Rationalists are on the rise. And that is their slogan their focus put your nation first i am taking you. To highlights different shades of nationalism and to find out what that nation mean to you. To share your story join the conversation here on to tell me you on twitter and on facebook. Tourism in the twenty First Century looks to the stars. Looking for experiences and astronomy is a new experience not available to them previously and the new. The old have a saying that they tell you on the moon or. On some of the stars and spain is one of the best destinations in the world to enjoy astronomy its a trend on the rise. Thats more mastro tourism is giving value to the attraction of the night sky there are proven. Scientific institutions businesses and tourist establishment are backing this new trend. That the family thousand years ago astro tours and sounded like tons fiction didnt it who would come from abroad just to look at styles from it i mean i left it to. Him as a bit more than thirty thousand german astronomers have to go abroad to practice their hobby with us here in. This intelligent tourism offers unique experiences to travelers from all over the world to discover in the southwest of europe. I dont know who that is spending the night looking through a telescope or even with the naked eye or to see things theyve never seen before is an experience that remember for the rest of their lives and the things in life. Would. In the Canary Islands the universe seems to feel closer to long with other locations in southwestern europe the spanish archipelago is an ideal location for observing the sky. Lebanese levity got in the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands should actually be considered as a nature reserve for practicing astronomy in europe but i think that less than a meal it would open. Their geographic setting with the mountains and climate make these islands a kind of window on the cosmos where many nations would like to carry out groundbreaking research. And there more to this book is that we have telescopes from a great many countries especially at the observatory apollo rocketed us much ocho sun the palm island. Youll find the best set of telescopes in the Northern Hemisphere there if not in the whole world is going to the moon. Astronomy arguably the first science cultivated by humans is in some danger Light Pollution from cities obscures the stars. And. Astronomers and astrophysicists were the first to identify the danger of losing the night sky society wasnt aware of the importance of preserving that sky people thought astronomers were the only ones interested for scientific or personal reasons but its the most keith s. S. Is the in the lot of you know we may be witnessing the end of dark nights. In the cities are excessively illuminated. Most of the observatories have had to move farther and farther away to increasingly remote settings lovise caught up with the mother motos. Since the one nine hundred eighty s. International experts have warned of the consequences of Light Pollution it contributes to Climate Change modifies the behavior of certain animals and affects peoples health. So i dont buy it already weve evolved with these cycles between day and night and we know our internal clock our security and rhythm is disrupted a lot of people at what i listen you dont know i would have been otherwise i think. The u. S. Based International DarkSky Association has been devoted to protecting dark skies since one thousand nine hundred eight it is just one of the organizations working to preserve these spaces. In europe the Canary Islands have played a decisive role the Starlight Foundation founded by the Canary Islands institute of astrophysics has been active since two thousand and seven. They have used the right now they go with the that is the Astrophysics Institute is committed to conserving the skies. Not only for use by scientists you know but also as part of humanitys intangible heritage. For the enjoyment of the general public. Then he said this if. Scientists and nonprofessional astronomers from various nations Work Together with this organization the objectives are to follow to preserve dark skies and promote astronomy. To do so they consider tourism a way of spreading knowledge with the support of the International AstronomyAssociation Unesco and the World Tourism Organization this foundation certifies the quality of the sky. And here in the middle of it some skies look beautiful but its not guaranteed theyll stay that wife and starlight certifications ensure that there are regulations that will keep the skies so dark that people can enjoy the skies. The Canary Islands is the birthplace of european astro tourism other regions in the south of spain with significant attractions for visitors and a good infrastructure have added astronomy to their offerings. After the war and the skies are clear day and night and on to lose your ideal for astro tourism when the sun shines tourists can enjoy the weather the beach bars and the hotels so why not grab a telescope at night and take advantage of the sky and if you look at the nemo. Many people are interested in a different type of tourism its no longer enough just to go and look at places they want to go deeper and have a real experience with you because there are tours to travel just to practice astronomy the rest of the trip is extra as if. The Iberian Peninsula offers the best conditions for observation. In addition to its geographic location and climate with a large number of clear nights throughout the year it is sparsely populated in many regions on the one. In central and Northern Europe the settled areas are quite scattered about there are lots of homes and small residential areas between the cities where the. Cities are compact and then there are a lot of unpopulated rule areas between them that means we have skies and visitors to spain are looking for these very very clear skies that have been lost in their own countries. Spains privilege situation did not go unnoticed by the great powers of the Twentieth Century who built their astronomical complexes here. These antennas played a central role in the moon landing nasa set them up in robledo in the early one nine hundred sixty s. Theyre part of