Paranal Observatory Gets Royal Visit

Officials with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) are extremely pleased to announce that their installations at the Paranal Observatory have recently received the visit of the Spanish crown prince and his wife. Spain was one of the latest countries to join ESO, doing so in 2006.

Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Asturias arrived at Paranal on November 24, and proceeded to take a tour of the high-tech installations ESO uses at this observatory for advanced scientific research.

In addition to the members of the royal family, the Spanish delegation also included Minister of Science and Innovation Dr. Cristina Garmendia, Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs Alfredo Moreno, and Chilean Minister of National Assets Catalina Parot.

Professor Tim de Zeeuw, who is the director-general of ESO, was also on site for the occasion, guiding the select guests through the sprawling astronomy facility.