News

This section includes scientific and technological news from the IAC and its Observatories, as well as press releases on scientific and technological results, astronomical events, educational projects, outreach activities and institutional events.

List view
  • PANO
    Photomontage
    Segunda visita de los Amigos del IAC al Observatorio del Teide
    El pasado sábado 1 de octubre tuvo lugar la segunda visita al Observatorio del Teide organizada por el programa #AmigosdelIAC, en el que algunos de los miembros de este programa pudieron conocer las instalaciones y observar el cielo a través de telescopios divulgativos. Si tienes interés en la labor del Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias y aún no eres “Amigo del IAC”, puedes unirte a nuestro Programa respondiendo esta breve encuesta ( https://cutt.ly/gBlVUFF), sin necesidad de que realices ninguna aportación. #AmigosdelIAC #IACastrofísica #InstitutodeAstrofísicadeCanarias #IAC #Tenerife
    Advertised on
  • Stephan's Quintet
    Press release
    James Webb telescope studies organic molecules near black holes
    Research led by the University of Oxford and with the participation of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has succeeded in studying, for the first time, the tiny dust molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the nuclear region of luminous active galaxies. This work is one of the first studies to use spectroscopic data from the James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST) mid-infrared instrument (MIRI). Observing PAH molecules in the innermost regions of the galaxy is one of the best ways to study the influence of the central black hole in the evolution of the host
    Advertised on
  • Sesión Erasmus Plus
    Photomontage
    Summer School on "Eclipsing binaries and asteroseismology" held in La Palma
    Fifteen students from nine different countries attended a meeting from September 26th to 30th to learn about the measurement of the fundamental properties of stars, how to access the publicly available data used to make these measurements as well as the tools and software involved. The Erasmus+ school "Eclipsing binaries and asteroseismology: Precise fundamental stellar parameters in the golden age of time-domain astronomy" was held in a hybrid format with fifteen students attending in-person and a further fifty via video conference. The latest advances in multi-epoch photometry and
    Advertised on
  • Background is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the relic galaxy, NGC 1277 (Credits: NASA, ESA, M. Beasley, and P. Kehusmaa). Bottom-left shows the H-band spectrum of the relic galaxy, NGC 1277, obtained with the EMIR spectrograph (middle) at Gran Telescopio Canarias (left) (Credits: pictures of GTC and EMIR are from GTC website).
    Research news
    New insights into the puzzle of strong CO absorptions in massive early-type galaxies
    Puzzling properties of massive early-type galaxies (ETGs) emerge when studying their spectra at near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. Massive ETGs show strong CO absorption features in their H and K band spectra that cannot be explained by state-of-the-art stellar population models. For many years, the disagreement has been attributed to the presence of intermediate-age (0.1-2 Gyr) stellar populations in these galaxies, as the NIR light of intermediate-age stellar populations is dominated by cool stars (e.g. asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars) that show strong CO absorptions in their spectrum
    Advertised on
  • Photomontage
    The European Solar Telescope project presents the design for its construction in the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory
    Scientists and engineers from the institutions making up the consortium for building the EST have met in La Palma to evaluate the end of the preparatory phase. The European Solar Telescope (EST) project has finished the preliminary design phase of the sistemas and subsystems for what will be the largest solar telescope in Europe, in the framework of the european project PRE-EST. With its primary mirror of 4.2 metres diameter, the EST will be a unique driving force for solar research in Europe. It is planned to start construction in 2024, in the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (La Palma
    Advertised on
  • Images of the article
    Press release
    Magnetic Fields in the Solar Atmosphere
    The prestigious journal Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics invites two researchers from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) to publish an article reviewing the most important advances in the study of the magnetic fields in the outer regions of the solar atmosphere. Every year, the editorial committee of the journal Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ARAA) meets to decide which researchers to invite to prepare their reviews, one for each field in Astrophysics. One of the 12 articles of the recently published volume 60 has been written by the IAC researchers
    Advertised on