Astronomers do astronomy, and while that involves computer work more often than most people would expect, we do have telescopes. I went on a trip to La Palma, to observe at the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) for two nights. In the traditional scientific division of tasks, there is the theory and the observations (in other sciences, the experiment). While I would never call myself an observer, seeing a magnificent night sky and an amazing milky way, doing hands-on astronomy moving a telescope around to find that star to take spectra of... It serves as a nice remember of why astronomy is so fascinating.
La Palma, one of the Canary Islands, has its Roque de los Muchachos filled with telescopes from all over Europe, as I posted last week (in Dutch) on Scilogs. While preparations for a night of observations typically start in the afternoon, and you can only go to sleep after having closed down the telescope dome at sunrise, I was lucky enough to have two observing nights on Thursday and Monday, nicely separated by a weekend off. I was also fortunate enough to be there with Jens, a fellow PhD student who has worked at the NOT for a year. He knew both nice people and places on the island.
Most definitely worth mentioning - and highly recommended to anyone who happens to visit Santa Cruz on La Palma - is Restaurant Enriciai. With our group of eight people, we took up half of the restaurant, quite literally, as there was only one other table (for six people). A menu does not exist, but the lady of the house tells you what is on the menu that day, in Spanish, while addressing everyone as 'mi amore'. She's one of a kind, and some kind of strange combination between an overly friendly mother and an ex-girlfriend who is happy to finally see you again. It all adds to the wonderful atmosphere, to which the Mediterranean climate - which allows for a night out in nothing more than a T-shirt - also has a valuable contribution. And I should probably mention - or perhaps I shouldn't - that bottles of home-made alcohol appeared on our table after I had finished my baked tuna. This kind of dining experience, you just can't get in Denmark.
There was the beach, including a little sun burn, and a game of paintball. And some amazing views, in between the telescopes on the Roque de los Muchachos, but also when climbing another volcanic mountain. And apart from observing at the NOT, we also got a tour at the Isaac Newton and William Herschel telescopes, at the Swedish Solar Telescope and at the KU Leuven telescope Mercator. After all, I am an astromer.
