The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), hosting partner of the CTAO, celebrated its 40th anniversary on 24 July 2025. The occasion marks four decades since the official inauguration of its headquarters and its two observatories: the Teide Observatory in Tenerife and the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in La Palma, Canary Islands— the latter … Continued
La Palma, Spain — The international CTAO LST Collaboration released remarkable findings from observations of GRB 221009A—the brightest gamma-ray burst (GRB) ever recorded. The results were published on 23 July by the renowned journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters (ApJ Letters). The publication presents in-depth observations conducted in 2022 with the Large-Sized Telescope (LST) prototype, the … Continued
On 3 July, the CTAO LST Collaboration successfully installed the camera support structure (CSS) on the LST-2, one of the three Large-Sized Telescopes (LSTs) currently under development on the CTAO-North site in La Palma, Spain. The CSS is a composite structure comprising a carbon-fibre arch made of six tubes and a camera frame that secures … Continued
On 22 May, the CTAO LST Collaboration reached another major milestone with the successful installation of the camera for LST-4, one of the three Large-Sized Telescopes (LSTs) under construction at the CTAO-North site on La Palma, Spain. The camera installation represents the finalisation of the telescope’s construction and marks its transition to the commissioning phase. … Continued
On 15 May, the CTAO LST Collaboration successfully completed the installation of all 198 mirror facets on LST-3, one of the Large-Sized Telescopes (LSTs) currently under construction at CTAO-North on La Palma, Spain. The mirror installation process, which began on 31 March, is a meticulous and collaborative effort involving multiple research institutions and companies. Each … Continued
From April 25 to 28, the island of La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain) became the epicentre of science and culture with the celebration of the STARMUS Festival 2025. A unique global event, STARMUS blends astrophysics, space exploration, art, and music to inspire and ignite curiosity about the Universe. This year’s edition in La Palma included … Continued
(English/Spanish) This week, CTAO Managing Director, Stuart McMuldroch, and Construction Programme Manager, Volker Heinz, traveled to the Canary Islands for a productive visit with the hosting partners at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and colleagues from the CTAO Large-Sized Telescope (LST) Collaboration. The team was warmly welcomed at the IAC Headquarters in Tenerife … Continued
On September 23, the CTAO ACADA Collaboration achieved yet another milestone when the CTAO Central Organisation officially approved and closed out the Critical Design Review (CDR) of the Array Control and Data Acquisition (ACADA) system. The approval of the CDR, an in-depth evaluation to ensure the system design meets all the requirements of the Observatory, marks a new phase in the project, moving from testing to integrating the advanced software packages that will operate the arrays.
The CTAO LST Collaboration has reached a significant milestone with the successful approval and closure of the telescope’s Critical Design Review (CDR). The CDR is a thorough, multi-disciplinary evaluation of the telescope’s design to ensure it meets all required specifications and functions for its proper operation. The completion was marked by the official release of … Continued
Bologna, Italy – On Thursday, 18 April, during the closing session of the CTAO Science Symposium at Teatro Duse in Bologna, the Managing Director of the CTAO, Dr. Stuart McMuldroch, officially announced the Observatory’s new phase of growth. Supported by the 30M Euro endorsement by the CTAO’s governing bodies in September 2023, this new period … Continued