Founding of Roque de los Muchachos Observatory

The Roque de los Muchachos Observatory is an astronomical observatory on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain, on the rim of the Caldera de Taburiente at an altitude of about 2,400 meters. It is one of the best sites in the northern hemisphere for observations thanks to its dark skies, clear air and stable atmosphere above the clouds. The observatory was inaugurated in the mid-1980s with the participation of several European countries, and is run by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. It houses the Gran Telescopio Canarias, one of the largest optical telescopes in the world, the William Herschel Telescope and the MAGIC gamma-ray telescopes. A law protects the sky above the island from light pollution.

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