224
was scheduled for a date acceptable to the Royal Palace. The date finally
decided on was 24 July 2009.
The inaugural ceremonies were presided over by the King and Queen of
Spain, and commenced with a detailed visit to the GTC, with Dr Álvarez (its
Director) and myself acting as guides. Inside the dome, they greeted the technicians who had built the telescope, signed the Visitors’ Book, and received as
a memento a beautiful image of the galaxy M 51, taken by the GTC. Outside,
in the presence of more than five hundred guests, a commemorative monolith
was unveiled. The dignitaries were seated on a dais along with persons who
were going to give discourses: myself as founder and Director of the IAC;
Professor Joseph Glover, Chancellor of the University of Florida; Professor
José Narro, Chancellor of the National Autonomous University of Mexico;
Mrs Cristina Garmendia, Minister of Science and Innovation; His Excellency
Paulino Rivero, President of the Canarian Government, and His Majesty
King Juan Carlos I.
The ceremonies at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory ended with two
group photographs: one of the VIPs and the other of the invited public.
The ceremonies were televised live all over the world. In Spain alone the
broadcasts reached 8.4 per cent of national viewers, and the ceremonies were
covered by 30 news media.
A little later, in Santa Cruz de la Palma, the King and Queen inaugurated
the exhibition Cosmovisiones at Salazar Palace, which demonstrated the evolution of our conceptions of the Universe through time.
The most scientific part of the inaugural ceremonies was the seminar
‘Science with large telescopes’, in which took part the directors of the largest
terrestrial and space telescopes.
It is worth noting that the GTC did not overrun its budget—a rare occurrence with Big Science projects. Large public works often double or triple
their original budget. The construction of the GTC, including its first two
instruments, cost around 105,000,000 euros. When adjustments are made for
the rate of inflation, this amount amounts to 10 per cent below the initial
budget. Neither had we deliberately inflated the true cost, as is clearly borne
out by the refusal of some European countries to participate in the GTC project on the grounds that it would be totally impossible to build the telescope
with such a low budget. Germany in particular gave this very reason for not
entering into the project and decided instead to spend its money by allying
with the Americans to build the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) in Arizona
(a project that suffered many delays and cost double the initial budget estimate). During the LBT’s inauguration, with the telescope still not finished, I
could not refrain from teasing my German colleagues on the irony of it all.
F. Sánchez
was scheduled for a date acceptable to the Royal Palace. The date finally
decided on was 24 July 2009.
The inaugural ceremonies were presided over by the King and Queen of
Spain, and commenced with a detailed visit to the GTC, with Dr Álvarez (its
Director) and myself acting as guides. Inside the dome, they greeted the technicians who had built the telescope, signed the Visitors’ Book, and received as
a memento a beautiful image of the galaxy M 51, taken by the GTC. Outside,
in the presence of more than five hundred guests, a commemorative monolith
was unveiled. The dignitaries were seated on a dais along with persons who
were going to give discourses: myself as founder and Director of the IAC;
Professor Joseph Glover, Chancellor of the University of Florida; Professor
José Narro, Chancellor of the National Autonomous University of Mexico;
Mrs Cristina Garmendia, Minister of Science and Innovation; His Excellency
Paulino Rivero, President of the Canarian Government, and His Majesty
King Juan Carlos I.
The ceremonies at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory ended with two
group photographs: one of the VIPs and the other of the invited public.
The ceremonies were televised live all over the world. In Spain alone the
broadcasts reached 8.4 per cent of national viewers, and the ceremonies were
covered by 30 news media.
A little later, in Santa Cruz de la Palma, the King and Queen inaugurated
the exhibition Cosmovisiones at Salazar Palace, which demonstrated the evolution of our conceptions of the Universe through time.
The most scientific part of the inaugural ceremonies was the seminar
‘Science with large telescopes’, in which took part the directors of the largest
terrestrial and space telescopes.
It is worth noting that the GTC did not overrun its budget—a rare occurrence with Big Science projects. Large public works often double or triple
their original budget. The construction of the GTC, including its first two
instruments, cost around 105,000,000 euros. When adjustments are made for
the rate of inflation, this amount amounts to 10 per cent below the initial
budget. Neither had we deliberately inflated the true cost, as is clearly borne
out by the refusal of some European countries to participate in the GTC project on the grounds that it would be totally impossible to build the telescope
with such a low budget. Germany in particular gave this very reason for not
entering into the project and decided instead to spend its money by allying
with the Americans to build the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) in Arizona
(a project that suffered many delays and cost double the initial budget estimate). During the LBT’s inauguration, with the telescope still not finished, I
could not refrain from teasing my German colleagues on the irony of it all.
F. Sánchez