My two months on Duolingo tell me that the title of this post means the day of our science 11. As if it had been intentionally organised that way my first day at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) coincided with the yearly celebration of all the excellent scientific research that takes place here. It was a perfect introduction to the department. It was striking to see all aspects of modern astronomy covered from solar system to stars to galaxies to cosmology. In addition to the huge variation in fields there was also a large variation in method from instrument development to observation to theory. I was particularly impressed by the telescopes the IAC has access to including the ‘jewel in the crown’ the Gran Telescopio Canarias:
Figure 1. The biggest telescope in the world.
Hopefully I will go observing to the site in the next couple of weeks and will blog about it then. The day was also a chance to meet my new colleagues and discuss ideas for research. I’m excited to work on new things in astronomy and get started immediately. Some of our ideas will involve Herschel far infrared data so the work we did at Sussex will also be useful but I’m already looking at new papers and will write about our projects in the coming weeks. In the mean time I need to finish all my bureaucracy including applying for my Physical Person Certificate. I’m quietly confident that I’m going to pass. In the mean time here is the latest addition to my collection of group photos:
Figure 2. One day I aim to publish a Where’s Wally style compilation of group photos in which Wally gradually ages.
You can read a full summary of all the talks in English here.