European Week of Science and Technology 2003 at the island of La Palma

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The lunar eclipse that will occur from the 8th to the 9th will be observed live from the municipality of Garafía, in connection with the Observatorios del Teide y del Roque de los Muchachos

As a result of the celebration of the European Week of Science and Technology 2003, many activities will be held for the public of La Palma, between the 4th and 9th of November, in three of its municipalities: Santa Cruz de la Palma, Los Llanos de Aridane, and Garafía.

This activity has been organized by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), in collaboration with the Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos de Tenerife and the Agrupación Astronómica “Isla de La Palma” (AAP), and financed by the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (McyT) and the Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología (FECYT).

Astronomical Week

This year, in Spain, the Semana de la Ciencia y la Tecnología (SCYT2003), or Science and Technology Week, will focus on Astronomy, as this is “modern Astronomy’s” 250th birthday in our country, which started with the creation of the Observatorio de Marina in Cádiz (1753); also, Spanish Astrophysics has reached a distinguished status. This progress has been possible thanks to the development of its international observatories and its associated technology, which is allowing, among other things, for the construction of the largest and most advanced telescope in the world: el Gran Telescopio CANARIAS.

In May, the IAC presented the proposal for the activities to the Programa Nacional de Difusión y Divulgación de la Ciencia y la Tecnología del Plan Nacional de Investigación Científica, Desarrollo e Innovación Tecnológica 2000-2003 del Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología, in the local environment, to take place in the island of La Palma, since it hosts the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos.
In the national milieu, the IAC is also in collaboration with the Fundación Española de Ciencia y Tecnología in the proposal and organization of this week’s outreach activities.

Lunar Eclipse

As a result of the SCYT 2003, several activities for the outreach and teaching of Astronomy will take place, aimed particularly at the population of La Palma, and to a great extent, aimed at the school community. The program includes the exhibit “Busca en la Palma la Belleza del Universo!”, planetarium shows, experiments, telescopic observations and science talks. Moreover, during the night of the 8th to the 9th of November, a lunar eclipse will take place, which will be followed “live” from Garafía, in connection with the Observatorios del Teide y del Roque de los Muchachos. For this reason, an educational booklet about eclipses has been edited, which will be distributed amongthe different schools of La Palma.

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Press release

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