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The Lyrids are a strong meteor shower lasting from April 17 to April 26 each year. Their peak this year is around April 22 with a rate of 18 meteors per hour (sometimes the rate can reach 100 meteors per hour) and an average velocity of 49 km/s. The radiant of Lyrids is located close to Vega, the brightest star of the constellation Lyra. The source of the meteor shower is particles of dust shed by the long-period Comet Thatcher (C/1861 G1). … Read More

In 2017 spring will begin on Monday 20th of March at 10:28am UTC, and it will end on 21st of June with the beginning of summer. The beginning of seasons is conventionally established by particular positions of the Earth during its orbit around the Sun. So the spring equinox occurs when the plane of Earth’s Equator passes the center of the Sun. At that instant, the tilt of Earth’s axis neither inclines away from nor towards the Sun. When that occurs, the … Read More

In 2016 winter will begin on Wednesday 21st of December at 10:44am UTC. This season will last 89 days and it will end on 20th of March with the beginning of spring. The beginning of seasons is conventionally established by particular positions of the Earth during its orbit around the Sun. So the winter solstice occurs when the Sun reaches its greatest height south, i.e. the declination is -23º 27′ for the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere summer begins. Solstice is derived … Read More

A journey through space!     Universe2go is an interactive viewer that uses the “Augmented Reality” concept and, together with a Smartphone App, will give you the opportunity to enjoy amazing astronomy images while, at the same time, you will discover constellations, planets and deep sky objects. You can gather all the information about the firmament, learn Greek myths about the constellations and curiosities about our Moon, you can even see the position of comets and satellites. An useful pocket … Read More

The Geminids are a prolific meteor shower lasting from the 7th to the 17th of December each year. Their peak is typical around the 13th-14th of December with a rate of 120 meteors per hour and an average velocity of 35 km/s. The radiant of Geminids is located close to the constellation Gemini. The source of the meteor shower is particles of dust shed by the asteroid (3200) Phaethon, with an unusual orbit that brings it closer to the Sun than … Read More

By Tom Stainer, Lonely Planet.   Stargazing If the observatory has primed you for staring up at the night sky, you can book a stargazing tour through companies like Ad Astra La Palma (adastralapalma.com). Put your eye to the telescope and listen as lovely Elena explains various fascinating sights: highlights include a clear-as-you-like arm of the Milky Way stretching out across the sky, and the dimpled craters of the moon in astonishing detail. But the highlight is the sense of … Read More

The Leonids are a prolific meteor shower lasting from the 14th to the 21st of November each year. Their peak is typical around the 17th of November with a rate of 20 meteors per hour and an average velocity of 71 km/s. The radiant of Leonids is located close to the constellation Leo. Generally reddish, these meteors usually leave a fleeting green tail behind them. The source of the meteor shower is particles of dust shed by the Comet 55P/Temple-Tuttle, with a … Read More

The Orionids are a prolific meteor shower lasting from October, 2 to November, 7 each year. Their peak is typical around October, 21 with a rate of 23 meteors per hour and an average velocity of 66 km/s. The radiant of Orionids is located close to the constellation Orion. Generally yellowish green, these meteors usually leave a fleeting tail behind them. The source of the meteor shower is particles of dust shed by the well known Comet 1P/Hubble, which last passed through … Read More

An article by Juan Antonio Narro Prieto, published on LaRazón.es. Only available in Spanish.   (…) Tuve la suerte de disfrutar, gracias a las explicaciones de una astrofísica, de una de esas noches inolvidables bajo un cielo estrellado. Nunca lo vi así. Jamás había mirado hacia arriba de esta forma. Lo recomendaría mil veces. Más aún si no eres experto porque supone adentrarse en un mundo desconocido y, a la vez, tremendamente atrayente. El astroturismo está de moda; en auge. … Read More

By Paul Bloomfield, The Telegraph. Stargazing on La Palma. (…) That last evening, after a farewell feast of sea bass and green mojo with a refreshing Teneguia blanco, I took a ride into the highlands with astronomer Elena Nordio. Through the lens of her telescope I was captivated by distant nebulae, twin stars, the rings of Saturn and the Butterfly Cluster – a suitably stellar end to the visit. The Spanish know La Palma as La Isla Bonita: “The Pretty … Read More

(A blog article by Se Hace Camino Al Andar, only available in Spanish) Acabo de volver de pasar una semanita por la Isla de La Palma y, antes de empezar con los tips de ayuda para que sepáis qué ver en La Palma y podáis exprimir la isla a tope, os quiero resumir brevemente mi experiencia personal. Los vascos tenemos la suerte de que todos los martes (al menos en periodo vacacional) hay un vuelo directo que cubre el trayecto … Read More

In 2016 autumn will begin on Thursday 22nd of September at 2:21pm UTC. This season will last 89 days, and it will end on 21st of December with the beginning of winter. The beginning of seasons is conventionally established by particular positions of the Earth during its orbit around the Sun. An equinox occurs when the plane of Earth’s Equator passes the center of the Sun. The two annual equinoxes are the only times when the subsolar point (the place … Read More

A total lunar eclipse will occur on September 16, 2016. The eclipse will be visible over Europe, Asia, Australia, East Africa, and parts of America, Arctic and Antarctica. Timing: P1 – Beginning of the penumbral eclipse:16:54:42 UT Greatest eclipse:18:54:20 UT P2 – End of the penumbral eclipse:20:53:59 UT The time is in Universal Time (UT). For Canary Islands you have to add 1 hour. The Moon is below the horizon on Canary Islands some of the time (Moonrise at 20:09), so … Read More

(a Reporteros.NET‘s blog article only available in Spanish)   Reporteros.NET ha viajado a La Isla de La Palma, la conocida como la Isla Bonita, la más verde de las Canarias. Hemos disfrutado de sus bosques de laurisilva, de sus paisajes volcánicos, del mar, del cielo nocturno y de una naturaleza tan variada como bella. Te invitamos a leer nuestro reportaje y descubrir cómo vivimos La Palma. (…) Decidimos descansar un poco por la tarde, ya que por la noche tenemos una … Read More

(an otiumMadrid‘s blog article only available in Spanish) En el extremo más noroccidental de las Islas Canarias se erige una zona declarada Reserva de la Biosfera, o eso pondría en cualquier folleto. Los que ya la han visitado la bautizaron como “la isla bonita” y los que lo hacemos después corroboramos, reafirmamos y hasta consideramos que la denominación se queda corta. Desde los innumerables senderos hasta la observación de las estrellas, pasando por el turismo volcánico y el urbano. Mires … Read More