Opened in 1989 and located in the highest part of the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) is the result of the scientific association NOTSA, after collaboration between Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the University of Iceland.
This medium-sized telescope is designed to take high-quality images and has made it possible to contribute to the study of “standard candela” supernovae that demonstrate the mysterious dark energy that influences the expansion of the universe, the study of solar system bodies such as the surface of Mercury or the detection of new moons in Uranus and Neptune.
The characteristic structure of its building, light, with rotation capacity, designed to avoid disturbances of heat sources and with a dome that allows to cool during the day and regulate the temperature through floodgates at night, was an innovation that would later be adopted by other telescopes.