the u. S. Agency satellite monitoring and space projects complex. In the one nine hundred seventy s. Domes changed the landscape of sierra. And in southeastern spain at over two thousand meters altitude Continental EuropeLargest Observatory was built here the german spanish Astronomical Center. Helming came to spain in the one nine hundred seventy s. Today he is one of the few german engineers who work here he knows the Centers History very well. In the one nine hundred sixty s. Germany was interested in investing more in astronomy which is why they looked for a location for a new Astronomical Center. They looked in the Northern Hemisphere and the southern hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere they looked in france italy greece and spain the best place was here in the south of spain. One line of research at the center is devoted to creating innovative instruments an example is carmen s. From. Carmen s. Was an idea that arose at a Scientific Meeting in two thousand and eight where Eleven International institutions agreed to create a device that could do what had never been possible in science before it detects planets outside our solar system which like earth could potentially support life with what on earth is the. Color otto is also exceptionally productive its the European Center that generates the highest number of scientific publications thats thanks to on again harle and her colleagues. From this room she monitors the telescopes in the center during the night they become the eyes of scientists all over the world. Some astronomers come here themselves or we follow their detailed instructions and carry out the research for them they tell us what to observe how long which filter which entrance lit what spectrum and so on. They ask and we have served at the end of the night we send them the data and then at their various Research Centers they examine the data and decide if we need to make changes or continue as is this is you can get it to the time within the. At the control center we meet on a pasquali this italian astronomer has traveled from Heidelberg University to supervise her observation hours tonight. Let me reach my research focuses on the formation of galaxies and have a change a return. To what im doing now is studying these galaxies which equal essential galaxies in that half the possibility of growing and move with other galaxies. Increasing then must son die mention over time. To the mass of the main sewer nicci at that time the ball with. P. M. S. Any is essential for this that this is the only way we can understand how styles aborning galaxies at different stages of development in the universe see. The new bass on. The firmament is observed by brilliant scientists but also by thousands of amateur astronomers their contribution cannot be underestimated before and i mean that we professionals must form closer ties with amateur astronomers first because im convinced that they will contribute to the future of professional astronomy and second because a lot of science can be done with equipment that they already have. As a boy juan de weese consols car bio dreamed of becoming an astronomer and yet his professional life took him down other roads so instead for almost thirty years he has spent all his free time on astronomy. As amateurs we can work intensively with professional astronomers its very exciting because instead of storing our work on our own computers we added to databases that others can use. He is prolific he publishes books writes for scientific journals and does research with International Groups in recent years he helped discover a supernova with an italian team. A supernova is the most cataclysmic phenomenon in the universe since the big bang seeing it live being part of the co discovery of a supernova justifies all those hours all the time devoted to it although thats not the only reason to do it you do it because its fun and you enjoy it and the data you gather night after night can be useful for other people. Thats how he cultivate his hobby he spends hours and hours interpreting data the times he used to sit outside and gaze into the night sky are long past. When you observe from a fixed spots like your house you have to have an observatory in place to avoid always setting it up and taking it down which is tedious. Nowadays nonprofessional astronomers who are more serious about this can have equipment setup in a remote observatory and then they can work from home you know from. Amateur astronomers from other countries also choose to come to the Iberian Peninsula the nine hundred and you have travelled from germany to fragonard sierra in the foothills of sierra madre now theyve come with a clear objective we will. Set up a new telescope and where world test. Automatic. Breaking off and there for me for the crew of theirs is one of the last telescopes set up here for hosting a special way of renting a private observatory they chose this location after analyzing other destinations on other continents. This is the best place for installing robot telescope because its very dark here the first point of the other board is a very good seeing here and you can reach but very fast especially from germany you just have to fly to and you hear very short so lets find. A sound interrupts the interview the dome on the neighboring observatory starts moving the sun is setting and the Building Owner of this telescope wants to check todays sky conditions from the heart of europe he directs operations by Remote Control as he watches us through his camera in a few weeks these astronomers will be able to do the same thing from their homes in munich the generally were making pictures of galaxies sometimes planetary nebula we are not really doing scientific stuff like measurements for a light for supernova Something Like that thats only if were not scientists in that way were just doing our spare time we are you know amateur astronomers and just viking pretty pictures as you can see and we also have a look at the stars here to see because the travelling is not possible anymore its the life illusion is too strong so were going here to do. In germany alone there are thirty thousand amateur astronomers who have to travel outside their country to be able to enjoy