| 25 Dec 1642 |
Isaac Newton born |
| 1672 |
Isaac Newton builds the first reflector telescope |
| 1675 |
The Royal Observatory founded at Greenwich by King Charles II |
| 20 Mar 1727 |
Death of Isaac Newton |
| 1856 |
First astronomical observations in the Canary Islands by Charles Piazzi
Smyth |
| 1945-46 |
Proposal for large telescope for use of all British
astronomers |
| 1946 Jul 7 |
First day of official celebration of tercentenary
of Newton's birth. Announcement that funds voted for construction of 100-inch
telescope |
| 1948-1958 |
The Royal Observatory is moved from London to Herstmonceux Castle in
Sussex, and renamed the Royal Greenwich Observatory |
| 1949 |
McGregor Fundation donates 98-inch glass mirror
blank (originally intended for telescope for Michigan University Observatory) |
| 1959 |
Isaac Newton Telescope ordered |
| 1967 |
INT Inauguration at Herstmonceux |
| 1967 |
| Jan |
Hermann Brück, Astronomer Royal for Scotland, first proposes the
construction of a Northern Hemisphere Observatory (NHO) |
| 1 Dec |
Isaac Newton Telescope is inaugurated by Queen
Elizabeth II |
| 1969 |
| Jan |
Formal start of the project 'Northern Hemisphere Observatory (NHO)'.
Sir Fred Hoyle takes the chair at the first meeting of the Northern Hemisphere
Review Committee |
| 1971 |
| Apr |
John Alexander of the Royal Greenwich Observatory visits La Palma |
| Aug |
Professor M.F. Walker of Lick Observatory, California includes La Palma
in a list of oceanic islands that might be used as astronomical sites |
Summer,
autumn |
JOSO site testers visit La Palma |
| Nov |
Flight over the mountain top in La Palma by JOSO (Joint Organization
for Solar Observations) team |
| Dec |
John Alexander states: "The ideal solution may be an international observatory
site on the island of La Palma." |
| 1972 |
| 2 Jul |
First astronomical observations on Roque de Los Muchachos peak. They
were carried out by a JOSO team consisting of G. Hosinsky, L. Staveland
and H. Wöhl from Jul 2 to Jul 21 |
| 11 Jul |
First British astronomers arrive in La Palma |
| 6 Aug |
First observations by the British site-testing team. These were carried
out by Dr T. T. Gough and Mr C. M. Heath of the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh
in Fuente Nueva, where the ING telescopes are erected today |
| 1973 |
| May |
The NHO Planning Committee decides not to consider La Palma any more
due to deep pessimism about the prospects for agreement on the use of La
Palma site |
| 1974 |
| Aug |
After high international activity, Spanish authorities issue an invitation
to form a Joint Astronomical Site Survey to undertake an international
programme of site testing on the Canary Islands |
| Nov |
The proposals for the present WHT, INT and JKT are accepted by the Science
Research Council |
| 25 Nov |
Site testing observations begin in Fuente Nueva |
| Dec |
Representatives of Denmark, Sweden, Germany and the United
Kingdom are invited by the Rector of the University of La Laguna and the
Presidents of the local Governments (Cabildos) of Tenerife and La Palma
to discuss arrangements for the survey programme. During a aircraft flight
above the Roque de Los Muchachos peak, these representatives "[...] felt
that this must be the site for the new observatory" |
| 1975 |
| Nov |
Tests for night site observing are completed |
| 1978 |
| 1979 |
| 4 Mar |
INT closed down at Herstmonceux |
| 26 May |
Almost 10 years after the first committee met to consider a Northern
Hemisphere Observatory, a treaty governing its establishment is signed.
