The Liverpool Telescope is one of the largest robotic telescopes in the world. It was designed and built by astronomers at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). It is still managed by the team at LJMU. A robotic telescope is designed to run without the need for anyone to be on site. Each night the telescope begins to observe the sky on its own. It uses instructions sent to it during the day from the UK.

The Canary Islands can be found off the west coast of Africa. Most of the islands are popular holiday destinations, like Tenerife. But the island of La Palma is different. There are no white sandy beaches on La Palma. Like the rest of this chain of islands, it was created by a volcano. This can still be seen rising 2,400 metres (nearly 8,000 feet) above the Atlantic Ocean. It is now extinct and does not pose a treat to the area. But it's height and position makes it one of the best sites in the world to look up at the night sky.