The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias: Turning an Observing Site into a Research Base

The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, or IAC, grew from staff and observational experience shared by Teide Observatory on Tenerife and the University of La Laguna. In the 1960s, Francisco Sánchez promoted research into the upper atmosphere and interplanetary medium while introducing European colleagues to local observing conditions. A small telescope built by René Dumont at the University of Bordeaux to measure zodiacal light was installed at Izaña in December 1963.

Zodiacal light is sunlight scattered by interplanetary material; measurements of brightness and polarization help investigate dust distribution. The collaborating teams regularly used the instrument from 1964 to 1975, with observations supporting doctoral theses. Initially, an assistant adjusted it manually outdoors under instructions from an astronomer in a nearby hut. Cooperation first took the form of shared night shifts, instrument operation and data handling.

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Equipment and staff broadened the research. Funding in 1969 for a solar refractor supported solar physics led by Juan Casanovas. A British infrared telescope working from 1972 helped Carlos Sánchez and colleagues develop infrared astrophysics and instrumentation. In 1973, the university established a university astrophysics institute incorporating Teide Observatory.

The University of La Laguna, Spain’s scientific research council and the provincial inter-island organization of Santa Cruz de Tenerife jointly established IAC by agreement in 1975. Sources give different signature dates: the 1982 founding decree retrospectively cites 16 September, while the 2009 departmental history gives 17 October. Both distinguish the 1975 arrangement from the later independent legal status.

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The early library, laboratories, workshops and service departments occupied prefabricated buildings funded by Tenerife’s island council. University facilities below the mountain handled experiments and data, while the mountain site provided observations. Their work was interdependent: funding had to sustain technicians, observing shifts and records as well as buy telescopes.

The first national astrophysics training program in 1975–1978 offered doctoral preparation to physics graduates from different universities. Trainees including Teodoro Roca and Mercedes Prieto later became important teaching and research staff. Local researchers able to formulate projects, maintain instruments and finish theses made hosted equipment a basis for continuing work rather than isolated visits.

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Spain, Denmark, Britain and Sweden signed an astrophysics cooperation agreement on La Palma on 26 May 1979. Its protocol initially applied specifically to Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, with wider application requiring unanimous consent from the signatory institutions. Users generally funded their own telescopes and directly supporting staff, while common facilities were financed through agreed shares.

Spain received at least twenty percent of observing time, administered by IAC for Spanish and cooperating institutions, with at least another five percent for joint research. Allocation had to account for seasons and lunar phases so that partners received useful opportunities rather than only leftover periods. An international scientific committee coordinated common facilities, projects and time allocation, turning the site’s conditions into participation in research.

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University of Birmingham researchers approached Casanovas in 1975 and placed the Mark-I solar spectrophotometer at Teide Observatory. Roca joined the work, completing a doctorate on solar oscillations and helping establish a helioseismology group. This cooperation preceded the 1979 protocol and had its own relationships around staff and equipment.

Mark-I uses resonant scattering to measure the Sun’s line-of-sight velocity. A research manuscript released in 2001 analyzed observations from 1984 to 1999. Researchers corrected spectral-line scanning caused by Earth’s orbital motion, calibrated using the known velocity from the observing site’s daily motion, and combined a long time series to compare acoustic oscillations across the activity cycle. The paper thanked Birmingham for the instrument and IAC’s helioseismology staff for years of observing and maintenance. Consistent data processing mattered alongside shared equipment.

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Royal Decree-law No. 7 of 30 April 1982 established a public consortium with legal personality, involving the national administration, the then Canary Islands governing organization, the University of La Laguna and the research council. Governing bodies managed administration and finance, with annual budgets entering the national budget process. Staff included both employees and personnel from participating institutions; assets were distinguished between those owned and those made available for use.

The decree combined astrophysics research, cooperation in university teaching, scientific and technical training, and management of astronomical facilities. It continued existing agreements and research units, providing a more stable common organization for university teaching, mountain observations and international work. The 1975 institutional grouping could thus sustain multiyear observing programs beyond individual projects or researchers.

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