Lines of research: Exoplanetary Systems & Solar System (SEYSS)

Exoplanetary Systems & Solar System (SEYSS)

The area of planetary and solar systems involves several research groups working on Exoplanets, Solar System and Cultural Astronomy. Our main objectives are:

  • The detection and characterization of giant and rocky planets around nearby stars using the most advanced instruments (CARMENES, ESPRESSO, HARPS Norte y Sur, SONG, LCO, MUSCAT2) and space missions (CoRoT, Kepler K2, CHEOPS, TESS and PLATO). The group is particularly interested in the study of terrestrial planets in the habitable zone of their host stars where water can be in liquid form.
  • The characterization of the atmospheres of planets to know their structure and composition, both by transits and direct imaging, using ground-based telescopes such as GTC and space missions such as CHEOPS.
  • Investigate the formation of exoplanet systems by studying the chemical composition of planet host stars, and the dynamical evolution of exoplanets at their early stages of formation.
  • Study the physical properties of different families of minor bodies of the Solar System (asteroids, comets, trans-neptunian objects, etc.) to understand the origin and evolution of Solar System with GTC and space missions such as OSIRIS-REx.
  • The study of ancient cosmologies through cultural astronomy and the defense of cultural heritage through the astronomy.
  • Publication
    Final Targeting Strategy for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 North Survey
    The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is a dual-hemisphere, near-infrared (NIR), spectroscopic survey with the goal of...
  • Publication
    First asteroid gas sample delivered by the Hayabusa2 mission: A treasure box from Ryugu
    The Hayabusa2 spacecraft returned to Earth from the asteroid 162173 Ryugu on 6 December 2020. One day after the recovery, the gas species retained in the sample...
  • Publication
    First detection of two superoutbursts during the rebrightening phase of a WZ Sge-type dwarf nova: TCP J21040470+4631129
    We report on photometric and spectroscopic observations and analysis of the 2019 superoutburst of TCP J21040470+4631129. This object showed a 9 mag...
  • Publication
    First EURONEAR NEA discoveries from La Palma using the INT
    Since 2006, the European Near Earth Asteroids Research (EURONEAR) project has been contributing to the research of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) within a European...
  • Publication
    First gravitational-wave burst GW150914: MASTER optical follow-up observations
    The Advanced LIGO observatory recently reported the first direct detection of the gravitational waves (GWs) predicted by Einstein & Sitzungsber. We report on...
  • News
    First images of asteroid Bennu obtained by the NASA OSIRIS-REx spacecraft
    After two years travelling through space, the NASA OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has started to obtain images of the mission target, primitive asteroid Bennu. As part...
  • Publication
    First light with HiPERCAM on the GTC
    HiPERCAM is a quintuple-beam imager that saw first light on the 4.2 m William Herschel Telescope (WHT) in October 2017 and on the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio...
  • Publication
    First models of the s process in AGB stars of solar metallicity for the stellar evolutionary code ATON with a novel stable explicit numerical solver
    Aims: We describe the first s-process post-processing models for asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars of masses 3, 4, and 5 M ⊙ at solar metallicity (Z = 0.018)...
  • Publication
    Flare activity and photospheric analysis of Proxima Centauri
    Context. We present the analysis of emission lines in high-resolution optical spectra of the planet-host star Proxima Centauri (Proxima) classified as a M5.5V...