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
    New groups of planetary nebulae with peculiar dust chemistry towards the Galactic bulge
    Aims: We investigate Galactic bulge planetary nebulae without emission-line central stars for which peculiar infrared spectra have been obtained with the...
  • Publication
    New H-band Stellar Spectral Libraries for the SDSS-III/APOGEE Survey
    The Sloan Digital Sky Survey-III (SDSS-III) Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) has obtained high-resolution (R ∼ 22,500), high...
  • News
    New measurements of the solar spectrum verify Einstein’s theory of General Relativity
    An international team of researchers led by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has measured, with unprecedented accuracy, the gravitational redshift...
  • Publication
    New observations of asteroid (175706) 1996 FG3, primary target of the ESA Marco Polo-R mission
    Context. Near-Earth asteroid (175706) 1996 FG3 is the primary target of the ESA Marco Polo-R mission, which was selected for the assessment study phase of ESA...
  • Publication
    New planetary systems from the Calan-Hertfordshire Extrasolar Planet Search
    We report the discovery of eight new giant planets, and updated orbits for four known planets, orbiting dwarf and subgiant stars using the CORALIE, HARPS, and...
  • Publication
    New polarimetric and spectroscopic evidence of anomalous enrichment in spinel-bearing calcium-aluminium-rich inclusions among L-type asteroids
    Asteroids can be classified into several groups based on their spectral reflectance. Among these groups, the one belonging to the L-class in the taxonomic...
  • Publication
    New ultracool subdwarfs identified in large-scale surveys using Virtual Observatory tools (Corrigendum). I. UKIDSS LAS DR5 vs. SDSS DR7
    Based on observations made with ESO Telescopes at the La Silla Paranal Observatory under programme ID 084.C-0928A.Based on observations made with the Nordic...
  • Project
    NIÉPCE
    It is an initiative of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) via its Unit for Communication and Scientific Culture (UC3) with the collaboration of the...
  • News
    Nightside condensation of iron in an ultrahot giant exoplanet
    Ultrahot giant exoplanets receive thousands of times Earth’s insolation. Their high-temperature atmospheres (greater than 2,000 kelvin) are ideal laboratories...