractor). Even at 6 km from the big city lights, this place could be rated as a dark sky site for observations. We had a nice snack while looking around and we looked some more through the telescope at the Moon. After a session of astrophotography we headed back home.
Great astronomy night. Thanks to everyone involved!
See more Pictures of the event on Facebook Astronomy Club Toutatis homepage.
Catch photos of the event Astronomy night out. Visit to the Ruins of Kuusisto Castle HERE
Wikipedia on Kuusisto Castle
About Astronomy Club Toutatis
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