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A GUIDE TO VISITING THE
ISAAC NEWTON GROUP OF TELESCOPES FOR SCHOOLS AND GROUP OF STUDENTS Chris
Johnson, March 2000 Contents:
Way
above the clouds of La Palma…
This
booklet is designed to help you to answer these questions - and to encourage
you to come and see our astronomers and engineers in action.Whether
you are a group of students or tutors thinking about an educational holiday,
we’ll offer you a warm welcome and show you around these superbly engineered
telescopes. IntroductionDespite recent Hollywood movies, the days of the lone scientist making a brilliant discovery by himself are long gone.These days it requires a team effort from many different disciplines for an astronomer to collect the data he or she requires.These disciplines include mathematics, physics, mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, optics, climatology, computing, software writing, and information technology.A visit to the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes has much to interest those students wondering what options to take at school, as well as to those already involved in these subjects at A-level or university. We hope that the information in this booklet will help you to plan such a trip, and to give you some idea of other activities that can be enjoyed here in the superb weather of the Canary Islands.Whether your interests lie in diving into the depths of the ocean, or standing high above the clouds gazing into deep space, this will certainly be a trip to remember. Many people wonder why British telescopes came to be situated on Spanish soil on a tiny island in the archipelago of the Canary Islands.But this remote island of La Palma has the ideal conditions that astronomers need. The main problem the scientists face is light pollution, so an island, surrounded by sea with no other major land mass in close proximity is perfect.
Spanish law protects the dark skies of La Palma so that even the streetlights of the nearest town have to wear a strange type of hat to direct the light downwards. Although it is a small island, with a surface area about the size of Greater London, its highest point is above 2,000 metres – that’s twice as high as Ben Nevis.It’s at the highest point of the mountain that the many different national telescopes are situated - at a place called El Roque de los Muchachos. Because of its height, El Roque de Los Muchachos enjoys clear skies throughout the year.Clouds normally stop at a height of 1,300 – 1,800 metres and El Roque is above this. The stable atmosphere provide what astronomers call good “seeing”.This is the parameter they use to measure the quality of images they obtain, and which is related to air turbulence.The “seeing” on La Palma is excellent and is one of the best worldwide. The
Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, or ING as it is always known, consists
of three telescopes.Both the British
and the Dutch governments collaborate in running them, and the telescopes
are named after three of their most famous astronomers. The
largest is the William Herschel Telescope, which has a mirror 4.2 metres
in diameter, the Isaac Newton Telescope with a 2.5 metre mirror, and the
smallest at 1 metre is the Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope.If
an astronaut walking on the moon were to shine a torch towards earth, someone
looking through the William Herschel Telescope would be able to see it! Such
dark skies and powerful instruments attract astronomers from all over the
world as well as Holland, Spain and the U.K.Over
the last decade since the setting up of the telescopes, they have made
some startling and quite eerie discoveries.One
recent cosmological finding is that the universe will expand forever.There
isn’t enough mass in the universe for its gravity to slow the expansion,
which started with the Big Bang. It
was while using the William Herschel Telescope that scientists discovered
the first black hole in our Galaxy.This
telescope is one of the most powerful optical telescopes outside the Americas.It
can see objects 10,000 million light years away on a clear night.This
is indeed amazing when you consider that one light year is equivalent to
6 million, million miles.
Weighing
200 tonnes, the telescope floats on a layer of oil 0.1 mm thick.It
is so finely balanced that the telescope can be pushed around by one hand. Another
recent development is a new instrument called the NAOMI natural guide star
Adaptive Optics facility for use with the William Herschel Telescope.This
instrument will use a technique called Adaptive Optics to yield high-resolution
images of astronomical objects by negating the blurring effect of the Earth’s
atmosphere. In
an effort to study from the ground objects first revealed so clearly in
outer space by the Hubble Space Telescope, it is necessary to compensate
for the distorting effect of the air above a ground-based observatory.By
using an Adaptive Optics system such as NAOMI it is possible to image celestial
objects with greater resolution and, in fact, at less expense than by using
the orbiting telescope. The
latest films have helped to heighten interest in comets.Could
we be wiped out in the same way as the dinosaurs millions of years ago?Research
into the origin and nature of comets may be important for understanding
the history of life on Earth.These
pictures of the fragments of the Shoemaker-Levy comet about to collide
with Jupiter, and comet Hale-Bopp, brightly visible in the night skies
in early 1997, were taken with the Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope.
