On the highest peak of Spain—Mount Teide, located at the Canary Islands—you can go stargazing at the robotic observatory of SLOOH.

The SLOOH opens the scientific facility to the public every Monday. As long as weather conditions permit it, you can join the multiple SLOOH stargazing missions over the course of an hour.

The SLOOH is outfitted with multiple telescopes, of professional astronomy quality. The organization also has a website that provides live images of the numerous things you can spot in the sky—stars, meteorites, and other celestial objects—especially on a clear day. The website is available to members for a small subscription.

The SLOOH telescopes are very powerful. They have many three mega pixel CCD cameras and four telescopes, including a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope with a 14 inch diameter and a focal length of 2160mm. There is also a high magnification telescope outfitted with a wide field lens system, capable of a focal length of 135mm at f/5.6. These telescopes are located in two separate domes. There are also plans of acquiring a 14-inch SCT which has the powerful focal length of 2,100 mm. There will also be a a34-mm diameter refractor with a focal length of 135 mm.

After your trip to the Canary Islands you can continue stargazing through the SLOOH website. There you can control the scopes from the computer.

This fascinating and unique attraction of the Canary Islands is a great way of introducing someone to the joys and wonders of astronomy. Kids enjoy it, and will love to see the concepts taught in the classroom come to life. Hobbyists and enthusiasts will also get a kick out of using professional level equipment. Because of the SLOOH website membership privileges, visitors can continue stargazing from the comfort of their rooms. Membership costs an affordable 90 dollars a year, where you can log on any time during the established mission hours, and even get 15 minutes to control the telescopes as you see fit. You can also chat with other stargazing aficionados. You will need a connection speed of 40 kbps (40k) or greater.