their hobby the same thing happens in other countries some of these aficionados have come to this astronomical complex Community People come here for the climate and the sky is mainly from Northern Europe weve got people from various nations from russia Great Britain france and belgium the u. S. Company in america came here to build a telescope with us i mean were going to search them even telescope you. The initial forecasts were soon surpassed and a business was born with a certain grow mantic touch the images that are now going to all this then some years ago an experimental and we realized the sky was of incredible quality we would come with a telescope to look at the stars and it was great we invited friends and since jose luis had good connections in the astronomy scene he knew there was big demand for places to put up telescopes. So we thought maybe that was a good way to indulge our passion for astronomy and run a business at the same time its an add on one of. The hosting service has given them International Prestige among astronomers the complex also offers accommodation and workshops. At night for the leading lights make their entrance. Between the gnarled folks in the broad landscape the stars appear in dazzling brilliance. Is the bottom of them over there in this area where you can see about two thousand stars compared with the city where you can see only thirty or forty maybe fifty stars maximum you get one likes. To learn more about stars we attend an astronomy session. Close san luis can you honestly the soul of this project place a stars within the context of the universe. Is that was he that he said everything were seeing here is expanding the universe is huge its fourteen billion years old and still expanding. We live in a large super city the milky way with over four hundred billion stars but that doesnt mean the u. S. History yes. The numbers are astonishing the explanations show how important astronomy has always been for humans. All our grandparents knew and identified the stars speak of the brightest star in the constellation virgo that means with spike and when it appeared in the east they knew it was time to sew or harvest astronomy was essential for daily life but today environmentalists pollution and all our technology have completely disconnected us and. The stars have gone out in the eyes of many people who live in the developed world. This is what the planet looks like at night artificial light illuminates large surfaces of the Northern Hemisphere. Is the largest dam in western europe the waters of the river serve as the boundary between spain and portugal. The portuguese were the pioneers in promoting astro tourism. The idea arose in two thousand and eight as part of creating a Sustainable Program for the ok region to offer something unique in terms of nature and resources for tourism we thought of something no one had considered before the sky. Kjetil sail. Its now a starlight Tourist Destination certified by the Starlight Foundation in two thousand and eleven we were the First Destination in the world to obtain this certification. Since then alqaeda has become a must visit destination for astro truism visitors fall into two groups since well meantime just. So essentially theres the amateur astronomers who love observing the sky and then theres a large increase in families many children hear about the night sky at school but they cant see the constellations in the cities where they live. So they come here with their parents to experience the dark skies together leaving the show thats not. This megalithic monument the cromlech of chess was moved near months of us when the dam was built its the setting for summer star parties and with face of the familiar. Its a party for the whole family the activities are suitable for both children and adults you can observe the sun theres a workshop for adults and children about the solar system and right now weve got a yoga session here behind us here meeting with. The presence of hundreds of people lends a special symbolism to this place amid five thousand year old stones its a unique place to connect with the universe. Night falls. And sheltered by the convent its time to learn more about astronomy. Claro the official astro photographer here shares his interest in the science of astronomy from a different perspective photographing space must ending firmly on the earth. We want space to be more than just the telescope photographs disseminated by nasa and the european southern observatory. When people look at these images they cant identify with them because they have no point of reference to know where they are. Working on. The news so perhaps we dont see. This what. We want them to be able to connect to the sky and the earth and find relevance and astronomy. Then there is the richness of the landscape of all caver with a crime lab and other elements of what it has to offer. Its very important to relay this message to promote ourselves. Give me from the the season my first film and. At midnight its time to contemplate the firmament some with the help of more or Less Advanced Technology and many with the naked eye today with the new moon the universe looks blended. The milky way passes overhead. Its easy to identify constellations like the big dipper c. V. S. Or cassiopeia. And stars that shine with their own names such as vega or or dean. When. The sky here affords excellent visibility and average of two hundred eighty six nights a year. The degree of darkness in the three thousand square kilometer region ranges from twenty one point two to twenty one point eight thats the equivalent of rural skies to true dark sky sites. And those dark skies attract thousands of people interested in astronomy. Some areas offer multiple activities while others are specialized this is the case at the Astronomy Center in the province of via delhi eight the only center in the world to be considered a star park. It was the best year we did not do astrophysics here that is done at la palma in the Canary Islands a more professional observatories but we do receive School Visits in the winter months with them we get tourists families and what we do is open up a little window of knowledge about the sky to them so they learn a bit more about what