38
of years? This and other questions regarding the interplanetary medium have
yet to be answered.
The Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), observing in the infrared,
has recently detected ‘exozodiacal light’ around 92 stars in the Galaxy, an
indication that these stars possess an interplanetary medium, although exoplanets have been found around only 14 of these old stars.
Because of its proximity to the ecliptic, the zodiacal light is more vertical
against the celestial vault in the tropics and is best viewed from there. That is
why one of the goals of knowledgeable nineteenth century travellers to these
regions was to contemplate the zodiacal light. When he came to Tenerife in
the mid-nineteenth century, Piazzi Smyth also observed and discussed it in his
writings. These days it is not easy to see it, except at very clear sites without
light pollution.
I mention all this because it has a great deal to do with the beginnings of
astrophysics in the Canary Islands. During my journey of apprenticeship in
France and Belgium in 1962, I made the acquaintance of the French astronomer René Dumont, at Haute-Provence Observatory. It was from him that I
first heard about the zodiacal light. He told me he was constructing a telescope specifically designed to measure its brilliance, but that it would be
impossible to observe it from his observatory in Bordeaux. I immediately set
about persuading him to test the telescope in the Canaries. We had no professional telescopes in Izaña, and after my conversion to astrophysics I wanted to
commence research right away. We got on well together, and I encouraged
him to bring his family on vacation to Tenerife so that he could personally
check for himself all the good things I had been saying about the site. He
arrived with his family that summer, and I managed to arrange accommodation for them at Izaña Meteorological Observatory, where I was living. Our
families became friends and remain so to this very day.
After his holiday, René was won over, to the point that, near the end of
1963, the ‘Bordeaux Telescope’ had arrived at the docks in the port of Tenerife
and was set up at Teide Observatory the following month.
The French expedition, consisting of astronomer René Dumont and engineer Guy Soulié, was funded for only two months. As they were obtaining
very good results, I proposed that, since they could not observe in Bordeaux,
they leave the telescope in Tenerife, that I take charge of the observations, and
that we exploit the data together. They conferred with their director, who
accepted the deal, and left us the telescope. This agreement with the University
of Bordeaux was to serve as a template for later cooperation agreements that
resulted in the Canarian Observatories being filled with telescopes. Our philosophy was, ‘We have an excellent sky and you have magnificent instruments,
F. Sánchez
of years? This and other questions regarding the interplanetary medium have
yet to be answered.
The Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), observing in the infrared,
has recently detected ‘exozodiacal light’ around 92 stars in the Galaxy, an
indication that these stars possess an interplanetary medium, although exoplanets have been found around only 14 of these old stars.
Because of its proximity to the ecliptic, the zodiacal light is more vertical
against the celestial vault in the tropics and is best viewed from there. That is
why one of the goals of knowledgeable nineteenth century travellers to these
regions was to contemplate the zodiacal light. When he came to Tenerife in
the mid-nineteenth century, Piazzi Smyth also observed and discussed it in his
writings. These days it is not easy to see it, except at very clear sites without
light pollution.
I mention all this because it has a great deal to do with the beginnings of
astrophysics in the Canary Islands. During my journey of apprenticeship in
France and Belgium in 1962, I made the acquaintance of the French astronomer René Dumont, at Haute-Provence Observatory. It was from him that I
first heard about the zodiacal light. He told me he was constructing a telescope specifically designed to measure its brilliance, but that it would be
impossible to observe it from his observatory in Bordeaux. I immediately set
about persuading him to test the telescope in the Canaries. We had no professional telescopes in Izaña, and after my conversion to astrophysics I wanted to
commence research right away. We got on well together, and I encouraged
him to bring his family on vacation to Tenerife so that he could personally
check for himself all the good things I had been saying about the site. He
arrived with his family that summer, and I managed to arrange accommodation for them at Izaña Meteorological Observatory, where I was living. Our
families became friends and remain so to this very day.
After his holiday, René was won over, to the point that, near the end of
1963, the ‘Bordeaux Telescope’ had arrived at the docks in the port of Tenerife
and was set up at Teide Observatory the following month.
The French expedition, consisting of astronomer René Dumont and engineer Guy Soulié, was funded for only two months. As they were obtaining
very good results, I proposed that, since they could not observe in Bordeaux,
they leave the telescope in Tenerife, that I take charge of the observations, and
that we exploit the data together. They conferred with their director, who
accepted the deal, and left us the telescope. This agreement with the University
of Bordeaux was to serve as a template for later cooperation agreements that
resulted in the Canarian Observatories being filled with telescopes. Our philosophy was, ‘We have an excellent sky and you have magnificent instruments,
F. Sánchez