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.

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  • Atmósfera y estructura interna de Gliese 486 b
    Press release
    Gliese 486 b: a Rosetta stone for the study of exoplanets
    An international scientific team , with the participation of the Institutito de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), has measured the mass and radius of an Earth-like exoplanet with unprecedented accuracy . The detailed analysis allows to make robust predictions on the structure and composition of its interior and atmosphere. The study is published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. Since the first exoplanet around a solar-like star , 51 Pegasi b, was discovered in 1995, the astronomical community has continued to find new exoplanets that are less and less massive, closer and closer, and
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  • Artist's impression of a system with two super-earths
    Press release
    Two new rocky planets in the solar neighborhood
    An international scientific collaboration, in which the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) participates, has discovered two new super-Earths orbiting a bright red dwarf star only 33 light-years away. Both objects are among the closest-known rocky planets yet found outside our solar system . The results are presented today at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting in Pasadena (California, USA). Two new exoplanets, HD 260655 b and HD 260655 c, have been detected using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a space telescope designed to look for planets in orbit
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  • Orion Protoplanetary Disk
    Press release
    Possible evidence of planet formation found in the Orion Nebula
    International research led by scientists at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has shown the existence of solid sulphur compounds in HH514, a jet of gas coming from the centre of the Orion Nebula. The concentration of this chemical element could be related to the process of exoplanet formation. The researchers have used three of the most important optical telescopes in the world: the Very Large Telescope (VLT), the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC or Grantecan) and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The results are published in the scientific journal Monthly Notices of the Royal
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  • Visit of the "Amigos del IAC" at the OT
    Photomontage
    "Amigos del IAC" visitan el Observatorio del Teide
    El sábado 4 de junio tuvo lugar la primera visita organizada por este programa, que tiene como objetivo fomentar la participación de la ciudadanía en la actividad del Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), dando a conocer su investigación y desarrollo tecnológico. 25 miembros del programa "Amigos del IAC" fueron seleccionados del total de inscritos en la actividad para visitar las instalaciones del Observatorio del Teide (Tenerife) de la mano del equipo que gestiona el programa "Amigos del IAC". Durante su visita, accedieron al interior de varias instalaciones astronómicas y
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  • Eclipse de Luna y Vía Láctea sobre el PN del Teide
    Press release
    Una alianza macaronésica para reducir la contaminación lumínica
    "Por una noche con más vida", este es el lema del nuevo proyecto de conservación de la naturaleza, LIFE Natura@night, cuya presentación tendrá lugar el 9 de junio a las 11 horas en el museo Casa Colón de Las Palmas. "Cada residente en Madeira, Azores y Canarias paga unos 30 euros al año en electricidad desperdiciada, según las estimaciones. Así que el problema de la contaminación lumínica nos afecta a todos. Tiene un impacto financiero, pero también en nuestra salud y amenaza a las especies incluso en zonas protegidas, fuera de los entornos urbanos", afirma Cátia Gouveia, coordinadora
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  • Beatriz Villarroel
    Press release
    Beatriz Villarroel is awarded the L’Oréal-Unesco Prize for Women in Science
    Every year the L’Oréal Foundation and Unesco recognize five importan women scientists from the five continents. This year, for its 25th edition, the International Prize for Rising Talents has been awarded, in Europe, to Beatriz Villarroel, a researcher at the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics (NORDITA, a joint institute of the University of Stockholm and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology) and at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) for the project Vanishing & Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations (VASCO) which tries to identify astronomical objects which
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