Last 25 June, during the Council of Ministers, the government approved funding for 42.3 million euros until 2030 (5.6 for FY2024) for the Gran Telescopio de Canarias telescope (GRANTECAN).
More specifically, this approval ratifies the agreement that authorises the signing of the covenant entered into with the Canary Islands Autonomous Community and the Gran Telescopio de Canarias S.A. company, managed by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands, IAC).
“One of these new instruments, currently in the conceptual design stage, has the purpose of improving observation in the infrared spectrum”
The Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant, has praised the collaboration between the administrations and the commitment of the Spanish government with cutting-edge, world-class scientific infrastructures, such as the GRANTECAN, which is part of the Unique Scientific and Technical Infrastructures (ICTS) of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and is the largest optical and infrared telescope built to date.
The GRANTECAN is located next to some twenty other telescopes and astronomical instruments for different types of studies, such as night and robotic observation, solar physics and high-energy astrophysics. This funding will enable the planned improvements to its instruments to be carried out, as well as the creation of new tools to maintain its competitiveness. For instance, one of these new instruments, currently in the conceptual design stage, has the purpose of improving observation in the infrared spectrum, which is essential for the discovery of new phenomena through a simultaneous observation in the visible and infrared spectrum.
Another example is the instrument that aims to enhance the telescope’s optics to eliminate the interference from the Earth’s atmosphere, allowing for a clearer vision, as if the telescope were in space.