Comet
Shoemaker-Levy
Comet
Hale-Bopp The
2.5 metre Isaac Newton Telescope with its Wide Field Camera is at the heart
of a new survey to study faint objects.Each
image obtained is roughly the size of the full moon.The
survey results will provide detailed information on the nature and distribution
of stars within the Milky Way Galaxy, faint objects within our solar system,
and information on faint objects outside the Milky Way, such as galaxy
clusters, quasars, and faint dwarf galaxy companions to our own Galaxy. The Isaac Newton Telescope used to be situated at the beautiful site of Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex.As the science of astronomy and astrophysics became more and more complex, it was obvious that darker and clearer skies were needed than could ever be found in the United Kingdom. So the whole mechanical structure, weighing a total of 109 tonnes, was shipped in 1982 to La Palma and re?erected within a new dome on El Roque de Los Muchachos.The fact that the telescope was dismantled and re-installed at a height of 2,000 metres is testimony to the great British engineering involved in its manufacture. To Find Out MoreThe
INGoperates
these telescopes on behalf of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research
Council (PPARC) of the United Kingdomand
the Nederlandse Organisatie
voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO) of The Netherlands. The
observatory itself is the responsibility of the Instituto de Astrofísica
de Canarias (IAC) on behalf of Spain. If
you’d like to find out more about all these organisations, these are their
websites: (the
site is mirrored for faster access to U.K. users at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/ING/) The Canary IslandsIt
may be an idea to combine an educational trip to the La Palma telescopes,
making it a two-site holiday with Tenerife or Gran Canaria for activities
like diving or caving.The following
are the addresses for tourist offices in the islands: Patronato
de Turismo de Tenerife, Plaza
de España, s/n (Cabildo Insular), E-38003
S/C de Tenerife, Canary
Islands Tel:+34
922 239 592 – 239 800 Fax:
+34 922 239 781 Patronato
de Turismo de Gran Canaria, C/León
y Castillo, 17, E-35003
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary
Islands Tel:+34
928 219 660 Fax:
+34 928 219 601 PATRONATO
DE TURISMO
Tel:
+34 92242 33 40
Arranging
a Trip to the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes La
Palma is still quite a remote island, so you must be prepared for several
stages to your journey. The following is to give you some idea of what
the journey entails. There
are direct flights from Madrid or you can fly to Tenerife or Gran Canaria,
and from there take a further flight to La Palma.Recently
it's possible to reach La Palma directly from U.K. but only in some months
a year. Ask your travel agency about this possibility.
To
La Palma from Tenerife
Flights
to Tenerife from U.K. destinations take about 4 hours and go to the airport
in the south, the Reina Sofia airport.The
cost of return flights varies between £100 - £300 depending
on the time of year you come, which airport you fly from and whether you
take a charter or scheduled flight. Just
outside the Reina Sofia airport are the stands for the local bus, taxi
or hired coach to take you to the north airport about an hour away.It
is then a short 20-minute flight in one of the small Binter planes that
take you to La Palma.This costs
about £80 and is half price to students.You
can hire a coach or take a taxi or bus at the airport in Santa Cruz de
La Palma to take you the 10-minute journey into town or to your hotel destination. There
are a few flights from the south airport in small 14-seater planes.They
are very infrequent and subject to change.It
is worth checking on their availability, however, to see whether they fit
in with the days you want to travel. A
cheaper way to travel from Tenerife to La Palma is to go to the port of
Los Cristianos in Tenerife and take the ferry, a journey of about 6 hours.This
costs about £16 per adult and there are discounts for groups. You
will disembark right in the centre of the capital, Santa Cruz de La Palma. So
far, there are no direct flights from the United Kingdom.However,
work is under way to extend the capacity of the north airport on Tenerife
to take international flights.It
may be possible to fly straight to this airport in the near future.
