If you have read any of the articles here on Tenerife Times about the Mt. Teide, you will have realised that much of the area of the Volcano stands in a National Park, (Parque Nacional de las Cañadas del Teide which was opened in 1954) however did you know that the skies above Teide and much of the island of Tenerife are actually an Astronomical Reserve?

The skies above Tenerife are covered by Tenerife Law and protected as a national reserve. In 1998, a Law for the Protection of the Astronomical Quality of the Observatories of the IAC (Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias) was passed in an effort to protect the skies above Tenerife.

This law regulates not only outside illumination but also radioelectric power, industrial contamination and air traffic over the Observatories. The peaks of the islands of Tenerife and La Palma may therefore be considered as an astronomical "reserve".

It is this Tenerife Astronomical Reserve that helps to preserve the conditions that are considered to be almost perfect for Modern Astronomy.