Astro holiday in La Palma
Stargazing Holiday in La Palma, Stay with Your Own Private Telescope
Stay on the west side of La Palma with access to fixed telescope setups, dark-sky observing spots and practical local advice for planning your nights.
"Dark skies without the hassle and they have decent telescopes."
Stargazers Lounge, 2020
Choose your astronomy stay
Casa Rosabel, the apartment and Casa Aram each give you a quiet base for a La Palma stargazing holiday, with different levels of space, privacy and telescope access.
Private telescope stay
Why stay with a private telescope instead of joining a tour?
A tour gives you one scheduled evening. A stay with telescope access gives you several chances to wait for the right sky, rest between sessions and observe at your own pace.
Casa Rosabel is suited to travellers who want a quiet base, practical equipment access and the freedom to plan nights around clouds, wind and moonlight.
Stargazing on La Palma
The top of the mountain on La Palma is one of the best astronomical sites in the world, both for stellar astronomy and for solar observations, as the installation of telescopes from 10+ European countries shows. The new Swedish Solar telescope (a 40" vacuum refractor) has given some really fascinating images of solar structures. A "Dark sky law" helps keep the light pollution low. La Palma.
Weather
Please do not believe that La Palma is an astronomers paradise in the sense that the nights are always clear. This is simply not true. The statistics that you might find on the web are from the observatory, above the local cloud layer - and there is no accommodation or place to leave your telescope permanently mounted at this height.
La Palma lies in the Trade Winds region. This region frequently has a inversion layer at around 1000 meters. Near the islands a cloud layer is formed here. The clouds are mainly concentrated on the east side of the island but we on the west side do get a fair part of them.
A typical day here will be clear and sunny at sunup. Then near midday clouds build up and at sundown the sun will, as the clouds are concentrated around the island, peek in below the clouds. By nightfall the clouds often, but not always, clear away. During the night you might expect some cloudy periods that come and go, the changes are rapid.
September 2012, taken by Dirk Panczyk, one of our guests, can give you an idea of what to expect.
Casa Rosabel's Telescopes
Our guests at Casa Rosabel have the use of a Meade 10" Schmidt-Newton, the guests in the Apartment a 10" Newton. Both telescopes are mounted on permanent piers with NEQ6Pro heads and SynScan GOTO controllers.
The EQ6 have a ST4 compatible input for guiding and they can also be computer controlled through the EQMOD system. We have one Lacerta MGEN autoguider but as it can be used with several different telescopes you should reserve it in case that you want to use the autoguider during your stay on La Palma.
The 16" Dobson is used by both parties. If the guests do not make a different agreement Casa Rosabel will use the telescope on odd dates, the Apartment on even dates. The same is valid for the 10x25 telescopes, you will have either the Dobson or the telescopes each night.
The guests can also use the rest of the equipment on the rent a telescope page if they are available. If they want to assure themselves of the availability they must reserve them at 50% of the standard price.
The observation site lies 200 meters away from the house, at a place, where you are protected from local lights. There is a small hut, which can be heated, near the telescope piers, where the optics are stored and which you can use to set up your computer. 220V is available in the hut and on the telescope piers.
Important: for safety and to protect the equipment, guests without previous experience using these telescopes will not be given direct access to them.
Teleskopservice 10" Carbon tube Newton
Guests at the apartment have the use of the 10 inch TS Carbon tube Newton. It has a Baader Steel track 3 inch focuser, a TS-Optics 2 inch Coma Corrector and weights only about 11 kg. M48 and T2 threads are available for camera mounting.
Eyepieces
- TS WA26 ERFLE 26 mm with 70 deg Field
- TS EXP13 Expanse 13 mm with 70 deg Field
- TS EXP5 Expanse 5 mm with 70 deg Field
2 inch UHC filter
- Aperture
- 254 mm
- Focal length
- 1000 mm
Stargazing FAQ
Short answers for planning a realistic astronomy holiday in La Palma.
Can I stargaze in La Palma in summer?
Yes. Summer can bring stable nights, but local cloud still changes quickly. Plan several nights rather than relying on one evening.
Is Casa Rosabel a good place for a telescope holiday?
Yes. Guests can stay close to telescope equipment and use a sheltered observing area away from local lights.
Do I need to bring my own telescope?
Not necessarily. Telescope access is available for guests, but you should ask before booking if a specific setup matters to your trip.
Can I use the telescopes if I do not have experience?
For safety and to protect the equipment, guests without previous experience using these telescopes will not be given direct access to them. Please ask before booking so we can discuss alternatives.
Where is the best place to stargaze in La Palma?
The high observatory area is famous, but a practical holiday also depends on access, clouds, wind, driving and having a comfortable base after observing.
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