129
wonderful culmination of the IAC?’ I remember his surprise when I told him,
without pausing to think, that what he was seeing now was merely a decorative doorway to many things to come. The good times, I continued, were just
beginning and he would later witness the many great things el Astrofísico
would accomplish in the future. It was no idle boast, and the facts speak for
themselves. Perhaps the IAC’s most distinguished achievement so far has been
the design, construction, and commissioning of the Gran Telescopio Canarias
(GTC), more of which later.
As the inaugurations drew to a close, I was completely exhausted. They
were packed, strenuous days with too many responsibilities heaped on my
shoulders, what with the complicated inaugural ceremonies, with the added
stress of constant toing and froing between Tenerife and La Palma. It is easy
to imagine the fatigue that all this implied for those working both in the
wings and centre stage. There had not been a single moment to take a breather
and forget all the hassle, so my wife and I took the opportunity to avail ourselves of seats on one of the fleet of aeroplanes laid on by the government to
transport the many persons involved back to Madrid and join the exodus for
a well-earned holiday.
Looking back on those crowded and magnificent events and knowing the
fruit they bore, one is satisfied that the immense efforts of all involved have
been well rewarded. If we reckon the coverage generated by the astrophysical
inaugurations of 1985 by the yardsticks used by publicity agencies, we would
be astonished at the resulting ‘astronomical’ sum. But the really important
point is that the originally quixotic dream of making astrophysics flourish in
Spain to find its place in international Big Science was now becoming a reality.
Since then, the Canarian Observatories have not stopped growing and have
established themselves as privileged sites for the most advanced telescopes to
become a worldwide point of reference. Since their inaugurations the
Observatories have continued to receive visits from personalities from the
worlds of science, culture, royalty, politics, finance, etc., and people from all
walks of life. Most importantly, however, we have always particularly encouraged visits by children and youth, who are builders of the future.
13 Royalty and Heads of State Above the Clouds (1985)
wonderful culmination of the IAC?’ I remember his surprise when I told him,
without pausing to think, that what he was seeing now was merely a decorative doorway to many things to come. The good times, I continued, were just
beginning and he would later witness the many great things el Astrofísico
would accomplish in the future. It was no idle boast, and the facts speak for
themselves. Perhaps the IAC’s most distinguished achievement so far has been
the design, construction, and commissioning of the Gran Telescopio Canarias
(GTC), more of which later.
As the inaugurations drew to a close, I was completely exhausted. They
were packed, strenuous days with too many responsibilities heaped on my
shoulders, what with the complicated inaugural ceremonies, with the added
stress of constant toing and froing between Tenerife and La Palma. It is easy
to imagine the fatigue that all this implied for those working both in the
wings and centre stage. There had not been a single moment to take a breather
and forget all the hassle, so my wife and I took the opportunity to avail ourselves of seats on one of the fleet of aeroplanes laid on by the government to
transport the many persons involved back to Madrid and join the exodus for
a well-earned holiday.
Looking back on those crowded and magnificent events and knowing the
fruit they bore, one is satisfied that the immense efforts of all involved have
been well rewarded. If we reckon the coverage generated by the astrophysical
inaugurations of 1985 by the yardsticks used by publicity agencies, we would
be astonished at the resulting ‘astronomical’ sum. But the really important
point is that the originally quixotic dream of making astrophysics flourish in
Spain to find its place in international Big Science was now becoming a reality.
Since then, the Canarian Observatories have not stopped growing and have
established themselves as privileged sites for the most advanced telescopes to
become a worldwide point of reference. Since their inaugurations the
Observatories have continued to receive visits from personalities from the
worlds of science, culture, royalty, politics, finance, etc., and people from all
walks of life. Most importantly, however, we have always particularly encouraged visits by children and youth, who are builders of the future.
13 Royalty and Heads of State Above the Clouds (1985)