Sunrise from the Roque de Los Muchachos Astrophysical Observatory
April 06, 2021
Photographer: Massimo Cecconi
Summary Authors: Massimo Cecconi; Jim Foster
I was greeted by this striking sunrise after a long night of astronomical observing, on January 16, 2021, at the Roque de Los Muchachos Astrophysical Observatory (Canary Islands, Spain). Thanks to exceptional seeing conditions above the stratus cloud deck, details on Teide Volcano (12,188 ft or 3,715 m), some 87 mi (140 km) to the northwest, were visible, including the solar towers of the Izaña Astrophysical Observatory – to the lower right of the summit. Note that because the atmosphere was so clean (relatively free of dust and salt particles) on this winter morning, deep red and orange colors were lacking as the Sun approached the horizon.