Great attendance to the guided visits to the Observatori Astronòmic del Montsec [NOT TRANSLATED]

2016-05-05 00:00:00

On Sunday May 1, the Observatori Astronòmic del Montsec (OAdM) first opened its doors to the public. The initiative has been well received and in fact, the three shifts of visits to be held one Sunday a month until September are already complete.

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About 60 people visited the facilities of OAdM and could see the largest telescope in Catalonia, Joan Prayed, which also counts on one of the most advanced automation systems across Europe. Kike Herrero, an astronomer at the IEEC working on the OAdM, explained that “the public of these visits was made up of couples, families and also a good deal of amateur astronomers who wanted to learn more about how astronomical research in Catalonia is done. The visitor have been very participative with many questions about the research”.

This is a unique opportunity to see close up the largest facility of astronomical research in Catalonia and one of the most advanced of the Iberian Peninsula.

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Visitors have also seen how the Fabra-ROA Montsec telescope and the telescope XO-Montsec work, and the all-sky camera of the IEEC, to detect fireballs and dangerous asteroids near Earth.

They also have enjoyed the Montsec sky, “the best of Catalonia to observe the space for its climate and quality of the dark sky” says Herrero.

The next visit is scheduled for Sunday 22 May.

More information: http://www.oadm.cat/ca/visites.htm [NOT TRANSLATED]