Telescopio Nazionale Galileo: 25 years of Astronomy in La Palma
In the year of the 25th birthday of the TNG, an event will take place in the island of La Palma, from October 19 to 21, 2021. The event is mainly addressed to the Italian astronomical community, with the aim of strengthening the past and current interplay and of emphasizing the future needs.
The event will start on October 19 at 10.00 am at the venue, the Hotel H10 Taburiente Playa, Los Cancajos.
Limits in the audience have been imposed by the anti Covid-19 restrictions.
The work plan was designed in order to
minimize the impact on the structures of the island, engaged in the emergency due to the volcanic eruption.
The program, subjected to possible small last-minute changes, is available at Event program
A short history, adapted from the TNG Calendar 2021, 25 years of astronomy:
The project to build a state-of-art Italian astronomical facility originated a long time ago. The preliminary study pointed out toward a new-generation telescope which would take Italian astronomy to the forefront, both in terms of instrumentation and technology. In 1988, the Phase A study of a 3.5-m telescope was approved by the Italian Council of Astronomical Research (C.R.A.), chaired by Giancarlo Setti. Telescopio Nazionale Galileo was being born. The project was the result of the extraordinary collaboration between astronomers working at all Italian Observatories and a number of high-technology companies. It was led by the the TNG Project Office in Padova, headed by Cesare Barbieri, while the instruments were developed under the supervision of Flavio Fusi Pecci. TNG is in many aspects an advanced version of the purpose. The telescope was fully assembled in the Ansaldo workshop in Milan by the end of 1993. One year earlier the Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory was selected as the site of TNG. Excavation works there started in 1993, the telescope was transported in 1995, the building was erected in early 1996 and finally TNG was inaugurated on June 29th 1996 by King Juan Carlos I, Queen Sofia and the MIUR Minister Luigi Berlinguer.