Observatorio del Teide
The Observatorio del Teide ( Teide Observatory , international code 954 ) is an observatory on Mount Izaña, at 2,400 meters above sea level, on the island of Tenerife , after which it is also called Observatorio de Izaña . It belongs to the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and, together with the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, forms the European Northern Observatory .
history
In 1964 the observatory was opened, based on the traditions of star research by Augustinian monks around 1701. The first telescope was the Heliógrafo Razdow , which is no longer in operation today. Due to the advancing settlement of Tenerife, the initially excellent conditions for night sky exploration suffered. For this reason, the Teide observatory has specialized in solar observation, which is operated 24 hours a day in a cooperative network with other observatories.
Telescopes
Solar telescopes and solar laboratory
- Vacuum Tower Telescope (VTT): Mainly used to study the sun's atmosphere. The diameter of the main mirror is 70 cm. Kiepenheuer Institute for Solar Physics , Freiburg (1989).
- THEMIS : A solar telescope built primarily to study the sun's magnetic fields. The project is based on a collaboration between France and Italy .
- GREGOR : a new solar telescope with a 1.5-meter primary mirror, cooperation between KIS , MPS and AIP (2012)
- ChroTel : robotic telescope with a 10 cm opening for observing the entire solar disk, installed on the VTT
Night telescopes
- Carlos Sánchez (TCS): 1.55-meter primary mirror, built by Great Britain in 1972 , IAC since 1982, optimized for infrared observations.
- Mons : 50 centimeter primary mirror, University of Mons, 1972.
- IAC-80 : 80-centimeter primary mirror, IAC, 1991.
- OGS : Optical Ground Station, 1 m primary mirror, ESA , 1998, for visual satellite communication and for optical observation of space debris .
- STARE : 4 -inch primary mirror, High Altitude Observatory , 2001, search for extrasolar planets.
- Bradford Robotic Telescope .
- STELLA robotic double telescope: two 1.2-meter primary mirrors, Astrophysical Institute Potsdam , 2006.
- SLOOH : Robotic telescopes from Slooh USA , 2004.
Anisotropy of the cosmic background radiation
- VSA (Very Small Array), radio interferometer
- COSMOSOMAS , study of cosmological structures, 1998
financing
Most of the telescopes are designed and built by non-Spanish organizations. As consideration (rent) for the building permit, the IAC demands up to 20% of the observation time of the respective telescope.
Open-door day
Every year around the summer solstice there is an “open day”. During these two days you can visit the observatory and take part in guided tours. These are offered in Spanish, English and German.
guides
In addition to the open days, guided tours are held almost every day in collaboration with Teleférico del Teide .
See also
- Paranal observatory
- La Silla Observatory
- Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
- European Extremely Large Telescope
Web links
- official website of the Observatorio del Teide (Spanish / English)
- IAC
- Open Day 2015 (Spanish / English)
- Themis
- Gregor
- ChroTel
- Starlings
- Bradford
- Stella
- Working group cosmic background radiation at the IAC
- 360 ° view of the observatory
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 28 ° 18 ′ 0 ″ N , 16 ° 30 ′ 35 ″ W.