hes up there in the sky they can look through telescopes with the naked eye of a horse. After decades of experience publicizing information about astronomy. Knows very well that this discipline requires scientific knowledge and something more. Basic it is there were a lot of trouble to talk about science you need a romantic view of the money less than you have. I got of those we wanted that if there were really lovely concepts in astronomy like that we come from the stars for example everything that exists that has substance comes from the stars with Scientific Concepts which are a bit inaccessible to many people it is important to present them with that sort of enticement as you share information. Night falls everyone takes their position. The roof of the Astronomy Center slowly opens like a curtain at a theater and the star show begins. And i was longing for the moment of the rock constellations in the night sky that can be seen with the naked eye people really like discovering vegetarian scorpio and the stories that go with the constellations. For example if you know the sci fi is king of ethiopia who married cassiopeia. So thats greek mythology its a lovely way for people to understand and know more about the sky. Theyre going to tell me. For years the Extremadura Center for advanced technologies has been making films for planetaria. Some are shown at the trujillo planetarium and others are distributed in spain and latin america. More than one hundred twenty thousand people have seen exploring the solar system a fascinating journey from the sun to mars. They put us in rituals a series of scenarios that had never been seen before. So yeah there you go anyway both you know that when we grew up. With scientific advisors from the Canary Islands institute of astrophysics this film enables viewers to see and understand the dawn of a comet or an asteroid collision el mundo an eel or the ringworld is another of their films now that attempts are being made to find intelligent life on other planets this production aims to explain what such a place might be like. Making astronomy attractive and establishing it as a tourist activity are matters that concern the entire sector. The Hotel Parador of credos in the province of is hosting a course for astro tourism guides everyone is committed to defending the dark sky regardless of participants profiles or backgrounds. Rango there it was of im from toulouse in france i decided to take this course because i want to add it to my fifteen years of experience inter ism especially in eco tourism. In spain it is more developed than in france. We have techniques that could be developed but i know im going to be one of the first to end his knowledge about astro tourism into france. But he made oath in part that is the. Reason my health. Professionals from the most renowned places also come here to specialize they all see astro tourism as an opportunity. And at the very most going to the Canary Islands are considered the world leader in astro tourism and the truth is were very lucky in the Canary Islands especially those of us born there we cant let this opportunity pass over the you know even for the experts practice makes perfect. For the there are two courses that differ only in the number of class hours its very intensive because we go for twelve hours a day so we have time to cover everything. We spend the whole day in class and at night we do astronomy practice sessions but were all very excited about it i mean. At midday the garden turns into an observatory its time to observe and learn about our star the sun. These are the first solo telescopes that existed and the difference with this one is that it has a much higher resolution and this one has a point five from filter which gives you lots more detail. About. All the telescopes are pointed at the sun tourism professionals have a clear goal in mind. Im working for over twenty five years explaining the Natural Environment in the sierra in madrid. We were doing night activities and started getting more and more interest in this so we started learning more about it and this is the best opportunity to continue learning astrophotography is also popular and tonio company us is one of the first astro photographers in spain. This is the high point in amateur astronomy. You go from visual astronomy to looking through a telescope and end up doing photography. Possibly what leads you to do it is wanting to see more because observation through a telescope is very limited and. The scientific content complements the to restrict content. On chaz is the socalled father of the movement he was the first to bring astro to risen to the area. My wife and i built a hotel here in the sierra great austin one thousand nine hundred four we are pioneers of what is called small hotels with charm. Sympathy the ive always been an amateur astronomer then when i built the hotel one of the things i also did was set up a telescope in the hotel garden. The guests would come up and ask me can we have a look and so i explained what they were seeing in the sky. We built an extension and i built a dome on the roof a more professional observatory. Hotel guests would come up with me and i told them all about astronomy. And at one point i realized it was true that we are very privileged in the sky we have here and they said. Look we believe. Nature. Livestock the mountains and hunting with the attractions the sierra of great dos was known for then. Pack of sanchez dared to innovate. Now its the dark sky that draws tourists. The demand was surprising. The community if people came here and asked why here this is a very good place to see stars who can show them to me. You know and we realized there was nobody who could do it obviously anyone here because i had my observatory and my telescope. Once the potential was recognised professional training picked up. Was the first astronomical hotel in mainland spain astra tourism is already showing profits and one of the along with the over half the nights of a year weve got guests who come to observe the stasi whats more everyone leaves happy and everyone says its fantastic ive got to come back again im going to start reading about this stuff because its really fascinating that isnt this. The have a