Our facility is located on the island of La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain — an EU territory in the Eastern Atlantic, at approximately 28.7° N, 17.9° W, at an altitude of 1,360 m above sea level.

We sit on the slopes of the Roque de los Muchachos, sharing the same mountain ridge as the Gran Telescopio Canarias (the world’s largest optical telescope), the William Herschel Telescope, MAGIC, and the Isaac Newton Telescope.

The nearest international airport is SPC (La Palma Airport), a 45-minute drive away. Direct flights connect from Madrid, Lisbon, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, London Gatwick, and other European cities.

La Palma has the darkest legal sky in Europe. Our on-site SQM meter recorded an average of 21.49 mag/arcsec² on moonless nights in 2025, with a peak reading of 22.03 mag/arcsec².

The site is rated Bortle 1–2 — the darkest class on the international scale. The sky is protected by the Canary Islands Sky Law (Law 31/1988), which limits light pollution, radio interference, and air traffic across the island. This protection is legally enforced and has been in place for over 35 years.

In 2012, La Palma became the world’s first Starlight Reserve, certified by UNESCO and the International Astronomical Union.

The Roque de los Muchachos consistently records some of the best seeing in the Northern Hemisphere. Under good conditions, IR seeing drops below 0.6 arcseconds — comparable to Mauna Kea, Hawaii.

The main driver is La Palma’s position above the marine inversion layer: the boundary between the moist Atlantic air below and the dry, stable air above. At 1,360 m we sit well above this layer, giving us exceptional atmospheric stability on most nights.

Summer months (June–September) typically deliver the best seeing and lowest humidity, with average relative humidity dropping below 30%.

Based on our own sensor data collected throughout 2025 (786,000 readings), we recorded 311 nights with at least one hour of observable conditions — an annual clear rate of 85.2 %.

Monthly breakdown varies: summer months (Jul–Sep) typically achieve 25–30 clear nights, while the wettest months (Feb–Mar) can drop to 20–22. Even in the worst months the site outperforms most European locations.

You can view live and historical sky data on our Data & Statistics page.

Calima (intrusion of Saharan dust) is a real and recurring phenomenon in the Canary Islands. It affects La Palma less frequently than the eastern islands (Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria), but it does occur.

Our all-sky camera, cloud sensor, and extinction monitor detect calima automatically. The safety system marks the observatory as “weather hold” and no automated operations proceed while calima is active. You receive real-time alerts via the client portal.

Statistically, significant calima episodes at altitude last between 1 and 4 days. They are most common in late winter and summer. We include calima history in our monthly observing reports.

Absolutely — we encourage it. Contact us to arrange a site visit. We’ll show you the observatory, the piers, the network setup, and the views. A visit typically takes 2–3 hours, and if you want to observe during the night, we can accommodate that too.

La Palma is very accessible from major European cities. Direct flights operate from Frankfurt, Amsterdam, London Gatwick, Madrid, Lisbon, and more. The island is small: the drive from the airport to our facility takes under 45 minutes.

Visit our Visit Us page for travel tips, accommodation suggestions, and how to book a tour.

Since La Palma is an EU territory, there are no customs duties for equipment shipped from EU countries. Shipping from the UK or outside the EU may incur standard import procedures, but we can advise on the most efficient route.

Most clients ship via courier (DHL, UPS, Correos) to our facility address, or bring the equipment personally on the plane as checked-in luggage. Telescope tubes, cameras, and mounts typically qualify as fragile cargo with declared value.

We receive, inspect, and securely store your equipment on arrival. For heavy or fragile loads, we can also assist with on-site customs and logistics coordination.

A standard installation — mount on pier, telescope, focuser, camera, filter wheel, guider, and network integration — typically takes 1 to 2 working days with our technicians present.

More complex setups (double-refractor, spectrograph, custom electronics) may require 3–5 days. We recommend arriving a day before planned first light to allow time for polar alignment and focus calibration.

We offer a Concierge Installation add-on where our team handles the entire setup — cabling, software configuration, plate solving, focus runs, and first-light verification — so you can start imaging remotely from day one.