To
La Palma from Gran Canaria
Flights
are not so frequent as from Tenerife.There
are two a day from Gran Canaria and the journey time is 50 minutes.The
advantage here is that although you will have to change aeroplanes, you
remain within the same small airport. Please
keep in mind that this booklet is intended as a guide only, and some of
the information given will change. It may be easier to leave arrangements
to a travel agent in the U.K., although agencies in Tenerife or Gran Canaria
are helpful and generally speak excellent English. It’s always a good idea
to make all communications by fax if you can, as you then have a record
of your requirements to hand. Useful
Travel Agencies The
following agencies in Santa Cruz de La Palma have employees who speak English,
and can advise on up-to-date prices and availability of accommodation,
excursions and tours around the island: Viajes
Tanausú, Urbanización
Los Rosales, Local no 8, Playa
de Los Cancajos, 38712
Breña Baja, Canary
Islands Tel:+34
922 434 314 Fax:
+34 922 434 669 Viajes
Insular, Plaza
de España, 2, 38700
Santa Cruz de La Palma, Canary
Islands Tel:+34
922 411 110 Fax:
+34 922 415 644 These
agencies will arrange for coaches to take groups of students to the Observatory.There
are no local buses that go to the top of the mountain. Tours of the Isaac Newton Group of TelescopesGroups
of students will receive a warm welcome at the telescopes situated on El
Roque de los Muchachos.This means
‘Rock of the Young Lads’, which gets its name from the rocky formations
that look like a group of boys.As
you travel upwards and through the clouds, you will go through four different
climatic zones with corresponding vegetation.At
the bottom, you will be in the sub-tropical area with banana plantations
and orange trees, and then you will travel through vast tracts of laurel
and fir forest. Above the tree line there is an area of small shrubs and
scrubland, while at the very top it is quite arid and bare of any vegetation. Once
inside the domes you will be able to see the precision engineering involved
in the construction of the telescopes.When
you stand beneath one of the rotating domes, a powerful visual illusion
makes you think the dome is stationary and the building is spinning.Many
visitors marvel at the work undertaken in establishing such huge and complex
buildings so high up.Incidentally,
the telescopes are actually sitting on a dead volcano! Visits last for approximately two hours, and so students will be able to see all the telescopes in the Isaac Newton Group.During the day students will be shown around by an expert guide who will be able to supply all kinds of information about the domes and telescopes, and answer questions. The visit encompasses looking round the research facilities, talking to the astronomers, and watching the engineers at work as they install the different scientific instruments and ready the telescopes for the night’s observing. The
telescopes are working scientific establishments and requests for visits
and tours must be made well in advance.These
are free of charge but you will need to hire a coach to get your group
to the top of the mountain at El Roque de los Muchachos.The
tours take place in the daytime. ING has facilities to offer tours to groups
of people but regrettably visits by individual tourists travelling on their
own are so far not possible.
It
is generally advisable to avoid a visit in the winter as the weather conditions
at the top can be below freezing, often with accompanying snow and ice.Remember
to bring a telescope or binoculars – you only have to go a little way beyond
the town’s lights to see the thousands of stars that are there.It’s
an awe-inspiring sight that we rarely see nowadays in the light-polluted
skies of the U.K. Accommodation
ranges from the most expensive new Parador de Turismo to a pension or a
block of apartments with own bathroom and balcony.Prices
for this type of accommodation are reasonable.For
example an apartment for 2 people in Santa Cruz is about £15 and
for 5 people sharing a room it will be £25 per night. Please
see ING website http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/lapalma/
for more information about accommodation on La Palma, or contact the ING
site receptionist, Mavi Hernández, tel: +34 922 405 655, e-mail: mavi@ing.iac.es Food
and eating out are still remarkably cheap on La Palma.Typical
food is grilled meat or fish with ‘papas arrugadas’ – small potatoes cooked
until the skins are wrinkled – and salad.The
bars will serve small portions of food or snacks called ‘tapas’.These
can be any specialty of fish or meat or vegetables. CurrencyThe
Canary Islands are an autonomous region of mainland Spain, therefore the
currency is the Spanish peseta and it has the same exchange rate.Currently
the rate is about 250 pesetas to the pound.The
banks are very efficient and you can use your bankcard to get pesetas out
of the cash machines. From
the year 2001 both the peseta and the euro will be the currency used in
