This new project of astronomical observation on La Palma, for the detection of the optical counterparts of the sources of gravitational waves, was initiated today at an academic ceremony.

The conference on "Adaptive Optics for Extremely Large Telescopes" (AO4ELT5) which brought together in Tenerife almost 300 international specialists in this astronomical technique, was brought to a close this afternoon. This meeting, organized by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), has explored the common ground between astronomy and engineering which will improve the quality of the five projected future extremely large telescopes -the solar telescopes DKIST and EST, and the night-time telescopes GMT, TMT and E-ELT-, as well as for the present large telescopes, among them the

En el Observatorio de las Campanas, en el desierto de Atacama, en Chile, se está construyendo uno de los llamados “Telescopios Extremadamente Grandes”: el Telescopio Gigante de Magallanes (GMT, de sus siglas en inglés), de 24,5 m de diámetro y que, en principio, estará disponible en 2022. Su nombre recuerda al navegante y explorador portugués cuya expedición descubriría el paso entre el Océano Atlántico y el Pacífico y acabaría dando por primera vez la vuelta al mundo. El GMT, perteneciente a un consorcio internacional liderado por Estados Unidos - Giant Magellan Telescope Organization (GMTO

“Although giant telescopes are under construction, astronomical images with good resolution cannot be obtained unless they use Adaptive Optics”, warns Norbert Hubin, head of instrumentation at the Very Large Telescope (VLT), a system of four 8.2 m telescopes installed at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Observatory in La Silla, Chile. It was on the telescope of 3.6 m of that observatory where the first system of Adaptive Optics in the history of the Astronomy (called "COME-ON") was tried. This engineer was in Tenerife this week attending the conference on "Adaptive Optics for

IAC scientists Julia de León and Miquel Serra-Ricart will participate in this world-wide activity with a range of outreach activities whose aim is to explain how research into these these objects is performed, and to warn the population about the danger they pose for Earth.

The Project manager of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) Project, who is in Tenerife to attend the conference on “Adaptive Optics for Extremely Large Telescopes”, assures that if the problems facing the installation of the TMT on Hawaii are not resolved they would be very happy to build it on La Palma. The decision about the definitive site will be taken towards the end of this year or near the beginning of 2018.