lumber a astrophysical observateur is the most recent professional observatory built in western europe. Here in the province of terror well they are working on an Ambitious International project making a three dimensional detailed map of the cosmos. Several kilometers away the same promoter the outer gone center for studies of the physics of the cosmos has built galactica a center for publicizing and practicing astronomy. This project designed exclusively to cater to astro tourism expects to receive twenty four thousand visitors a year. Other sites offer more they open up the interior of their professional observatories to visitors in our maria the Friends Association of color alto defends that view this organization. It was created in twenty thirteen during tough Economic Times you know if it was after germany and spain signed the agreement for the observatory that they were trustee cuts in budgets you know initially there was talk that the observatory might disappear that it might close. At first she knew people could imagine what the white domes and special sky conditions of colorado were good for scientific tourism is now an important asset. Most interest of progress to the reason. Weve held three of these extra tourism meetings in recent years to try to open up the market in this area because there wasnt much to offer. We realized that when people came up to cull out and set up amateur telescopes at night they were stunned they had no idea of the quality of the sky they had and yet you know we did hear. The german spanish Astronomical Center in collaboration with the astro Tourism Company as a mood has started to offer an exclusive astronomical experience it allows visitors to feel they are an astronomer for a night i thought and present there is no professional observatory in europe where a person can look through a telescope more than a metre in diameter with an eyepiece this activity is exclusive to colorado you know its offered nowhere else in the world. And anyone who does it will have an experience that theyll remember for the rest of their life. Or whatever other things were. Once a month this telescope which is one point twenty three meters in diameter is available for scientific tourism activity. Is it that if we have the ability to remove the scientific operators from the telescope and replace it with an eyepiece. Then our visitors can personally observe the models of the sky i seen from here in colorado. Our main activity is research for science so the number of nights we can devote to this activity is certainly limited but its something were committed to. Were going to keep it going and there are circumstances a lot will expand and enhance it. In the evening the experience begins. I want to see what you see through a telescope with a vast range of lenses you have ive heard the resolution is so high you can see the moons of your anus thats what i want to get on with. The special guests are invited into the scientists work spaces. We think they scientifically is more appropriate for people who have already had some previous experience with telescopes because if you have never looked through a telescope before and looked through this one for the first time youll never want to look through any other want to know what. As darkness falls the dome opens. In one thousand nine hundred seventy five this telescope manufactured in germany was the first telescope to go operational in that color. Tonight is one of the ten thousand nights it has been used to observe the firmament. It has two purposes the scientific one which is usually operated from the control room in colorado or by Remote Control from granada and germany. And the second one for astro tourism activities. On those occasions its operated from the control desk. For the session leader adjusting the eyepiece is not always easy the eyepiece has to be at an accessible height. And depending on which celestial body the telescope is aimed at that can be difficult a movable platform helps. As some people take turns looking through the telescope others enjoy the spectacle offered by the sky as seen with the naked eye. For two hours observations are made from the planets in our solar system on out into deep space. Then. They have to thin out ive been an amateur astronomer since i was fifteen sixteen but the reflector all reflected telescopes ive used do not have the resolution of this one as today ive seen a planetary nebula is and that is far from what your average amateur astronomer can aspire to see a bit though to go out of my unique extraordinary experience at them its really a privilege to be here. I encourage everyone to come and see what kind of work they do here and what astronomy has to offer above all the top level science being done here. With the best since that the end of. The universe has existed far longer than we humans have and it will continue long after we disappear. Many people dont give that a Second Thought still an increasing number are looking for a connection to something greater something that makes their own existence seem so small and yet at the same time makes them feel part of any mens vastness. Its enough to just look up. This is our legacy. Our infinite. S. U. V. In the city. Hall. And theres a growing number of models on the market and then no shrinking violets take the new kiosk on the small stuff. That toyotas see a job the ultimate showstopper. Drive. Thirty minutes to. Go by i mean he would know we came by and you know never give up they always think they can still read right up to the very last second is. Me a son mia lives it. Starting october fifteenth on d w and online meet the germans new and surprising aspects of noise and culture in germany. Us American Music takes a look at germany it is increasing at their traditions every day lives and language doesnt just come out. So im young good. Looking guy a d w dot com makes the germans. Look it was a shock and i have to admit i was disgusted by my and dont want to. Live in russia you can make money with homophobia. They fixed a piece of wire to my Little Finger and switched on the current there people without rights in their own without rights in their own country because theyre homosexuals gay in russia our series this week in the news on d w