Spain agrees to let Denmark, Sweden, and Britain build on La Palma, in
exchange for 20 percent of the observing time. The treaty is signed in
the Cabildo of la Palma |
| 4 Jun |
INT is dismantled and transferred to Newcastle
for modification prior to shipment to La Palma |
| 1980 |
|
Completion of INT new mirror at Grubb Parsons. |
| 1981 |
| 18 Jun |
SERC-ZWO agreement signed. They agree to share all the parts of the
projects, including the construction, operation and use of the telescopes,
each providing manpower, capital and running costs in the ratio 4:1. |
| Jul |
Isaac Newton Telescope installation begins |
| September |
First RGO staff come to live on La Palma |
| 1982 |
| September |
First Dutch technician begins work at Herstmonceux under Anglo-Dutch
collaborative programme |
| 10 Dec |
INT primary mirror arrives on La Palma |
| 1983 |
| 23 Jan |
Hand-over from the building contractor of INT
building |
| September |
La Palma Observers' Guide issued |
| Nov |
First light through the Carlsberg Automatic Meridian Circle |
| 1984 |
|
INT observes quasar Q0055-269, one of the most distant
objects known in the universe (z=3.68). [more] |
| 13/14 Feb |
2.5-m Isaac Newton Telescope first light on La
Palma. Its first views included the Crab Nebula, the Orion Nebula and the galaxies M51 and NGC 4151. |
| Mar |
First astronomical spectra obtained with INT
Cassegrain spectrograph. First use of the Image Photon Counting System
(IPCS) device on La Palma. |
| Apr |
Patrick Moore films Sky at Night on La Palma |
| 29 May |
First scheduled observing on INT |
| Jun | First CCD detector in use at
ING |
| Nov |
First refereed paper using results from the ING
telescopes: M V Penston & E Pérez, "An evolutionary link between
Seyfert I and II galaxies?", MNRAS, 211, 33 (based on data
obtained using the Isaac Newton Telescope). |
| Dec |
Faint-object spectrograph commissioned on Isaac
Newton Telescope |
| 1985 |
|
First ever images from optical aperture synthesis
[more] |
| Apr |
TAURUS commissioned on Isaac Newton Telescope |
| Jun |
Completion of road to Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory |
| 29 Jun |
Royal Inauguration of the Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory on La
Palma |
| Jul |
First prime-focus images with Isaac Newton Telescope and CCD camera |
| Aug |
Opening of Residencia on Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory |
| 1986 |
|
INT observes an emission-line object in the core
of M15 star cluster as the source responsible for the detected emission
in X-ray. This object is later identified as a binary system [more
] |
| 1987 |
| 1988 |
|
Li and Be abundance measurements give clues on
cosmological evolution [more
] |
| 31 Oct | The Spanish Government approves the Sky Law |
| 1989 |
| 1991 |
|
INT discovers a quasar of redshift 4.7 which is the
brightest object in the Universe at optical wavelengths [more
] |
|
INT obtains the ever deepest B image [more
] |
|
RGO moves to Cambridge |
| 1992 |
| 13 Mar |
The regulation of the Sky Law
is approved by the Spanish Government |
| 1993 |
|
SN 1993J was the closest core-collapse supernova
to have occurred this century and observable from the north. ING telescopes
immediately set in motion an extensive programme of astrometric, photometric
(UVBRI) and low- and high- dispersion spectroscopic
monitoring. The INT spectrum of SN1993J obtained one day after the discovery
was the first recorded anywhere at any wavelength. A public on-line archive
consisting of optical photometric and spectroscopic
data is offered to the community. Over 70 sites worldwide have availed
themselves of this unique facility [more
] |
|
A major campaign is undertaken to observe the