We are software-agnostic. Any standard astronomy control software running on Windows, Linux, or macOS works over our VPN. Clients use:

• Capture/sequencing: NINA, Voyager, Sequence Generator Pro, ACP, TheSkyX, Prism, MaxIm DL
• Driver frameworks: ASCOM (Windows), INDI/INDIGO (Linux/Mac)
• Guiding: PHD2, MetaGuide
• Planetarium / pointing: Cartes du Ciel, Stellarium, SkySafari
• Remote desktop: AnyDesk, TeamViewer, RDP, VNC (your choice)

Each client gets a dedicated private IP range and VPN credentials. You connect to your equipment exactly as if it were in your own backyard.

Our primary uplink is symmetric gigabit fibre. A redundant Starlink connection provides automatic failover in the event of a fibre outage — switchover is transparent to connected clients.

Latency from mainland Europe (Madrid, London, Frankfurt) is typically 18–35 ms. From the US East Coast, expect 90–120 ms. This is well within the tolerances for real-time remote control of telescope mounts, focusers, and rotators.

Power resilience is built into the facility at multiple levels:

• UPS on all critical circuits — handles short outages (minutes) and provides clean power to sensitive electronics.
• Diesel generator — kicks in automatically during extended outages. Fuel stock maintained for 72+ hours of full-facility operation.
• Solar + battery storage — provides daytime and short-night coverage independently of the grid.

In the event of a power event, the safety system parks all mounts and closes all roofs before the UPS runs out. You will receive an automatic alert via the client portal. On grid restoration, the system resets automatically and waits for your command to resume operations.

Our on-site technicians can diagnose and address most common hardware failures — loose cables, focuser faults, communication drops, collimation issues. Minor interventions are included in all plans during standard support hours.

For warranty repairs or manufacturer interventions, we coordinate shipping back to the manufacturer or arrange a specialist visit. We have an on-site workshop with tools for mechanical and electronic work.

Plans with Priority or Concierge support include faster response times (same-night for critical issues) and dedicated phone/WhatsApp access to our technical team.

Yes, for our Private Module and Custom Build tiers. Clients who want a fully dedicated enclosure — their own dome, roll-off roof, or clamshell — can install it on a dedicated plot.

We handle civil works (concrete base, cable routing, drainage), and integration with the facility’s power, network, and safety system. We work with several dome manufacturers and can advise on the best fit for your aperture and budget.

Standard shared-pier plans use our existing structures. Contact us to discuss your specific requirements.

Yes. Our Managed Imaging add-on means our operators handle the entire observing session on your behalf: opening the roof when conditions are safe, running your imaging sequences, monitoring for clouds or wind, and parking when done.

Raw data (FITS files) is uploaded to your designated storage. This is ideal for clients who can’t be online during the local night (time zone difference), or who simply prefer a hands-off experience.

Our standard hosting contracts have a 12-month minimum term. This applies to all physical pier installations — astrophotography, scientific, and SSA tracks.

After the initial 12 months, contracts roll over on a month-to-month basis unless either party gives 60 days’ notice. Multi-year contracts (2–3 years) attract a discount — ask us for a quote.

A refundable reservation deposit is required to secure your pier before signing. The deposit is applied against your first month’s invoice.

All invoices are issued in EUR. USD pricing is available on request for clients outside Europe.

IGIC (Canary Islands indirect tax) is 7% — significantly lower than mainland Spanish VAT (21%) or most EU member-state VATs. This is a genuine fiscal advantage of our location.

For EU businesses with a valid VAT number, invoices can be issued intra-community (reverse charge, 0% IGIC). For non-EU clients, no IGIC applies.

Accepted payment methods: SEPA bank transfer, credit/debit card (Stripe), and international wire. We issue payment terms of net-30 for established B2B clients.

Within the 12-month minimum term, cancellation requires payment of the remaining months’ fees (less any costs avoided). After the minimum term, 60 days’ written notice is required.

The reservation deposit is fully refundable if cancelled more than 30 days before the agreed installation date. Within 30 days it is non-refundable unless we are unable to provide the agreed pier.

We understand that circumstances change. If you need to pause operations (e.g. equipment sent for upgrade), we offer a storage mode at a reduced monthly rate while your pier is reserved.

