164
In the end, this automated telescope never entered into operation; it ‘died’
during its transfer to the present headquarters of the IAC. Nevertheless, it
marked a decisive step forward in our apprenticeship and instilled daring in
us when facing up to the challenge of using computers to control scientific
instruments. The telescope’s NOVA computer was the beginning of the IAC’s
Computer Centre, as well as being the first computer in the Canaries, as I
mentioned earlier.
Between 1975 and 1978 we developed a small spectrophotopolarimetric
telescope to observe the upper atmosphere, with a spectroscopic analysis unit
based on a circular variable filter covering the visible and near-infrared wavelength ranges out to approximately one micron, with a single-cell photomultiplier. The instrument was built in its entirety in the mechanics and electronics
workshops of the IAC. It was operational between 1979 and 1982, and produced data for the doctoral theses of Pedro Álvarez (later to become the
Director of GRANTECAN, S. A., the company that built the GTC) and
others. Then came the photometers, also for measuring high atmospheric
emissions, designed for sounding-rocket payloads, all to be described in the
next chapter.
The IAC-80 Telescope deserves special mention, above all for what it represented for the development of the IAC’s Instrumentation Division. It was
truly a test-bench for the IAC’s fledgling engineering, a basic guide to the
world of large telescope technology. Work began on it in the eighties, under
the supervision of Maximino Galán, but it was not until a decade later that
Carlos Martínez succeeded in finishing the instrument, which served as part
of the apprenticeship of our young engineers and gave us the confidence to
undertake the enormous challenge of the GTC. The IAC-80 has an 83-cm
primary mirror, a German equatorial mount, a focal ratio of 11.3, and an
effective focal length of 9.02 metres.
The IAC-80 has been in operation at Teide Observatory since 1991;
numerous important observations have been made with it and hundreds of
articles generated in international journals. Among its most notable results
was the discovery of Teide 1, the first known brown dwarf. It was also used to
follow the progress of a gravitational lens for ten years to provide information
on dark matter in the Universe and obtained images of the celestial body
responsible for a violent gamma-ray burst.
The IAC-80 remains in service and is of great value for research programmes
that cannot be carried out on large telescopes, and for long-duration observational campaigns. It is also used for Spanish and foreign university student
practicals.
F. Sánchez
In the end, this automated telescope never entered into operation; it ‘died’
during its transfer to the present headquarters of the IAC. Nevertheless, it
marked a decisive step forward in our apprenticeship and instilled daring in
us when facing up to the challenge of using computers to control scientific
instruments. The telescope’s NOVA computer was the beginning of the IAC’s
Computer Centre, as well as being the first computer in the Canaries, as I
mentioned earlier.
Between 1975 and 1978 we developed a small spectrophotopolarimetric
telescope to observe the upper atmosphere, with a spectroscopic analysis unit
based on a circular variable filter covering the visible and near-infrared wavelength ranges out to approximately one micron, with a single-cell photomultiplier. The instrument was built in its entirety in the mechanics and electronics
workshops of the IAC. It was operational between 1979 and 1982, and produced data for the doctoral theses of Pedro Álvarez (later to become the
Director of GRANTECAN, S. A., the company that built the GTC) and
others. Then came the photometers, also for measuring high atmospheric
emissions, designed for sounding-rocket payloads, all to be described in the
next chapter.
The IAC-80 Telescope deserves special mention, above all for what it represented for the development of the IAC’s Instrumentation Division. It was
truly a test-bench for the IAC’s fledgling engineering, a basic guide to the
world of large telescope technology. Work began on it in the eighties, under
the supervision of Maximino Galán, but it was not until a decade later that
Carlos Martínez succeeded in finishing the instrument, which served as part
of the apprenticeship of our young engineers and gave us the confidence to
undertake the enormous challenge of the GTC. The IAC-80 has an 83-cm
primary mirror, a German equatorial mount, a focal ratio of 11.3, and an
effective focal length of 9.02 metres.
The IAC-80 has been in operation at Teide Observatory since 1991;
numerous important observations have been made with it and hundreds of
articles generated in international journals. Among its most notable results
was the discovery of Teide 1, the first known brown dwarf. It was also used to
follow the progress of a gravitational lens for ten years to provide information
on dark matter in the Universe and obtained images of the celestial body
responsible for a violent gamma-ray burst.
The IAC-80 remains in service and is of great value for research programmes
that cannot be carried out on large telescopes, and for long-duration observational campaigns. It is also used for Spanish and foreign university student
practicals.
F. Sánchez