Dr. Amara Okafor
Exoplanet atmospheres
Reads the weather on worlds forty light years away from a single dip in starlight.
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Roque de los Muchachos · 28.76° N
Observatory
Festival of astronomy, design & deep time
Two nights under the darkest sky in Europe.
Forty astronomers, artists and engineers on a volcano above the clouds. Talks by day, twelve telescopes by night, and a closing concert scored by the sky itself.
14–15 May 2027
La Palma · Canary Islands
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ExoplanetsDark skiesDeep timeRadio silenceMission designStarlight, scoredLight pollutionFirst lightExoplanetsDark skiesDeep timeRadio silenceMission designStarlight, scoredLight pollutionFirst light
Why we climb
Most of us have never seen the sky our grandparents saw. For two nights each spring we take four hundred people above the clouds to look up properly — and to talk about what it would take to bring the dark back home.
40Speakers and artists
12Telescopes on the rim
2,396Metres above the sea
0Streetlights in sight
Speakers
People who spend their nights looking up.
Tomas Lindqvist
Night-sky photographer
Has spent eleven winters chasing aurora across the Arctic circle on foot.
Prof. Hana Ishikawa
Radio astronomy
Listens to the oldest light in the universe and turns it into sound.
Rafael Ortega
Dark-sky architect
Designs towns that are lit for people and dark for everything else.
Nadia Kowalski
Mission designer
Plots the slow, patient paths spacecraft take between the planets.
Ezra Bell
Composer
Scores the closing night from live telescope data, one star at a time.
Programme
Talks by day. Telescopes by night.
Thu 14 May — ArrivalFri 15 May — Deep time
- 16:00Arrival on the mountainShuttles climb from the harbour to 2,396 metres. Tea, maps and red torches at the gate.
- 17:30Opening: The last dark placesWhy a quarter of humanity can no longer see the Milky Way — and how we win it back.
- 19:00Worlds in a dip of lightReading exoplanet weather from forty light years away.
- 20:30Dinner at the rimLong tables on the crater edge as the sun sets into the cloud sea.
- 22:00First lightGuided observing at twelve telescopes. Saturn rises at 22:40.
- 10:00Cosmic breakfastCoffee, pastries and the solar telescope, with filters.
- 11:30The sound of the early universeRadio astronomy, translated for human ears.
- 14:00Designing for darknessStreetlights, towns and the architecture of a darker night.
- 16:30Slow paths between planetsHow missions borrow speed from the worlds they pass.
- 21:30Closing night: Starlight, scoredA live orchestra plays the sky above it, in real time.
Roque de los Muchachos · 28.76° NThe venue
Above the clouds, on the rim of a volcano.
The observatory sits in one of the world’s protected dark-sky reserves. On a clear night you can see your shadow cast by the Milky Way alone. Evenings are cold at altitude — bring a coat, we bring the blankets.
- By airDirect flights to the island, then our shuttle from the harbour.
- By shuttleEvery forty minutes from 14:00, the last one down after midnight.
- StayingPartner hotels and a quiet campsite below the rim.
Tickets
Four hundred places. No more, so the dark stays dark.
Explorer
€240two days
- All talks and workshops
- Observing on both nights
- Shuttle from the harbour
- Blanket and red torch
- Festival field guide
Meals sold at the rim.
Choose ExplorerMost chosen
Voyager
€420two days
- Everything in Explorer
- Dinner at the rim, both nights
- Reserved concert seat
- Guided session at the big dome
- Printed star atlas
Limited to 160 places.
Choose VoyagerPatron
€900two days
- Everything in Voyager
- Speakers’ supper
- Astrophotography masterclass
- Two nights in a partner hotel
- Your name on the dark-sky wall
Supports our dark-sky fund.
Become a patronBefore you climb
Questions, answered.
Is it suitable for complete beginners?
Entirely. Every telescope has a guide beside it, and the programme starts from the naked eye.
What if the sky is cloudy?We sit above most weather, but if the summit clouds over the planetarium dome and the talks carry on — and your ticket rolls over to observing next year.
How cold does it get?Often close to freezing after midnight, even in May. Bring layers; blankets and hot drinks are on us.
Can I bring my own telescope?Yes — there is a pitch for visiting instruments on the east terrace. Tell us when you register.
Register interest
Be first up the mountain.
Tickets open to the list a week before everyone else. One email when they do, and one before the festival. That is all.