260
It gives me great satisfaction to see articles authored by Spanish research
workers in every issue of the foremost astronomical journals; contrast that
with the situation in the mid-sixties, when only one humble astrophysics article of mine was to be found in a refereed journal.
But that is not all. At the beginning of 2018 the Economics, Accountancy,
and Finance Department of the University of La Laguna published a detailed
study which stated that, for every euro spent on astrophysical activity in the
Canary Islands in payment for goods and services, 3.56 euros were generated
for the GDP of the archipelago; furthermore, the report went on, for every
million euros 45 full-time jobs were generated annually (see Chap. 15).
It would most instructive if our economists and business management
experts were to analyse this ‘miracle’ of Spanish astrophysics from their levelheaded and rigorous perspective. Its rise from the humblest of beginnings to
today’s countless successes might usefully be compared to that economic phenomenon of the company ZARA-INDITEX (although, of course, there are
evident differences). I mention this because I believe that, for Spain to achieve
its rightful place in science, our businesses and financial institutions need to
be aware of such facts as the role of astrophysics in Spain. In a more developed
country, where scientific research would be regarded as a real investment, such
a study would have been carried out long ago. Nevertheless, dreaming on,
such a study might also serve to encourage our politicians to make a genuine
effort to boost Spain’s much-trumpeted RDi.
By the mid-twentieth century, progress in astronomy and notable advances
in telescope construction, themselves a consequence of accelerated technological development brought about by the Second World War, revealed the
need to find suitable sites for the new telescopes. Traditional observatories did
not meet the stringent new requirements for astrophysical observing, and
European astronomers turned their thoughts to sunny Spain. Thus originated
Calar Alto Observatory in Almeria, and Teide Observatory and Roque de los
Muchachos Observatory in the Canaries.
This international interest in the skies of Spain for the purpose of setting up
modern telescopes caused Franco’s dictatorship, which badly needed to establish international agreements, to be more than willing to conform. At the time
it was rumoured that the substantial infrastructure needed in the Filabres
Sierra in order to access the German observatory in Calar Alto was built in
exchange for the importation by Germany of Valencian oranges. This did not,
of course, figure in the agreement signed by the National Commission of
Astronomy and the Max Planck Institute. Although named the Hispano–
German Observatory, it was in reality a purely German enclave.
F. Sánchez
It gives me great satisfaction to see articles authored by Spanish research
workers in every issue of the foremost astronomical journals; contrast that
with the situation in the mid-sixties, when only one humble astrophysics article of mine was to be found in a refereed journal.
But that is not all. At the beginning of 2018 the Economics, Accountancy,
and Finance Department of the University of La Laguna published a detailed
study which stated that, for every euro spent on astrophysical activity in the
Canary Islands in payment for goods and services, 3.56 euros were generated
for the GDP of the archipelago; furthermore, the report went on, for every
million euros 45 full-time jobs were generated annually (see Chap. 15).
It would most instructive if our economists and business management
experts were to analyse this ‘miracle’ of Spanish astrophysics from their levelheaded and rigorous perspective. Its rise from the humblest of beginnings to
today’s countless successes might usefully be compared to that economic phenomenon of the company ZARA-INDITEX (although, of course, there are
evident differences). I mention this because I believe that, for Spain to achieve
its rightful place in science, our businesses and financial institutions need to
be aware of such facts as the role of astrophysics in Spain. In a more developed
country, where scientific research would be regarded as a real investment, such
a study would have been carried out long ago. Nevertheless, dreaming on,
such a study might also serve to encourage our politicians to make a genuine
effort to boost Spain’s much-trumpeted RDi.
By the mid-twentieth century, progress in astronomy and notable advances
in telescope construction, themselves a consequence of accelerated technological development brought about by the Second World War, revealed the
need to find suitable sites for the new telescopes. Traditional observatories did
not meet the stringent new requirements for astrophysical observing, and
European astronomers turned their thoughts to sunny Spain. Thus originated
Calar Alto Observatory in Almeria, and Teide Observatory and Roque de los
Muchachos Observatory in the Canaries.
This international interest in the skies of Spain for the purpose of setting up
modern telescopes caused Franco’s dictatorship, which badly needed to establish international agreements, to be more than willing to conform. At the time
it was rumoured that the substantial infrastructure needed in the Filabres
Sierra in order to access the German observatory in Calar Alto was built in
exchange for the importation by Germany of Valencian oranges. This did not,
of course, figure in the agreement signed by the National Commission of
Astronomy and the Max Planck Institute. Although named the Hispano–
German Observatory, it was in reality a purely German enclave.
F. Sánchez