impact on Jupiter of Comet Shoemaker-Levy
9 [more] |
| |
First ever spectroscopic map of an accretion-disk in a cataclysmic variable [
more] |
|
First ever observations
of a brown dwarf [more] |
|
The deepest ground-based
image in B-band [more] |
| 1996 |
| 1997 |
| |
First detection
of spiral waves in stellar accretion disc [more
] |
| 28 Feb |
First detection of a gamma-ray
burst in optical light [more
] |
| May | First light on the Wide-Field
Camera, a mosaic of 4 CCDs. [more
] |
| 1998 |
|
By observing distant type Ia supernovae, astronomers
determine that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate - an
observation that implies the existence of a mysterious, self-repelling
property of space first proposed by Albert
Einstein, which he called the cosmological constant. This extraordinary
finding is named by the journal 'Science' as Breakthrough of the Year for
1998 [more] |
|
APM 08279+5255: a quasar about 100 times brighter
than the next brightest object that has ever been observed [more
] |
| 31 Oct |
Closure of RGO. |
| 1999 |
|
A new Local
Group galaxy: The Cetus Dwarf Galaxy [more] |
| September |
First sodium laser beacon at La Palma [more] |
| 2000 |
|
Discovery of a Type Ia supernova progenitor [more] |
| 23 Jul |
Comet Linear blows up in full view of the JKT one billion light years of the Universe [more] |
| 2001 |
|
A giant stream of metal-rich stars in the halo of the galaxy M31 [more] |
|
Completely dark galaxies [more] |
|
Tidal streams in the Galactic halo [more] |
|
International review of ING [more] |
| 7-11 May |
First scientific conference organised by ING [more] |
| 20 Oct |
Science from La Palma - Past, Present and Future, a workshop organised by ING in honour of Dr Paul Murdin. [more] |
| 2002 |
| 27-31 May |
A Euroconference Organised by the ING: “Symbiotic Stars Probing Stellar Evolution”, La Palma, 27–31 May 2002
[more] |
| Aug |
RoboDIMM starts observing [more] |
| 2003 |
|
A huge ring surrounding the Milky Way [more] |
| 9-11 Jan |
NAOMI Workshop [more ] |
| 6 May |
Signing of agreement with IAC to become a partner |
| 26-30 May |
Satellites and Tidal Streams, an ING–IAC Joint Conference [more ] |
| 17 Jul |
Decommissioning of IDS |
| 23 Aug |
BBC's All Night Star Party ! [more] |
| 2004 |
| |
Rings in the Haloes of Planetary Nebulae [more] |
| |
The Largest Known Planetary Nebula on the Sky [more] |
| 23 Nov |
First light on NAOMI's pyramid wavefront sensor [more] |
| 2005 |
| 9-11 May |
Adaptive-Optics Assisted Integral-Field Spectroscopy Workshop [more ] |
| 6-10 Jun |
2nd Meeting on Hot Subdwarf Stars and Related Objects Conference [more ] |
| 4 Jul |
Deep Impact mission observed at ING [more ] |
| 11 Aug |
A Jet-Powered Bubble Formed in the Gas Around Black Hole Cygnus X-1 [more ] |
| 14 Oct |
RAS Specialist Discussion Meeting on "Science from La Palma - Looking beyond 2009" [more ] |
| 2006 |
|
A Gaseous Metal Disk Around a White Dwarf [more] |
| 4 Apr |
Users' meeting at NAM 2006: Astronomy from La Palma: Developments and future directions |
| 16-19 May |
Conference: The nature of V838 Monocerotis and its light echo [more] |
| 1 Aug |
IDS spectrograph back to operation on the INT |
| 10-16 Dec |
IAU Symposium 241: Stellar Populations as Building Blocks of Galaxies [more] |
| 2007 |
|
The YORP Effect Detected on Near-Earth Asteroid 2000 PH5 [more] |
| 1 Apr |
The UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) replaces the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) as ING's owner. |
| 18-22 Jun |
Conference: Asymmetrical Planetary Nebulae IV [more] |
| 3 Dec |
IPHAS Initial Data Release [more] |
| 2008 |
| |
First results from the H-alpha galaxy survey [more] |
| |
