Roque de los Muchachos Observatory

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Roque de los Muchachos Observatory
Roque de los Muchachos by night

The Roque de los Muchachos Observatory ( Spanish: Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos , ORM for short ) is a settlement of observatories on the slope of Roque de los Muchachos on the Canary Island of La Palma between 2350 and 2400 meters . Together with the Teide Observatory on Tenerife, the ORM forms the European Northern Observatory .

General

The astrophysical observatories opened in 1985. Several European countries are involved in the plant, which is one of the most important of its kind in the world. The climatic conditions on the highest elevation of La Palma were decisive for the location of the project.

The ORM houses both night and solar telescopes and is one of the largest observatories in the world.

Around 170 research institutes and 31 countries are currently involved in the ENO instruments .

International participation has risen sharply since 2012 when the government of the Canary Islands created a fiber optic network that allows the data generated by the research instruments to be quickly transmitted to all participating countries.

In addition to the Paranal Observatory in Chile, the ORM is part of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), which is the world's largest project for research on gamma-ray astronomy .

Above all, the large-size telescopes on La Palma make this observatory so special, because they are specialized in gamma rays in the lowest energy range (20 gigaelectron volts ) and can be moved quickly, which makes them an ideal tool for observing temporary events in the universe.

Sources that emit gamma radiation can be found in the vicinity of black holes or neutron stars , for example .

The huge telescopes make it possible to study these different sources of gamma radiation.

In addition to these large telescopes, there are also smaller telescopes that together cover the broad spectrum of gamma rays between 20 and 300 tetra electron volts.

Location

After it was recognized that almost ideal conditions for astronomical observation and research exist on La Palma , the observatory was built there.

Due to the unique circumstances, such as the very dark night sky or the almost particle-free layer of air at an altitude of 2400 meters, excellent images are obtained via the cameras installed in the telescopes, making the location of the observatory on La Palma one of the most important in the world.

The shorter distance to Europe, compared to other observatories (Hawaii, Chile), also provides some advantages.

In 1988, the world's first law was passed to protect La Palma from light pollution . The so-called Ley del Cielo contains regulations on factors that could degrade the quality of the atmosphere, but also regulates aspects of electromagnetic environmental compatibility .

In 2012 La Palma was certified as the world's first UNESCO Starlight Reserve , which includes the entire island as well as parts of the surrounding Atlantic and the Canarian neighboring island of Tenerife (see light protection on La Palma ).

history

In 1979 in Santa Cruz de La Palma the states of Spain , Sweden , Denmark and the United Kingdom signed an agreement that allowed them to conduct astrophysical research on the Roque de los Muchachos. Other countries joined the astronomical network (the Federal Republic of Germany 1983). Finally, on June 29, 1985 , the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory was inaugurated in the presence of numerous scientists , the heads of state of the participating countries and the Spanish royal couple .

On July 24th, 2009 the 10.4 m diameter - the largest of the mirror telescopes worldwide - the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GRANTECAN) was ceremoniously put into operation by the Spanish King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia .

  • Panoramic view from the Roque de los Muchachos to the north
  • La Palma - Roque de los Muchachos.jpg

Telescopes

The larger observatories are equipped with reflector telescopes , which are sorted according to the diameter of the main mirror below :

The telescopes marked (ING) are grouped together in the Isaac Newton Group .

Special telescopes

  • Dutch Open Telescopes

  • Dutch Open Telescope

  • Telescopio Nazionale Galileo

  • Isaac Newton Telescope

  • William Herschel Telescope

  • Two of the HEGRA telescopes

  • MAGIC telescopes

  • Gran Telescopio Canarias

  • Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT)

Discoveries

In collaboration with the Teide Observatory , the ROM has already made numerous important discoveries.

For example, the first possible black hole was discovered in our Milky Way in 1992 and the first so-called brown dwarf in the Pleiades in 1995 . In 2001 another black hole was found near our Milky Way.

Gamma-ray astronomy has an extraordinarily great scientific potential, which measurements with different telescopes show. Together, these instruments discovered more than 150 gamma ray sources and achieved significant scientific discoveries.

By measuring the gamma rays in the highest energy ranges, scientists are able to evaluate the physical processes in turbulent regions of the sky. It is believed that the CTA will discover hundreds of objects in and out of the Milky Way, such as:

The CTA can also be used to observe transient phenomena, since transients emit gamma rays with very high energy.

The origin of cosmic rays was unknown for a long time.

What contribution supernova remnants and dark matter make to cosmic radiation are further scientific puzzles, but which could soon be clarified by the ORM. It is currently believed that dark matter particles can annihilate one another if they interact with one another, producing gamma rays.

Furthermore, scientists hope to gain new knowledge about the nature of the large empty spaces in the universe.

financing

The observatory is financed by the Canarian or Spanish government, but also to a large extent by other countries and their universities such as Germany, Sweden or the USA, which are financially involved in the construction of telescopes . As a result, the observatory on La Palma can make an important contribution to the exploration of the universe .

Spain has already contributed many million euros, but the majority comes from the European funding budget.

literature

proof

  1. ↑ http://www.rediris.es/difusion/publicaciones/casos_uso/mm/cuso_grantecan-eng.pdf
  2. ↑ a b c https://www.cta-observatory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/QA_LST-1_DE.pdf
  3. ↑ Inauguration of the largest mirror telescope: Chasing black holes and new galaxies ( Memento from July 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (Tagesschau.de, July 24, 2009)
  4. ↑ La Palma. In: Cherenkov Telescope Array. February 2, 2017, Retrieved April 23, 2019 (American English).
  5. ↑ pdf.kanarenexpress.com/226/pdf/kanaren_express_002.pdf

Web links

Commons : Roque-de-los-Muchachos-Observatory  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 28 ° 45 ′ 35 "  N , 17 ° 53 ′ 24"  W.