SO Colloquio: The Cherenkov Telescope Array: Status and Prospects

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will become the reference observatory for Very High Energy (VHE) Gamma Ray Astronomy during the next decades. CTA promises a jump in sensitivity and energy coverage of one order of magnitude over the current instruments, significantly improved energy and angular resolutions and full sky coverage. Over thousand new sources will foreseeably be identified in this range for the first time. VHE gamma rays are essential to understand the so-called non-thermal universe. The fact that the northern site of CTA is located at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory offers a special opportunity to the Spanish astrophysical community. I shall review the status of the project, deployment plans, scientific goals, and opportunities that CTA will open to our community.