1/ This week I’ve talked mostly about Paranal, because after having spent there over 600 nights I’ve picked up a thing or two ;-) Today I’d like to tell you about other observatories I’ve been to, so that you have a more complete picture of how observational astronomy works. 
2/ Paranal is a support-heavy observatory: ESO staff take care of executing observations and troubleshooting problems with the telescopes and instruments, so that users can focus on their science. Some other observatories operate in a similar way, but not all.
3/ There are observatories where you actually get to operate the instruments yourself, sometimes even the telescope too. This can be daunting as a rookie, but it’s actually a super fun experience, and this is how you truly learn the ins and out of observational astronomy.
4/ I have really fond memories of Calar Alto Observatory, in the South of Spain. That’s where I had my very first observing run, and I spent many nights there throughout my PhD, observing with their 3.5 m telescope.
5/ You can even climb all the way to the top of the dome! Here’s what appears to be a much younger version of me with two observing pals and our support astronomer. Can’t believe this was 14 years ago...
6/ Once there was so much ice on the windscreen that I couldn’t scrap it off, and I had to drive with my head stuck out of the window. Combined with the fact that I had to use the parking lights to minimize light pollution, that made for a very interesting ride…
7/ Another cool telescope I’ve used is the Isaac Newton Telescope in La Palma. Here you receive some training from a support astronomer for the first half of your first night, then you’re completely on your own for the rest of your observing run!
📷 Jens Moser
📷 Jens Moser
8/ Here you get to control absolutely everything yourself. Even refilling the cryostat of the instrument with liquid nitrogen, which is super cool. Get it? “Cool”. Haha. No? Ok…
9/ Chile abounds in observatories, and one I really like is Las Campanas. I’ve only been there once, observing with the du Pont telescope. Here you work together with a telescope operator, but the instrument is on you.
10/ Las Campanas is not as far North as other observatories like Paranal, so the scenery is not as desertic. And the sunsets never disappoint!
11/ Las Campanas is home to many other telescopes, including the impressive twin Magellan Telescopes, each one with a mirror 6.5 m wide.
📷 Jan Skowron
📷 Jan Skowron
12/ What’s this? A rebel base in Hoth?(*) Nope, it’s the IRAM 30 m radio telescope in the South of Spain.
(*) Just because we’re done talking about lasers doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop dropping Star Wars references!
(*) Just because we’re done talking about lasers doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop dropping Star Wars references!
13/ One interesting thing about this telescope is that you can volunteer as an observer and, besides carrying out your own observations, you also perform observations for other researchers. That’s what I did, and it was a fantastic learning experience!
14/ The first day you get some training from a support astronomer, and after that you take care of all observations yourself, together with an operator.
15/ Because radio telescopes can also observe during the day, observers typically split into three shifts of 8 hours. Observing during the day was a really weird experience for an optical astronomer like me!
16/ Fun fact: I had my 30th birthday during that observing run. So yeah, I turned 30 at the 30 m telescope! Alas, the ELT is not going to be finished in time for my 39th birthday 😭
19/ That’s it! If other astrotweeps wanna share their observing experiences at other observatories that’d be great. Also, if you’re not an astronomer but your job involves field work I’d love to hear from you as well!
(Apologies for some deleted tweets in this thread. I had issues displaying the images in my laptop, but it all looks fine in my cellphone, so I guess it's just me).