La Palma as, in common with most countries in the European Community, Spain
will start to phase out the peseta for the euro in 2002.You
can find out what the rate is for the amount of euros to the £sterling
at your local bank. ShoppingVisitors
are often caught out by Spanish opening times.Shops
open about 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and close again at 1 p.m.They
open again at 5 p.m. and you can shop until 8 p.m.Bars
and cafés are open all day and often until 2 a.m. when, according
to law, they must close. ClothingLa
Palma has a wonderful climate and because of its situation, is slightly
cooler than the other islands.You
must bring good hiking boots or trainers with a good gripping sole.Remember
that you can start off in a T-shirt at sea-level, but will need a jacket
to withstand the cool winds at the top of the mountain. Youth and Student IdentificationIf
you are a student, you should get an International Student Identity Card
(ISIC).With this you will be able
to get discounts for train, ferry and aeroplane travel, as well as cheaper
museum entrances, etc.The ISIC card
costs £5.People who are under
26 years old, who are not students, can obtain a ‘EURO<26' card that
costs £7, which has similar benefits.Contact
STA Travel or Campus Travel to find out how to get an ISIC or ‘EURO<26’
card. Museums and Educational Activities on La PalmaThere are two interesting museums in the capital, Santa Cruz de La Palma.There is the Museo de Historia situated in an ancient monastery within the beautiful and recently restored square of San Francisco.It contains an eclectic mixture of art treasures and artifacts, aborigine culture and anything anyone has thought worth collecting over the years. A truly amazing sight is to see a huge concrete replica of Christopher Columbus’ boat, the Santa Maria, sailing down the middle of a street in Santa Cruz.This houses a maritime museum and is well worth a visit. Going from Santa Cruz and through the mountain to the other side of the island will take you through the small town of El Paso.En route there is the official Visitors’ Centre which gives information about the national park, the Caldera de Taburiente, and about the history, geology, flora and fauna of the region.They will also issue permits for groups who wish to camp in the Caldera. At the southern tip of the island is the area of volcanoes at Fuencaliente.It is not often that we get the chance to see the site of a volcano that last erupted as recently as in 1971, creating the Volcano of Teneguía.
Other Activities on La Palma
La
Palma is attractive to those young people and adults who enjoy outdoor
pursuits, and the wonderful climate encourages this.It
must, however, be remembered that the island has a very precipitous terrain
and some trails are not suitable for those who are inexperienced hikers.
The beautiful national park of the Caldera de Taburiente can be dangerous
and you are generally advised to go in with a guide, who can be found through
one of the local travel agencies.The
guides will gear the length and difficulty of the walk to the age group
and previous experience of their charges. Geology
students and volcanologists are fascinated by the fact that La Palma still
has the capability of erupting from time to time.The
last eruption took place at the Volcano of Teneguía in 1971. Those
scuba-diving aficionados will find that the island is surrounded by huge
numbers of different types of fish.Many
swim not far below the surface and can be seen with a simple snorkel and
mask.All kinds of water sports
are available as well as trips and mini-cruises around the islands of the
archipelago. Speleology,
spelunking or plain pot-holing.This
volcanic island is a paradise for those who enjoy the arduous sport of
caving.It’s a sport that also attracts
those students involved in geology, physics, chemistry and biology, technical
drawing and mathematics, geography and history. All
these activities and more can be combined with a trip to see the telescopes
and, incidentally, have a thoroughly enjoyable time. Names
and addresses of companies offering activities in La Palma: Mountain bikingBike
'n' Fun, C/
Calvo Sotello 20, Los
Llanos de Aridane Tel./fax
+34 922 401 927, Bike
Station La Palma
Web: http://www.bike-station.de/eng/
Hiking
Senderos
Canarios, S.L., Plaza
San Fernando, 9, Santa
Cruz de La Palma, Tel:
+34 922 417 284, Fax:
+34 922 412 843, Web: http://www.lp-b.com/senderos-canarios/ La
Palma Trekking Playa
de Los Cancajos, Breña
Baja. Tel:
+34 922 433 001 Fax:
+34 922 433 011 Web: http://www.natour-trekking.com/ Scuba-Diving Atlantic
28, La Palma, Las
Caletas, 25 Fuencaliente, Tel/fax:
+34 922 444 047, Web: http://www.atlantic28.de/ La
Palma Diving Center, Centro
Comercial Los Cancajos, Local 227 Breña
Baja, Tel:
+34 922 181 393 Fax:
+34 922 420 697 Web: http://www.la-palma-tauchen.de/English/ Tauchpartner
La Palma, S.L. Crta.
Puerto Naos, 438, Los
Llanos de Aridane. Tel/Fax:
+34 922 408 139 Web: http://www.tauchpartner-lapalma.de/
Paragliding
Club
Parapente Balayo, C/.
