This was presented by 5 of the members who went on the trip. 3 Members of the Flamsteed Astronomical Society were invited as guests for the evening to see the presentation to help them plan a trip to La Palma.
Carole Pope
Carole, the organiser of the trip, presented the first part, talking about who went on the trip, the flight/Hotel and activities to be undertaken.
The primary reason for the trip was to see the Observatories at the top of the Mountains (Roques de los Muchachos), and have a tour inside. All the planning had to fit around this. Also some time above the clouds was planned for doing Astronomy at night.
After some initial difficulty Carole had found a Travel Agent – IslaBonitaTours who were very helpful and co-operative and they provided the majority of the excursions. With Tui (who the Hotel and flight were booked with), organised the Whales and Dolphins trip.
Carole talked about the facilities at the hotel, and some of the extra-curricular activities undertaken by some of the party, inc Jet Skiing and Snorkelling.
Carole described the geography of the island, both from a map point of view but also from a geophysical point of view, also explaining about the Volcanic activity on the island, and various facts about the island and it’s population. Low light pollution and La Palma being an ECO Biosphere.
She showed photos from their first trip up to the Roques de los Muchachos at night to do some astronomy including a snippet of a video of the winding drive up the mountains 2426 metres above sea level (well above the clouds).
Volcano that erupted in 2021
A total of 7 members went on a trip to see the volcanic area from the eruption in 2021 (this was undertaken in 2 separate groups on different days).
Carole spoke about the eruption itself using internet photos, and spoke about how it affected those living in the area, and infrastructure. They were taken on a scenic tour on the way, looking at various aspects of vegetation and landscape unique to la Palma. They then visited the lava flow itself, and a house sitting right next to it, and walked down to survey the view of the Former Village/Town below.
They were then taken to the coast-line to see the lava deposited in the sea, including lava from an eruption in 1949, now cultivated and fertile land.
Finally they visited and drove over the new road that was built across the hot lava when the flow cut off the route from north to south.
Dave Allen
Dave stepped in to continue the talk with the Whales and Dolphins trip.
He talked about how we were picked up from the hotel and transported to the West of La Palma to Tazacorte.
He showed photos of the trip, including, viewing underwater fish from the glass bottom sides of the boat, seeing holiday cottages built into the cliffs, then we were taken backwards into a Cave by boat.
We then sailed deeper into the Atlantic to see Whales and Dolphins, and we saw several PODs of pilot Whales, and Bottle Nosed Dolphins.
We then turned South and travelled down to the 2021 eruption area, so we could view the lava from the sea.
Dave continued to talk about the 2nd trip up the mountains at night to do astronomy. We had requested a Southern horizon this time as our first trip had been facing North East with Mountains behind, so they took us to Mirador Astronómico del Llano del Jable at 1300 metres above sea level.
Unfortunately it was very windy and unpleasant, and we could only stay outside for short periods, not long enough to set up imaging equipment, so only quick shots could be taken with Smartphones. But it was a treat to see Scorpius and Sagittarius in their entirety.
Michael Griffiths
Michael took over to talk about the Hike that 4 members, Michael, Noel, Steve and Tom, went on:
This was a Hike through the Taburiente Caldera (a huge extinct Volcano). Michael had constructed a video of the Geophysical area using Google Earth, and then went on to present the trip. A Map of the route was kindly provided by IslaBonitaTours, and BEFORE and AFTER photos were Whatsapped to those sunbathing and swimming at the hotel while they still had an internet connection.
Lots of young fit people on this trip divided into groups of about 10, each with their own guide.
The guide started by talking about the unique Canary Pine (Pinus Canariensis) and it’s unique water gathering properties. They then commenced the 10 mile hike, often on steep and rugged terrain, stopping for a short while for some lunch with their tired feet in the river.
Fantastic scenery and views, and walking to a feature called the Cascada de los Colores a colourful waterfall during the wet season, however it was very dry and less colourful on their visit.
Ruth Ramsay
Ruth Ramsay then presented a trip to the NE of La Palma.
Ruth and Carole’s husband Adrian went on a trip to the NE instead of going to see the Observatories. They had a talk on bananas (a huge agricultural export of La Palma).
They then visited the Seawater pools on the NE coastline. Unfortunately for Ruth and Adrian, that while those at the Observatory were above the clouds and basking in blue skies and sunshine, those underneath the clouds had a very wet day.
They went to a Rum distillery where they had a talk on the manufacture of Whisky, vodka and gin
There were very pretty buildings and gardens and they then went to a Rainforest.
Andrew Ramsay
Andrew took over to talk about the trip up to the Observatories on the top of the Mountains at the Roques de los Muchachos (which translates as The Rock of the Two Lads).
Again that winding and almost scary drive up the mountains 2426 metres, above the clouds where we saw a whole range of Observatories including:
Cherenkov group
(gamma ray research)
The Isaac Newton Group
This group takes its name from the Isaac Newton Telescope, a 2.5 metre reflector which was originally situated at Herstmonceux, East Sussex and then moved from there in 1979. Installation on La Palma was completed in 1984.
The other big telescope in the group is the William Herschel Telescope, a 4.2 metre reflector which was completed in 1987.
There are also some smaller telescopes, including two solar telescopes, the Dutch Open Telescope and the Swedish Solar Telescope.
Mercator Telescope
A Belgian telescope for Exoplanet research.
MAGIC Telescopes (Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov Telescopes)
Detects particle showers released by gamma rays using the Cherenkov radiation i.e. faint light radiated by the charged particles in the showers.
The Liverpoool Telescope
A two-metre-aperture robotic Ritchey–Chrétien telescope that observes autonomously.
Gran Telescopio Canarias
This is the telescope that we had a booked guided tour inside.
Only 2 x ½ hour tours allowed per day during the Astronomers’ lunch break.
Lots of photos were shown of the inside of the observatory and the telescope itself, which rotated while we were there. We all had to wear hard hats.
It is a Schmidt Cassegrain with 36 mirrors, each having mirror actuators below to keep them at the right angle. The guide said it had never been done before to have multiple mirrors, so this must be the first time it was done.
6 mirrors are changed once a month for cleaning, (there is a lot of lava dust up there) and 32 filters in whatever they use instead of a filter-wheel. some sort of sliding arrangement she said.
It is the world’s largest single-aperture optical telescope. Diameter: 10.4 m (34 ft 1 in) The skies are clear enough for them to work 300 nights per year and the whole of La Palma is a designated Dark sky area.
We all posed for a photo outside and went on a short walk to see the fabulous scenery.
Unfortunately our flight home was 3 hours delayed, but the delay enabled Liz to take her very first images from the airport (dark enough) with her newly acquired Dwarf Smart-telescope.
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