In 1609 Galileo Galilei aimed a telescope at the sky for the first time. Four hundred years later, the United Nations (UN) has decided to commemorate it by declaring 2009 the International Year of Astronomy , with the motto "The Universe for you to discover". Among the pillar projects of this event in which Spain participates, the simultaneous dedication of 100 hours of astronomy all over the planet (including observations of the sky, webcasts, connection of large observatories around the globe, etc.), the Cosmic Diaries or blogs stand out. by professional astronomers aims to put a human face to astronomy and Discover the Dark Sky, which aims to preserve the skies not yet polluted by artificial lights .
In addition, the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias has launched the Astroparatodos.com website, where Internet users can download wallpapers to personalize their mobile and computer with images of the Sun, eclipses, planets, comets, nebulae, etc. All these contents have been prepared from impressive astronomical photographs made in Spain , that is, obtained with telescopes located in Spanish territory and selflessly transferred by professional observatories, groups of amateur astronomers and private astrophotographers.