Yes — we actively welcome academic and research institutions. We offer Scientific Hosting contracts tailored for universities, public observatories, and research centres, with:

• B2B invoicing with purchase-order support
• NDA-ready framework for sensitive research
• Data archive and delivery in standard formats (FITS, CCSDS TDM)
• Support for photometric calibration and standard-star observations
• MPC observatory code application support
• Multi-year contracts with institutional payment terms

See our Scientific Hosting page for full details.

The facility itself is covered by our property and liability insurance. However, client equipment is the client’s responsibility unless an Insurance Bundle add-on is contracted.

We strongly recommend that clients maintain their own all-risk equipment insurance (many astronomy equipment insurers offer worldwide cover that includes remote hosting sites). We can provide a written facility description and address for your insurer’s records.

Our Insurance Bundle add-on provides collective coverage against fire, flood, theft, vandalism, and accidental damage for equipment hosted at our facility — contact us for pricing based on equipment declared value.

Our security infrastructure includes:

• 24/7 on-site staff — the facility is never unattended
• CCTV coverage of all access points, piers, and perimeter
• Perimeter fencing and controlled access — entry by key card or PIN for authorised personnel only
• Motion sensors and IR illumination around the perimeter
• Direct line to local Guardia Civil (the facility’s location is registered with the local police post)

The area is remote, with very low crime risk. The Roque de los Muchachos road is gated at night by the IAC (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias) access protocol.

We publish real-time and historical data publicly on our Data & Statistics page:

• All-sky camera feed (refreshes every 60 seconds)
• Current temperature, humidity, wind speed and gusts
• Sky quality (SQM) in real time
• Cloud sensor reading
• Observatory safe/unsafe status
• Historical monthly averages for 2025

Active clients also have access to the full Grafana dashboard via the client portal, with complete sensor history, trend charts, and alert configuration.

La Palma uses Atlantic Time (UTC+0 in winter / UTC+1 in summer — WET/WEST), the same as mainland Portugal and one hour behind Spain. This is convenient for European observers: astronomical twilight begins around 20:30–22:00 local, depending on the season.

Standard support covers 08:00–22:00 local time, 7 days a week. For Priority and Concierge plans, we provide on-call technical response throughout the night.

Remote monitoring runs 24/7 — the system automatically parks and closes the observatory in case of deteriorating conditions, regardless of whether a technician is physically present.

Getting there: Fly to La Palma Airport (SPC). Direct routes from Frankfurt, Amsterdam, London Gatwick, Madrid, Lisbon, Düsseldorf, and others. From Tenerife (TFN/TFS), there is a daily ferry and multiple daily flights.

At altitude: The observatory is at 1,360 m. Altitude sickness is uncommon but possible if you ascend quickly. Take it easy on the first day. Temperatures at the summit can be 8–12 °C even in summer — bring warm clothing.

Accommodation: The town of Santa Cruz de La Palma (sea level) has hotels and apartments. The village of El Paso (mid-island) is closer to the summit road and a good base. We can recommend accommodation partners near the facility for clients who want to stay on-site during installation.

Roads: The LP-4 road to the Roque de los Muchachos is narrow and winding — allow 1.5 hours from the airport. A 4WD is not necessary but a compact car is advisable.

Yes. We offer optical Space Situational Awareness (SSA) services from La Palma, one of the most strategically positioned sites in the Atlantic for this purpose.

Our capabilities include: LEO/MEO/GEO custody, conjunction assessment, manoeuvre verification, end-of-life monitoring, photometric characterisation, and debris re-entry prediction support.

La Palma’s latitude (28.7° N), sub-arcsecond seeing, and the Canary Islands Sky Law make it uniquely suited for precision optical tracking — closing the Atlantic coverage gap that many global SSA networks face.

See our Satellite Tracking page for full capability details.

Yes. We operate under NDA by default for all SSA and scientific clients — project details, client identities, and observed objects are never disclosed without explicit written authorisation.

We are headquartered in Spain (EU), making us fully subject to EU data sovereignty regulations. All data remains within our infrastructure and is not routed through third-party cloud providers unless specifically requested.

For clients requiring higher security clearance levels (government agencies, NATO-allied defence contractors), we are actively pursuing the relevant Spanish and EU certifications. Contact our mission desk to discuss your specific requirements under NDA.