|  Prince Felipe was on the island of La Palma last night to inaugurate the Great Canaries Telescope (GTC), one of the largest and currently the most powerful telescope in the world.
Built at a cost €130 million, it will be used to probe distant galaxies, investigate star formation and hunt for planets like Earth.
The GTC, which took seven years to build, uses a huge circular primary mirror (10.4 metres in diameter), which is made up of 36 hexagonal pieces.
It is located on a 2,400 metre high peak on the edge of the Caldera de Taburiente National Park at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory.
Last night's inauguration ceremony, which coincided with a New Moon, started at midnight and focused on the Polar Star and a nearby galaxy.
 Prince Felipe is an Honorary Astrophysicist of the Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute.
The project was 90% funded by the Spanish and Canary Islands governments with the balance made up from contributions by the Mexican Astronomy Institute and Florida University. |
