GAH visits

YOU ARE INVITED

Astronomy sessions in April 2025

Night: Saturdays 5, 19, and 26 - Daytime: Sunday 13

The El Hierro Astronomy Group is open to those with an interest in knowing the Universe around us and invites them to attend a session at the Las Asomadas Astronomical Observatory. Our aim at doing so is to attain a real knowledge of the place our planet holds in the universal ensemble. For that purpose we must be open a distance scale far bigger than what we usually manage in our daily lives.

This can be accomplished by regarding the sky not only as a mere scenery covering our planet, but by opening ourselves to a notion of space and time far deeper, and so trying to find our real status in the Universe.

If we looked over the map of a city or a country, we would be taking a walk through space; If we read a newspaper from years ago with a story that occurred in the same place where we are reading it, or we looked at an old photo of this same place where we are at that moment, we would be taking a walk through time. But if, participating in an astronomical observation, we see a distant object, we will be seeing something far in space, but also in time: we will be taking a walk through space-time.

It is our feeling that our everyday lives prevent us from breaking that psychological barrier between the daily routine and the real Universe we live in. Therefore visiting the Observatory can be a satisfying answer for those with an interest in knowing the realm of things.

Suggestions for the watching session

It is not necessary to have any knowledge of Astronomy to participate in our sessions, but it is necessary to have interest. Therefore, to achieve our objective, it is necessary that the people who come to the observatory have a certain natural interest in understanding the meaning of the daytime and nighttime sky. We believe visiting the Observatory should not be regarded as a tourist attraction or a leisure activity, but as a starting point to explore the Universe, easily attainable to those of us moved by the natural human inclination to know our true real entourage.

This activity has not been designed for groups but for individual participants, so each visit request is valid for a maximum of two people. There is no minimum number of visitors per session (we can do the observation with only one) but there is a maximun number, which we have set at six participants every session.

In addition this type of event is not appropriate for small children. We consider 12 years old the correct age for kids to join the viewing. This is the starting age for the secondary school within our educational system. Smaller kids can better profit from naked eye (no telescope) observation, the goal differing from the above mentioned. In these early stages of life one must find the proper place in down to earth geometry ( not an easy task) . It seems anomalous to try to open your mind to the Universe structure before having settled in one's mind the general ideas regarding geographic spaces as concerns life in our planet.

Please note

Those with restricted mobility or age problems lacking freedom of movement will find it difficult to get to the main telescope, there is quite a number of steps stretching from the very entrance to the dome.

Weather may be rather cold during observation, even some winter days in the daytime. This is due to the need of having the dome open, therefore the temperature will be the same as outside. The Observatory location is 1354 m. above sea level, low temperatures are the usual conditions, except in summer. Warm clothes are highly recommended all year round, even in summer since you are standing in place in a low temperature for most of the session.

Mobile phones and tablets are technology gadgets providing great benefits to Astronomy. We can enjoy apps that offer stellar charts, which even change the vision as you move your mobile and browser offering web info in almost every corner in the world. Also connecting people who have this common interest as it happens with our Telegram group. But all these operative functions are not needed when you come to the Observatory because whatever the mobile may offer it is actually there. Those gadgets are precisely useful when you are not in the Observatory. And besides mobile lights when up in the dome are as disturbing as a torch. It seems it is not the appropriate place to be connected to social networks, so it is highly recommended to turn them off on arrival and spend a couple of hours disconnected, which may even be of great benefit to you. Besides, most operators are out of range on the summit.

Visiting days and times

As a general rule, we have established weekends as visiting days for the observatory. Each weekend there will be only one session: night or day. Night sessions will be on Saturdays after sunset and day sessions on Sunday mornings. Of the weekends of each month, the one closest to the full Moon will be the one used for daytime observation on Sunday, since the previous day, Saturday, the night sky is not dark enough for observing distant objects due to the light of the full Moon. Each month, it will be announced in this section of our page which weekend will have a daytime session on Sunday, instead of a night session on Saturday.

These visiting days would only change if we were to carry out a special program, which would be announced in advance, including the dates and visiting times during its validity.

Watching the sky is subject to weather conditions, so it may be convenient to check in this web under the Weather tab shortly before getting to the Observatory. In any case, you must register through our Telegram group or by email before the session begins.

Applying for a visit

To join us for a visit you have to send us an email (check bottom of this page) or send us a message with the request to our Telegram group.

Each request to participate will be for a maximum of two people. The maximum number of participants per session is six.

Knowing that the scheduled day is either a Saturday or a Sunday, it would be necessary to say which day was chosen and whether it is a request for one or two people.

This group is open to donations that can be sent through this web ( Taking part tab, click donations), nevertheless all the Astronomical Group El Hierro events are open and free of charge.