Earlier this week, I received this short note from Enrico Sacchetti, a commercial photographer based in South Florida:
Dear Michael,
I wanted to show you a few images I recently shot at the European Northern Observatory’s Roque de los Muchachos in La Palma, Spain. One of the telescopes there, the Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC), is currently the world’s largest optical telescope.
Along with the note, he sent the superb pictures on this page.
Thanks, Enrico!
An inside view of the Gran Telescopio Canarias. This scope has a
segmented mirror 409 inches (10.4 meters) in diameter. Enrico Sacchetti photo
Another view of the Gran Telescopio Canarias showing it silhouetted
against the observatory’s slit. Enrico Sacchetti photo
The Liverpool Telescope is a 79-inch (2 meters) fully robotic telescope
that has been operating since 2004. Enrico Sacchetti photo
Here is the Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov Telescope, also
known as the MAGIC Telescope. It is a gamma-ray telescope with a mirror
surface of 2,540 square feet (236 square meters). Enrico Sacchetti photo
This is a side view of the MAGIC Telescope. This instrument studies
active galactic nuclei, black hole binary systems, and supernova
remnants. Enrico Sacchetti photo
The Swedish Solar Telescope (SST) is a 39-inch (1 meter) solar telescope
that first went into service March 2, 2002. Enrico Sacchetti photo
The Wide Angle Search for Planets (SuperWASP) is England’s leading
extrasolar planet detection program. Enrico Sacchetti photo
The Telescopio Nazionale “Galileo” is a 141-inch (3.58 meters)
alt-azimuth telescope with a Ritchey-Chrétien optical configuration
equipped with an active optics system. Enrico Sacchetti photo
The William Herschel Telescope is an optical/infrared instrument that
first went into service in 1987. It boasts a 165-inch (4.2 meters)
mirror. Enrico Sacchetti photo