The astroclimatological comparison of the Paranal Observatory and El Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory

TL;DR

This study compares the astroclimatological conditions of Paranal and ORM observatories to aid in site selection for future large telescopes, revealing significant differences through statistical analysis.

Contribution

It provides a detailed astroclimatological comparison of two major observatories using long-term data, which is novel for site evaluation.

Findings

Significant climatological differences between Paranal and ORM.

Statistical analysis confirms variability in astroclimatological conditions.

Data supports informed decision-making for telescope site selection.

Abstract

The new extremely large telescope projects need accurate evaluation of the candidate sites. In this paper we present the astroclimatological comparison between the Paranal Observatory, located on the coast of the Atacama Desert (Chile), and the Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos (ORM), located in La Palma (Canary Islands). We apply a statistical analysis using long term databases from Paranal and Carlsberg Meridian Telescope (CAMC) weather stations. Significant differences between the two analyzed sites have been found.