230
Canaries, and teams of astrophysicists began to sprout up in Spanish
universities.
Nevertheless, from 1961 there had been some sort of relation with ESO. I
myself had been awarded a grant by the International Astronomical Union to
go to France and Belgium at the beginning of 1962 to learn the techniques
that ESO had been employing in South Africa and Chile in its site-testing
campaigns. I learned these techniques, including the methods of data reduction and analysis, and presentation of data from Dr Dommanget. It was a
double grant, and this Belgian astronomer came to the Canaries to complete
the collaboration. As a consequence of all this, the same methods were
employed in our campaigns, all, of course, dependent on the slender means
available to us. This similarity of methodology enabled us to compare similar
parameters, with the result that we soon became convinced that the quality of
the skies above the Canarian summits was similar to that of the best sites
prospected by ESO.
Contacts and collaborations between Spanish astrophysicists and ESO
became more frequent as astrophysics began to flourish in Spain. However, we
had to wait until no less than 2006 before our country joined this European
scientific organization. Apart from the lack of interest among our politicians
for basic science, the reason for such a long delay may be attributed to the
extremely high price tag carried by the powerful and brilliant international
organization that is ESO. It has potent means of observing and an extensive,
complex, and costly infrastructure spread over two continents. For that reason, entering as a new member of, and remaining in, the organization costs a
great deal of money. That is why successive Spanish governments were always
postponing a decision on entry. Only in the twenty-first century, with a solid,
successful, and well-established astrophysics in Spain, could we wear down
the reticence of the administration. I remember the argument that definitively
swayed the Government being the Gran Telescopio Canarias, then at an
advanced stage in its construction. There were two reasons for this change of
mind: first, part of the high cost of Spain’s entry could be defrayed by granting
observing time on the GTC; second, thanks to the GTC, the Spanish companies that had been participating in its construction were now prepared to
compete in the call for the rich work tenders issued by ESO. This was later
clearly demonstrated. There was a third, very powerful, reason: to strengthen
Spain’s candidacy to host the E-ELT. That is why the entry agreement explicitly states that attempts would be made to ensure that the E-ELT be built in
the Canaries. I draw attention to this now in anticipation of what eventually
happened in this regard.
F. Sánchez
Canaries, and teams of astrophysicists began to sprout up in Spanish
universities.
Nevertheless, from 1961 there had been some sort of relation with ESO. I
myself had been awarded a grant by the International Astronomical Union to
go to France and Belgium at the beginning of 1962 to learn the techniques
that ESO had been employing in South Africa and Chile in its site-testing
campaigns. I learned these techniques, including the methods of data reduction and analysis, and presentation of data from Dr Dommanget. It was a
double grant, and this Belgian astronomer came to the Canaries to complete
the collaboration. As a consequence of all this, the same methods were
employed in our campaigns, all, of course, dependent on the slender means
available to us. This similarity of methodology enabled us to compare similar
parameters, with the result that we soon became convinced that the quality of
the skies above the Canarian summits was similar to that of the best sites
prospected by ESO.
Contacts and collaborations between Spanish astrophysicists and ESO
became more frequent as astrophysics began to flourish in Spain. However, we
had to wait until no less than 2006 before our country joined this European
scientific organization. Apart from the lack of interest among our politicians
for basic science, the reason for such a long delay may be attributed to the
extremely high price tag carried by the powerful and brilliant international
organization that is ESO. It has potent means of observing and an extensive,
complex, and costly infrastructure spread over two continents. For that reason, entering as a new member of, and remaining in, the organization costs a
great deal of money. That is why successive Spanish governments were always
postponing a decision on entry. Only in the twenty-first century, with a solid,
successful, and well-established astrophysics in Spain, could we wear down
the reticence of the administration. I remember the argument that definitively
swayed the Government being the Gran Telescopio Canarias, then at an
advanced stage in its construction. There were two reasons for this change of
mind: first, part of the high cost of Spain’s entry could be defrayed by granting
observing time on the GTC; second, thanks to the GTC, the Spanish companies that had been participating in its construction were now prepared to
compete in the call for the rich work tenders issued by ESO. This was later
clearly demonstrated. There was a third, very powerful, reason: to strengthen
Spain’s candidacy to host the E-ELT. That is why the entry agreement explicitly states that attempts would be made to ensure that the E-ELT be built in
the Canaries. I draw attention to this now in anticipation of what eventually
happened in this regard.
F. Sánchez