The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias: 30 years of Research and Communication in Astronomy.

Del Puerto, C.; Rodriguez, N.; Rosenberg, A.; Beckman, J. E.
Bibliographical reference

IAU General Assembly, Meeting #29, #2255561

Advertised on:
8
2015
Number of authors
4
IAC number of authors
4
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
1985 was a year of inauguration for the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). In that year its two observatories, the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, on the island of La Palma, (where its 10.4m optical-NIR telescope vies with the world´s major instruments), and the Observatorio del Teide, on the island of Tenerife, as well as its headquarters in La Laguna, Tenerife, were all inaugurated. This young institution has rapidly become the leading research centre for astronomy in Spain and achieved research standards at a European and world level. The 30th anniversary celebrations this year give an opportunity to maximize its already very active outreach programmes. In February two shows, featuring IAC researchers, and with astronomical themes, were shown in the main theatre of the city of La Laguna, and during the year further entertainment, collaborating with Canarian musicians and artists, is planned. Two exhibitions have been designed combining the anniversary with celebrations of the International Year of Light: “Listen to the Universe”, in Tenerife, and “Thirty Journeys around the Sun”, in La Palma, which will be open to the public for most of the year. A new outreach magazine “Parallaxes” will be launched by the IAC, in both paper and digital editions, and will complement the current blog, and news websites of the institute, as well as its communications on Facebook and Twitter. Among the activities being organized in Tenerife will be the formal naming of traffic circles with names of the telescopes at the Observatories. In conjunction with the municipal wine cellars of the local city of Tegueste a new Canarian wine produced by innovative methods and with an astronomical motif on its label, is to be launched during the year. All of these activities are in addition to the somewhat more routine productions of videos on the research lines of the IAC, including exoplanets, solar stellar, and interstellar physics, galaxies, and cosmology.