One of the great things about working in optical astronomy instrumentation was that I got to actually go to observatories.
Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos on La Palma is a wonderful destination since, firstly, you can’t swing a cat without hitting a telescope and, secondly, its within an hours drive of nice beaches , restaurants and bars.
These are a few pictures from a quick trip I took there in 2009.
Roque de los Muchachos - May 2009
Caldera de Taburiente
Outside WHT - May 2009
WHT Instrument Package
WHT running CANARY with early laser setup - May 2009
Gran Telescopio Canarias (GranTeCan or GTC) - May 2009
A patched together picture of the actual instrument
GranTeCam Mirror Segments
GranTeCam Secondary Mirror
GranTeCam Nasmyth Platform