The International Scientific Committee (CCI) of the Canary Islands Observatories met this week in Bologna, Italy, to address the current status and future actions for the astronomical infrastructures managed by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC).

The CCI is the body established under the International Agreements that founded the Canary Islands Observatories. It ensures the effective participation of user institutions in decision-making regarding the use, maintenance, and improvement of these world-class scientific facilities.

Project and Infrastructure Monitoring

The meeting was organized by the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) and featured institutional welcomes from Roberto Ragazzoni, President of Italy’s National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), and Stuart McMuldroch, Director General of the CTAO. In this edition of the CCI, Aurélie Marchaudon from IRAP/CNRS began her two-year term as CCI President, marking the first time a woman has led this international gathering.

The sessions were held across three different venues: May 6th at the CTAO headquarters, May 7th at the Observatory of Medicina, and May 8th in the Ulisses Room of the Accademia delle Scienze.

The committee followed up on decisions made during the previous meeting, held in late November 2025 in La Palma. Topics discussed included road safety measures and power supply at the observatories, as well as the upcoming call for the International Time Programme (ITP) for observations across various telescope facilities—a call that is currently oversubscribed.

For its part, the CTAO presented an updated report on the project's status. Additionally, progress on ongoing projects at the IAC’s two observatories—the Teide Observatory (OT) in Tenerife and the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory(ORM) in La Palma—was reviewed. User institutions were also asked to propose the names of prominent female astronomers to balance gender representation in the naming of the observatory's streets.

At the proposal of the new CCI President, the possibility of holding future committee meetings remotely to reduce their carbon footprint was debated. The CCI agreed to adopt this measure experimentally for the November 2026 meeting. The first meeting of 2027 will be held in person in Athens, Greece, hosted by the European Space Agency.

SUCOSIP Meeting

Parallel to the CCI, a meeting of SUCOSIP was also held. This group of experts in astronomical site characterization was created in 1990 and consists of representatives from various user institutions of the Canary Islands Observatories. Its role is to promote and share actions related to the study and monitoring of the atmosphere, as well as to ensure the preservation of sky quality for astronomical observation.

SUCOSIP advises the CCI on future facilities or actions that could affect the quality of observations at the OT and ORM. Before approval, new installations must be evaluated by this technical committee, which also serves as a forum for sharing initiatives aimed at measuring and protecting the astronomical quality of both observatories.