Las primeras Jornadas de Puertas Abiertas en el Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (La Palma) correspondientes al año 2001, celebradas el pasado domingo, 15 de julio, y organizadas por el Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, atrajeron al Observatorio a 2.272 visitantes. Durante la jornada se pudieron visitar seis instalaciones distintas: el telescopio "William Herschel", el telescopio "Isaac Newton", el telescopio Nacional Galileo, el telescopio Nórdico Óptico, el telescopio "Mercator" y el experimento HEGRA. La organización contó con la colaboración de 48 personas, entre astrónomos de las distintas instituciones usuarias del Observatorio, personal propio de apoyo (administrativo, sanitario y de mantenimiento), además de diversas entidades como la agrupación de astrónomos aficionados "Isla de la Palma", AEA, Guardia Civil y Cruz Roja. Las visitas se realizaron en tres idiomas: español, inglés y alemán, y los 2.272 visitantes fueron divididos en 84 grupos distintos, cifras que superan considerablemente las de las jornadas celebradas el pasado año. La novedad en esta ocasión fue la posibilidad de visitar el telescopio "Mercator", el "benjamín" del Observatorio, que entró en funcionamiento el pasado mes de mayo. Se recuerda que las próximas Jornadas de Puertas Abiertas tendrán lugar el domingo 9 de septiembre.
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