A paradise of sandy beaches and idyllic villages,
this island is also home to ESA’s IZN-1 laser ranging station.
Today we take a closer look at Tenerife
in the Canary Islands.
Welcome to Earth from Space.
Located in the Atlantic Ocean,
opposite the northwest coast of Africa,
Tenerife is the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands.
Teide National Park,
located in the centre of the island,
is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
and includes Mount Teide
which dominates the island.
Standing at over 3700 m,
its summit is the highest point on Spanish soil.
However,
much of the volcano’s height is hidden.
If measured from the ocean floor,
its height of 7500 m
makes Teide the third-highest volcano in the world.
Teide is an active volcano:
its most recent eruption occurred in 1909
when a lava flow buried much of the town and harbour of Garachico
Because of the island’s diverse topography and unique climatic factors,
Tenerife has multiple microclimates.
This means that the weather can vary drastically from one part of the island to the other.
Weather and climate are heavily influenced by
the trade winds blowing from the northeast for most of the year
bringing humidity and precipitation to the north of the island,
as well as to the northern slopes of Mount Teide.
This effect can be clearly seen in the dark green colours in the image
showing vegetation cover.
Most of Tenerife’s inhabitants live on the lower slopes,
within a few kilometres of the sea.
Around half the population
is in or near the cosmopolitan capital of Santa Cruz de Tenerife,
on the narrower northeast part of the island
and San Cristóbal de la Laguna,
the former capital.
Other inhabitants live on the intensively cultivated slopes
near the northern coast,
where one of the chief towns is
Puerto de la Cruz.
The south is a popular destination
where holidaymakers enjoy the beautiful beaches of Costa Adeje.
Tenerife is home to ESA’s IZN-1 laser ranging station
on top of the Izaña mountain
This is the first laser ranging station to be made commercially available.
It is here where lasers are aimed into Earth’s skies,
probing hundreds of kilometres into space,
seeking out satellites
and soon pieces of space rubbish
as well as measuring their positions and trajectories to prevent catastrophic collisions.
The station,
telescope and laser
have recently undergone months of testing and commissioning
and have passed their final tests with flying colours.
This new station is operated as part of ESA’s Space Safety programme,
protecting life and infrastructure
on Earth
and in orbit.