Detection of naphtalene cation in the interestellar medium [more] |
| |
The extreme Kuiper-Belt binary 2011 QW322 [more] |
| 9 Oct |
First light on ExPo [more] |
| 2009 |
| |
First ground-based near-infrared direct detection of an extrasolar planet [more] |
| |
First ever spectrum of an asteroid which hit the Earth [more] |
| |
First spectroscopic observations using an electron-multiplying CCD [more] |
| |
Earth's transmission spectrum from lunar eclipse observations [more] |
| |
ING joins the International Year of Astronomy [more] |
| 9 Jun |
First light on ACAM [more] |
| 15 Jul |
New director for the ING [more] |
| 2010 |
| |
First ground-based near-infrared direct detection of an extrasolar planet [more] |
| |
Super-Complex Organic Molecules Found in Interstellar Space [more] |
| |
Comet P/2010 A2, an Activated Asteroid from the Main Asteroid Belt [more] |
| |
PLC Technology Reduces Observing Overheads
[more] |
| 19 Sep |
First On-Sky Demonstration of Multi-Object Adaptive Optics [more] |
| 2011 |
| |
Discovery of a new class of supernovae [more] |
| |
The ATLAS3D Project: Replacing the Handle of Hubble’s Tuning Fork [more] |
| |
ING Joins Efforts with GTC to Discover a Galactic Black Hole [more] |
| 29 May |
Wide-Field Multi-Object Spectrograph WEAVE Proposed for WHT Prime Focus [more] |
| 2012 |
|
The Kepler-INT Survey
[more] |
|
A 3D View of the Remnant of Nova Persei 1901
[more] |
|
First Evidence of the Relation Between Jets in Planetary Nebulae and Mass Transfer and Accretion in Close Binaries
[more] |
|
22-23 March
|
Workshop: La Palma and Calar Alto Observatories, Science in the Next Decade
[more]
|
|
2013 |
|
The Isaac Newton Telescope Contributes to Near Earth Asteroid Research
[more] |
|
|
ING Science Strategy 2013 - 2022
[more]
|
| 2014 |
|
RATS-Kepler - A Deep High-Cadence Survey of the Kepler Field
[more] |
|
3D Map Shows Dusty Structure of the Milky Way
[more] |
|
Astronomers Release Most Detailed Catalogue Ever Made of the Visible Milky Way
[more] |
|
21 Aug
|
Report on instrumentation at the ING Telescopes
[more]
|
|
1982 |
| 15 Dec | Arrival of the INT primary mirror |
|
2014 |
| 21 Aug | Instrumentation at the ING Telescopes - Results of a community pol [more] |
|
2015 |
| 20 Feb | First Observational Proof of Existence of a Double-Degenerate, Super-Chandrasekhar System [more] |
| 15 Apr | First Near Earth Asteroids Discovered from La Palma [more] |
| 04 May | Mergers of Galaxy Clusters Can Trigger Star Formation [more] |
| 05 May | Binarity in Planetary Nebulae Gives Clues to Understand the Abundance Discrepancy Problem [more] |
| 07 May | Fresh Evidence for How Water Reached Earth Found in Asteroid Debris [more] |
| 13 Jun | First Light on PAU Camera [more] |
| 23 Jul | WHT Observes Pluto in Support of NASAs New Horizons Mission [more] |
| 16 Oct | Common Accretion across Young Stellar Objects, White Dwarfs, Black Holes and Supermassive Black Holes [more] |
| 23 Oct | ING Telescopes Provide Unique Observations in Support of the ESA Rosetta Mission [more] |
|
2016 |
| 08 Apr | First light of the renewed JKT (SARA-RM) [more] |
| 23 May | First Results from the PAU Camera (PAUCam) [more] |
| 31 May | Lucky Imaging of the Multiple T Tauri System LkHα 262/LkHα 263 [more] |
| 12 Jun | Stephen Hawking Visits La Palma [more] |
| 25 Jul | AOLI Delivers Its First Adaptive-Optics Images [more] |
| 26 Jul | An Extremely Weak Magnetic Field in a White Dwarf [more] |
| 05 Sep | CANARYs Sodium Laser Guide Star Successfully Commissioned [more] |
| 30 Dec | A Deficit of Dark Matter in Elliptical Galaxies [more] |
|
2017 |
| 12 Jan | Lyman-alpha Giant Halos Around Early Milky Way Type Galaxies [more] |
| 06 Feb | Turbulence Velocity Profile Characterization with Stereo-SCIDAR [more] |
