Manuel Collados, EST coordinator, summarises the main achievements of the European Solar Telescope in the last six months.
In a meeting held on April 25, 2023, the EST Board of Directors approved the creation of the European Solar Telescope – Fundación Canaria (EST-FC). The deed will be signed in Santa Cruz de Tenerife on July 25, 2023, by 10 research institutions from 8 European countries. With this critical step, the Consortium formed by the institutions working for EST will have a legal character and will be able to contract with third parties, hire personnel, and receive funds or grants, among other possibilities. With this step, all partners in the EST-FC will have control on the progress of the project, with a flexible governance scheme that facilitates an easy transition to the future EST-ERIC for construction and operation.
An article in this issue is dedicated to the UK community. A UK Universities Consortium (UKUC), represented by the University of Sheffield, has been formed to join the EST-FC. Six universities form part of the UKUC, and others might join in the near future.
The role of EST in the European research landscape has recently been highlighted by the Astronet Roadmap 2022-2035. The scientific goals and milestones in all fields of astronomy have been analysed by dedicated groups formed by renowned European researchers, leading to a prioritisation of future facilities. EST is listed as one of three recommended projects in the field of new ground-based infrastructures, due to its unique capabilities and the strong support from the European solar physics community.
The most recent activities of the Science Advisory Group are also described in this issue, together with the progress achieved in the design of some particular subsystems (Heat Rejecter and Data Centre), focused on the Preliminary Design Review of the telescope to be held soon.
As a relevant communication activity, we highlight the presentation of the TV documentary “Reaching for the Sun” at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (Rome, Italy) on May 26, 2023, where the video miniseries "Here comes the Sun" was also screened.