During the week of 4 May, the CTAO Central Organisation co-hosted, along with the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), the University of Bologna, and the Galileo National Telescope, the International Scientific Committee of the Canary Islands Observatories (CCI, in Spanish) at the home of the CTAO Headquarters in Bologna, Italy. With its northern hemisphere array, CTAO-North, located at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (ORM) on the island of La Palma, the CTAO is an active member of the committee.

The CCI is the body established under the International Agreements that created the Canary Islands Observatories, the ORM (La Palma) and Teide Observatory (Tenerife), which are managed by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. It holds biannual meetings to ensure the management of the various instruments located at the observatories can effectively participate in the decisions concerning the use, maintenance, and enhancement of these scientific facilities.

This is the CTAO’s and INAF’s first time hosting the meeting. Isabella Pagano, INAF Science Director, welcomed attendees, and Stuart McMuldroch, Director General of the CTAO, presented a report on the project’s status. The CTAO-North site is already the home of four Large-Sized Telescopes (LSTs) that are under various stages of development by the CTAO LST Collaboration. The first telescope, the LST-1, is wrapping up its commissioning and is expected to be accepted by the Central Organisation in 2027. In preparation for the operation of this “sub-array” of telescopes, the Central Organisation has been rapidly growing its team on site to ease the transition and ensure early science can begin, even as the rest of the array is under construction.

“With the start of the construction phase, the CTAO has become an active research infrastructure within the CCI community,” says Roberta Zanin, CTAO Project Scientist. “The CTAO is strengthening its engagement with the other facilities at the ORM, fostering synergies that will enhance scientific exploitation and maximise the observatory’s scientific impact.”

The CTAO Central Organisation was delighted to co-host the event alongside INAF, the University of Bologna, and the Galileo National Telescope. Each host gave participants the opportunity to visit a special astronomical site in and around Bologna. The CTAO provided access to its offices at its headquarters, while INAF organized a guided tour of the Medicina Radio Observatory, home to the historic Northern Cross Radio Telescope. The University of Bologna hosted participants at the Accademia delle Scienze, located within the university museum complex, which also includes La Specola Museum, the city’s astronomical museum. At La Specola, participants also learned about the pioneering work of Guido Horn d’Arturo, whose innovative segmented mirror designs anticipated technologies now used in modern observatories such as the CTAO.

“There is tremendous excitement surrounding the upcoming operations of the CTAO-North array and the groundbreaking science it will deliver,” said McMuldroch. “We are grateful to contribute to this committee and to strengthen collaboration with neighbouring observatories as we prepare for what lies ahead.”