| 1675 |
The Royal Observatory founded at Greenwich by King Charles II |
| 19 Jan 1851 |
Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn born |
| 1856 |
First astronomical observations in the Canary Islands by Charles Piazzi
Smyth |
| 1922 |
Kapteyn publishes his first attemp at a Galaxy
model derived from counts of stars |
| 18 Jun 1922 |
Death of Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn |
| 1948-1958 |
The Royal Observatory is moved from London to Herstmonceux Castle in
Sussex, and renamed the Royal Greenwich Observatory |
| 1967 |
| Jan |
Hermann Brück, Astronomer Royal for Scotland, first proposes the
construction of a Northern Hemisphere Observatory (NHO) |
| 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 |
|
Building of the JKT starts at Grubb Parsons |
| 1979 |
| 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 |
|
Completion of JKT at Grubb Parsons |
| 1980 |
| 1981 |
| Mar |
1-m telescope installed at Herstmonceux for testing
before shipment La Palma |
| 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. |
| September |
First RGO staff come to live on La Palma |
| 1982 |
| September |
First Dutch technician begins work at Herstmonceux under Anglo-Dutch
collaborative programme |
| 1983 |
| Jun |
Harrier jet from Royal Navy makes an emergency landing on the SS
Alraigo, a cargo ship carrying the 1-m telescope base plate |
| September |
La Palma Observers' Guide issued |
| Oct |
1-m telescope delivered to La Palma and erected |
| Nov |
First light through the Carlsberg Automatic Meridian Circle |
| 1984 |
| 23 Mar |
First photograph with the Wide-field Photographic
Camera on the JKT. First light on the JKT. |
| Apr |
Patrick Moore films Sky at Night on La Palma |
| 29 May |
First scheduled observing on JKT |
| 1985 |
| Jun |
Completion of road to Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory |
| 29 Jun |
Royal Inauguration of the Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory on La
Palma |
| Aug |
Opening of Residencia on Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory |
| September |
CCD camera commissioned at the f/15 Cassegrain focus of the Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope |
| 1986 |
| 1987 |
| 1988 |
| 31 Oct | The Spanish Government approves the Sky Law |
| 1989 |
| 1991 |
|
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
] |
| 1996 |
| 1997 |
| Nov | The Richardson-Brearley
Spectrograph is retired. The JKT becomes a single-instrument telescope
dedicated to CCD imaging. |
| 1998 |
|
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 |
| September |
First sodium laser beacon at La Palma [more] |
| 2000 |
| 23 Jul |
Comet Linear blows up in full view of the JKT one billion light years of the Universe [more] |
| 2001 |
|
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 |
| 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 ] |
| 31 Jul |
Shutdown of the JKT |
| 2004 |
| 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 ] |
| 14 Oct |
RAS Specialist Discussion Meeting on "Science from La Palma - Looking beyond 2009" [more ] |
| 2006 |
| 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] |
| 10-16 Dec |
IAU Symposium 241: Stellar Populations as Building Blocks of Galaxies [more] |
| 2007 |
| 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] |
| 2008 |
| |
First results from the H-alpha galaxy survey [more] |
| 2009 |
| 15 Jul |
New director for the ING [more] |
| 2010 |
| 29 Aug |
A stellar raffle [more] |
| 2011 |
| 2012 |
|
Quantum Teleportation Experiment Sets a New Record
[more] |
|
22-23 March
|
Workshop: La Palma and Calar Alto Observatories, Science in the Next Decade
[more]
|
|
2013 |
|
|
ING Science Strategy 2013 - 2022
[more]
|
| 2014 |
| 15 Jan |
Ownership of the JKT is transferred to the IAC (Spain). The JKT becomes operated by the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA) under agreement with IAC [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] |