La Cruz 2, Barrio
de los Quemados, Fuencaliente Tel.
+34 922 444 034, Fax:
+34 922 444 303, Palma
Club, C/.
Maximiliano Darias, Montesinos,
32 - ático. Playa
de Puerto Naos, Los
Llanos de Aridane, Tel.
+34 922 411 087 Speleology Grupo
de Espeleología Junonia, Carretera
Martín Luís, 32, Puntallana. Tel/Fax:
+34 922 430 392 Pre-Trip
Information and Events It
may be worthwhile planning a day trip to the Planetarium in London or such
small telescopes like the Norman Lockyer in Sidmouth, Devon. The
Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council offer an enormous range
of teacher’s packs, wall charts and activity sheets for children.“Astronomy
and Space in UK Schools and College – a resources guide for teaching” by
Kerry Parker and Margaret Penston lists information for different age groups
of children and is extremely useful. The
Royal Astronomical Society has a series of excellent leaflets with easy
explanations of such concepts as the expansion of the universe, quasars,
galaxies and so on. The
Royal Observatory Greenwich, part of the National Maritime Museum and home
of the Prime Meridian of the world, has recently established a public inquiry
service.They accept astronomy inquiries
by post, telephone, fax or e-mail. Public
Understanding of Science Particle
Physics and Astronomy Research
Council (PPARC) Polaris
House North
Star Avenue Swindon Wiltshire
SN2 1SZ Tel:01793
442 030 Fax:
01793 442 002 Email: mailto:pr_pus@pparc.ac.uk The
Education Committee Royal
Astronomical Society Burlington
House Piccadilly London
W1V ONL Tel:0171 734 4582 0171
734 3307
The
Astronomy Information Officer
Tel:020
8312 6735
Web:
http://www.rog.nmm.ac.uk/ Remember
that the world wide web is a wonderful source of information, all in the
public domain.Use search engines
like http://www.yahoo.co.uk/or http://www.excite.co.uk/
for items about astronomy or astrophysics. Magazines
such as ‘Astronomy Now’ and ‘Sky & Telescope’ have websites you can
visit.The latter offers mailing
lists with the latest updates on astronomical subjects of particular interest.
Books
There
are so many wonderful books on astronomy that it is almost impossible to
make a choice.Some are very expensive
and it is probably better to borrow from a library before buying.Have
a look first on the internet at booksellers like www.amazon.co.uk. ·‘Reaching
for the Stars’ (interactive book for younger children), (Kingfisher Books) ·‘Skywatching’,
by David Levy (Co-discoverer of the Shoemaker-Levy Comet) (HarperCollins
1995) ·‘Images
of the Cosmos’ by B.W. Jones, R.J.A. Lambourne and D. A. Rotbery. (Hodder
and Stoughton in association with the Open University 1994) ·‘Star-Hopping’
by Robert Garfinkle (Cambridge University Press 1994) ·‘Visions
of Space’ (artists’ impressions of the cosmos) by David A. Hardy (Dragon’s
World 1989) ·‘Philip’s
Atlas of the Universe’ by Patrick Moore (Philip’s 1999)
Books
and Guides on La Palma
Again,
the following are just a selection of what is available. ·‘Landscapes
of La Palma and El Hierro’ by Noel Rochford (Sunflower Books 1993) ·‘Discovering
La Palma’ by J. J. Santos Cabrera and C. J. Taranilla de la Varga (Editorial
Everest 1989) ·‘Canary
Islands’ by Paul Murphy (a Thomas Cook Travellers Guide) (A A Publishing
1995)
After the Trip
Remember
to bring your camera with you when you come to La Palma.It
well merits its nickname of ‘La Isla Bonita’ which means the ‘Beautiful
Island’. The
view from the top where the telescopes are situated is spectacular.A
display of your photographs taken from the telescopes will amaze and interest
fellow students.Most local newspapers
will be happy to print a photo and take details of your trip for the next
edition.Try to get sponsorship from
local firms in the area.They will
appreciate involvement if you can give them a little publicity on your
return. You
can buy souvenirs, posters, stickers and T-shirts of the Isaac Newton Group
of Telescopes either while you are here, or through the virtual shop on
the ING website at http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/ We
look forward to seeing you! Acknowledgements: Chris
Benn and Tom Gregory for providing additional information about the WHT.Conny
Spelbrink for providing information on what to do in La Palma.
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