ArmInfo. Armenian President Armen Sarkissian, who is on a working visit to Spain, visited Teide Observatory on August 13. This was reported by the press service of the president.
According to the source, the President got acquainted with the work and research of the world's largest optical telescope Gran Telescopio Canarias in La Palma and the world's third largest solar telescope GREGOR. It is planned that in the near future the construction of a new telescope with a diameter of about 50 meters will begin.
President Sarkissian discussed with the leadership of the Teide Observatory the prospects for cooperation with Armenia. The President emphasized that Armenia, as one of the oldest civilizations in the world, has always paid great attention to the development of science. "I would like for more Armenians to study science and astronomy in the future. Astronomy is not just a telescope, but also new mathematical modeling technologies. We have a new presidential initiative called ATOM (Advanced Tomorrow) aimed at developing science and technology in Armenia, "the President emphasized.
Sarkissian also said that within the framework of this project it is planned to create a scientific and technical city, collaborating with the largest technology companies in the world, such as Dassault Systems, Leonardo, IBM and others. "We will be glad to cooperate with Teide. I think that there are great opportunities for cooperation between the Byurakan Observatory and Teide," Sarkissian noted.
Sarkissian also reached an agreement with the leadership of the Teide Observatory on signing a memorandum of understanding aimed at developing cooperation between the scientific and technical institutes of Armenia and Teide. To note, the astronomical observatory was founded in 1964 on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. The observatory is managed by the Canary Institute of Astrophysics. It is one of the first international observatories in the world in which telescopes were installed by different countries, since in this area there are excellent astroclimatic conditions. Later, the main optical observations were transferred to the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma. The Teide Observatory is considered one of the largest observatories in the world.