| 23 Feb | Signing of the Agreement for the Scientific Exploitation of the William Herschel and Isaac Newton Telescopes [more] |
| 23 Feb | Newly Discovered Planets Could Have Water on Their Surfaces [more] |
| 31 Mar | Stars Regularly Ripped Apart by Black Holes in Colliding Galaxies [more] |
| 25 Aug | The Puzzle of Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies [more] |
| 25 Sep | The Fastest-Spinning Known Millisecond Pulsar in the Galactic Field [more] |
| 31 Oct | WHT Helps to Measure the Size of a Stellar-Mass Black Hole Jet [more] |
| 02 Nov | HiPERCAM Successfully Commissioned on the William Herschel Telescope [more] |
| 06 Nov | A/2017 U1 - An Interstellar Visitor [more] |
| 01 Dec | Isaac Newton Telescope - 50 Years Since First Light [more] |
|
2018 |
| 15 Jan | HS2231+2441: A Star Killed Prematurely By Its Companion [more] |
| 06 Apr | A 3D Map of the Infant Universe [more] |
| 16 Apr | A Key Element to Life is Lacking in the Crab Nebula [more] |
| 24 Apr | A New Method for Galaxy Density Wave Analysis [more] |
| 28 May | Discovery of a Massive Pulsar [more] |
| 28 Jun | New Telescope Control System at the WHT [more] |
| 19 Oct | A Feasibility Study on the Photometric Detection of Quiescent Black Hole X-ray Binaries [more] |
| 29 Oct | First Results from Lucky Spectroscopy, an Equivalent Technique to Lucky Imaging [more] |
| 17 Nov | Quantum Entanglement Confirmed with Light from Distant Quasars [more] |
| 07 Dec | The Extended Planetary Nebula Spectrograph (ePN.S) Early-type Galaxy Survey [more] |
|
2019 |
| 01 Mar | Discovery of Many New Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies in Galaxy Clusters [more] |
| 30 Sep | Astronomers Detect Gas Molecules in Comet from Another Star [more] |
| 09 Oct | Didier Queloz, Physics Nobel Prize Winner 2019, Develops an Advanced Terrestrial Planet Hunter for the Isaac Newton Telescope [more] |
|
2020 |
| 02 Mar | Two Stars Merged to Form Massive White Dwarf [more] |
| 16 Mar | ING Operations on Hold Due to Coronavirus [more] |
| 14 Apr | Discovery of a Young Blazar Produced by the Merger of Two Galaxies [more] |
| 16 Sep | Installation of WEAVE's Prime Focus Optics and Spectrograph [more] |
| 23 Dec | The Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn [more] |
|
2021 |
| 22 Dec | The Largest Collection of Free-Floating Planets Discovered to Date [more] |
|
2022 |
| 19 Jan | First Detection of a Supernova Explosion Originating From a Wolf-Rayet Star [more] |
| 06 Mar | The 2021 La Palma volcano [more] |
| 06 Apr | New Detection Method for Quasars in the Early Universe [more] |
| 26 May | The WEAVE Instrument, Mounted on the Prime Focus of the WHT [more] |
| 30 Sep | Start of LIFU-Mode Commissioning of WEAVE [more] |
| 05 Oct | The ING Congratulates the Nobel Prize in Physics 202 [more] |
| 12 Dec | WEAVE First Light [more] |
|
2023 |
| 06 Mar | First On-Sky Demonstration of Tomographic Scintillation Correction [more] |
| 26 Apr | Resuelven el misterio de como se encienden los cuasare [more] |
| 02 May | WEAVE Inauguration - 30 October 2023. First Announcement [more] |
| 27 Jun | The Shortest-Period Binary Star System Known in the Galaxy is Resisting Inspiral [more] |
| 30 Aug | Asteroid 2023 DZ2, Discovered Using the INT and Headed for Earth, Will Not Impact [more] |
| 31 Oct | Inauguration of WEAVE [more] |
| 30 Nov | A Giant Thin Stellar Stream in the Coma Galaxy Cluster [more] |
|
2024 |
| 20 Sep | The PAU Survey Data Release: a New Catalogue of Distant Galaxies with Unprecedented Distance Precision [more] |
| 22 Nov | First Scientific Results from WEAVE [more] |
|
2025 |
| 07 Apr | WEAVE Reveals Shock Interaction Powering the Nebular Phase of SN 2023ixf [more] |
