Services
What do we offer?
Our observatory is located on La Palma island, one of the areas with the darkest skies and most stable viewing conditions in the world. It offers remote access to high-level astronomical equipment for deep sky astrophotography and scientific observation.
Observatory installed in a region with more than 300 clear nights per year, low humidity and minimal light pollution.
Located on the island of La Palma at an altitude of more than 1400 m and only 5 km from the GTC.
12″ Ritchey-Chrétien telescope
Astronomical camera with IMX571 sensor – high sensitivity and resolution
Motorized filter wheel with: 7nm LRGB Ha, OIII and SII filters.
Operate the telescope from anywhere in the world with specialized software.
You can plan and operate from your personal computer or mobile phone.
All you need is an internet connection.
👥 Who is the target audience?
Astrophotographers without access to dark skies,
Universities, institutes and astronomical clubs,
researchers and students,
astronomy enthusiasts at any level.
🌠 Why choose us?
Save on equipment purchase and maintenance.
Avoid light pollution in your area.
Capture images with professional quality.
Contact us for more information and reserve your place in one of the best skies on the planet.
Limited places.
Contact
🌍 Access a dark sky without leaving your home.
Privileged location
The island of La Palma, in the Canary Islands (Spain), is internationally recognized as one of the best places in the world for astronomical observation. Here is a description with real data that justify this reputation:
🌌 Characteristics of the sky of La Palma.
1. Altitude and geographical location:
The Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM) is located at 2,396 meters above sea level.
The island is close to the Tropic of Cancer, which allows observing both the northern hemisphere sky and part of the southern hemisphere.
2. Dark skies and legal protection:
La Palma was one of the first regions in the world to implement a Sky Law (Law 31/1988), which regulates light, aerial and radioelectric pollution.
A large part of the territory is protected by the UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.
3. Atmospheric transparency and seeing:
The sky is usually above the thermal inversion layer, which minimizes turbulence and humidity.
Typical seeing values (astronomical image quality) are 0.6 to 0.9 arcseconds, which is excellent.
More than 300 clear nights per year, many with very low relative humidity.
4. Measured sky quality (actual data):
SQM (Sky Quality Meter): values between 21.7 and 22.0 mag/arcsec² on moonless nights, indicating extremely dark skies.
Atmospheric transparency: very high, thanks to low pollution and air stability.
Thanks to these conditions, La Palma is home to world-class telescopes such as the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), the largest optical telescope in the world with a 10.4 m primary mirror.
EQUIPMENT
Telescope RC 12”
The heart of our observatory is a 12-inch Ritchey-Chrétien (RC) telescope, an optical design widely used in professional observatories.
✅ 12” (305 mm) aperture, allowing excellent light capture for faint objects.
✅ Coma-free optics with minimal spherical aberration, ideal for deep-sky astrophotography.
✅ Optimized focal length to capture fine details in galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters.
Camera IMX571 Sensor
Our camera is equipped with a Sony IMX571 sensor, known for its high sensitivity and low noise, making it perfect for long-exposure imaging.
Key features include:
🔹 Back-illuminated CMOS sensor for excellent quantum efficiency.
🔹 Wide field of view to capture stunning images of extended celestial objects.
🔹 High bit depth for an impressive dynamic range in images.
7-Position Filter Wheel
To maximize image quality, we use a motorized 7-position filter wheel, allowing precise selection of the appropriate spectral band for each observation.
🔸 Broadband filters (LRGB): Capture images in visible light for true-color astrophotography.
🔸 Narrowband filters (Ha, OIII, SII – 7 nm): Designed for imaging nebulae, enhancing structures and details invisible in regular light.
Ritchey-Chrétien
A Ritchey-Chrétien (RC) telescope is a type of advanced reflecting telescope designed especially for astrophotography and high-precision observation. Its main advantages are:
Comma-free images: Produces sharp stellar images over the entire field of view, without distortion at the edges.
High resolution: Ideal for capturing fine details in celestial objects such as galaxies, nebulae and clusters.
Closed design: Reduces dust ingress and improves thermal stability.
Lensless: Avoids chromatic aberrations by using only mirrors.
IMX571 Sensor
The IMX571 is a CMOS image sensor manufactured by Sony, very popular in astronomical cameras due to its high performance and low noise. Here is a brief description of its key features:
Resolution: 26 megapixels (6280 x 4210 pixels).
Size: APS-C format (approximately 23.5 x 15.7 mm).
Pixel size: 3.76 microns, offering a good balance between sensitivity and resolution.
BSI (Back-Illuminated) Technology: Increases quantum efficiency and improves low-light performance.
High Quantum Efficiency (QE): Reaches over 80%, ideal for capturing faint deep sky objects.
16-bit readout: Enables wide dynamic range and smooth image transitions.
Low read noise and dark current: Makes it ideal for long exposures in astrophotography.
Full observatory control
🔭Complete automation of N.I.N.A. (Nighttime Imaging ‘N’ Astronomy) sessions:
Planning, pointing, focusing, guiding, image acquisition, dither, filter changes, advanced scheduling, all from one of the most active observatory control software.
💻 Remote control from computer or mobile phone:
You can use your PC or mobile phone to access the main computer and manage N.I.N.A. remotely.
We have a dashboard for quick system information.
🗂️ Automatic backups to NAS:
We manage backups to ensure the integrity of your acquired data.
🛠️ Technical support and community:
Official documentation and wiki, well maintained and detailed.
Discord forum and community very active, with near real-time support.
Channel to report bugs or suggest improvements.
One of the key aims of our project is to inspire people of all ages to marvel at the cosmos, and to raise awareness of the importance of astronomy in our lives.
