The volcano of La Palma completely covers with its ashes, the largest telescope in the world

The monstrous GTC, probably humanity's best instrument for investigating the universe, has been closed for 22 days due to volcanic debris.

The largest telescope in the world could see the light of a headlight of a vehicle in Australia from the Canary island of La Palma, but it has been closed for 22 days due to a "volcanic crisis".

It is more than difficult to perceive the impeccability of its mirrors, but those responsible for the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) offer a noteworthy examination: they are totally smooth, to the point that, if one of these clean surfaces were the size of the Peninsula Iberian, its most notable inconsistency would be a couple of centimeters.

Italian astrophysicist Romano Corradi, supervisor of the telescopic monster, warns that "the dangers are obvious." Microscopic examinations show that the remains that appear in the new lava spring gushing out on La Palma are "like edges" that could damage intelligent faces.

The telescope is very delicate 41 meters high, located at about 2,300 meters of altitude, in the quiet Roque de los Muchachos Observatory. Corradi needs to find a truly Earth-like planet from here: a twin, with water and climate, in which to look for signs of extraterrestrial life.

It would be a revelation that could change the historical backdrop of humanity, however, for the moment you must pause. "To be honest, I think it is difficult to open with the current circumstance of the liquid magma source," acknowledges the astrophysicist.

One of the administrators of the telescope, Álvaro Tejero, runs a finger through a window and shows it: it's dark. About 15 kilometers from the emission, the air seems pristine, however, the cleaning team is removing "overflowing tablespoons of debris" from certain corners, Tejero clarifies.

The parking lot appears dimly lit, but under the vehicles it is actually clear. There is an imperceptible and consistent downpour of volcanic particles.

"You cannot risk that, at any time in the afternoon, the breeze changes and throws all the remains at you," laments the administrator, a thin man from Córdoba who concentrated on professional training and ended up in the Canary Islands taking care of the largest telescope in the world.

To be honest, I think it is difficult for us to open with the current circumstance of the huge lava spring. "

Tejero emphasizes that the ejection is not only a specialized matter for the Gran Telescopio Canarias, but that it is also a human fiasco for its staff. "A large part of the 55 associates who work here are, as a rule, directly affected by this misfortune".

"Some have even lost their homes. Others have been evicted, we do not know for how long. They must earn enough to pay the rent in family homes or even within organizations: put the sleeping cushion there and live in some way", Tejero clarifies.

A cosmic observatory always seems like a science fiction situation, but much more under the rubble of a source of liquid magma. One more of the telescope's administrators, Daniel Pérez Valladares, clarifies his feelings in the specialists' kitchen, before starting the night shift.

"The palmeros are aware that sometime we will find an issue. My grandparents survived each 1949, my parents the 1971, I have survived this and my son will survive another," he reflects.

The magma has so far crushed more than 1,500 structures. Pérez Valladares goes up to work realizing that there is a lava pit erasing where he has spent his time on earth. "I have been surfing for a long time in Los Guirres by the sea and it no longer exists. The companions have a visit, and it seems like a wake", laments the administrator.

The Gran Telescopio Canarias began in 2009, after a speculation of 130 million euros. It is the largest on the planet in the ranges of optical and infrared light.

Five years earlier, an image was obtained here several times farther than one acquired from Earth: a faint glow of stars around a cosmic system exactly 500 million light-years away.

The telescope, advanced by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, has made numerous remarkable discoveries, such as the recognition of raw stars, essential to understand the main minutes after the beginning of the universe.

Mechanical designer Javier Castro shows the inside of the telescope. He was one of its planners a quarter of a century earlier. "It is still a great 350-ton machine in motion, he clarifies. The goliath floats on a flimsy layer of oil driven by water. It is incomprehensible, but a young man could move the 350 tons with one hand". It is an exceptionally complicated machine.

We could talk about many parts, "says Castro, current head of telescope improvement. Probably his biggest concern is the attractive iron in the volcanic debris". There are a lot of motors that have magnets, and it could stall, he warns.

There are many motors that have magnets and volcanic debris could clog them.

Corradi's group chose to close the vault openings on September 24. The magnificent Canarias Telescope boasts in its catalogs that it works "24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year", but that was before the bowels of the earth opened for fifteen days. We don't hang out with little girls.

We are moving beyond the work we have to do in any case, Corradi stresses. The workforce is taking advantage of the restricted completion to restore some instruments. "With these assignments we have about a month. If the broadcast lasts much longer, we should find a way to open safely", says the boss.

Other telescopes at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, such as the Nordic Optic or the Mercator, have already set out to return, but they are much simpler, which favors cleaning tasks.

Case of the Gran Telescopio Canarias

The case of the Gran Telescopio Canarias is totally different. A robot has recognized the accumulation of debris in some lights of its cover.

"Cleaning this arch is an extremely tedious job, at the same time, in case we are one more month in the current circumstance, we will try to observe a frame to do a thorough cleaning every time there is a debris scene," says Corradi.

The largest telescope in the world does not tolerate standing still for a long time.

The administrator Álvaro Tejero focuses on the sky. The debris segment of the gushing lava spring rises not far away and ends in a series of concentric circles of mist that are impossible to miss.

"The wave he is framing is interesting," says the professional, with a combination of amazement and abdication. "Even volcanologists don't know when this will stop. We should be hanging around for three days like 90 days."