Welcome to the Roque de Los Muchachos, where 17 telescopes from 19 nations use the best night sky in Europe to explore the cosmos. Find out what it's like to work in this strange world above the clouds. Learn about each telescope, how they're run, and a little of what they've discovered.
This book is written for the general public rather than professional astronomers, with over 120 photos and diagrams, and a full glossary of all the technical terms for non-geeks. It is about the "Roque de los Muchachos" observatory and telescopes. Sheila Crosby knows the observatory well. She worked there as an engineer for nearly 12 years, and has been a tour guide there for five, showing hundreds of tourists, journalists and students around.
The second edition has information on another telescope (the KVA-60) , more details on the observatory's history, interviews with two astronomers, and an explanation of how we are all made of stardust, plus lots of minor updates.