An international research team, with participation by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) shows that the satellite galaxy NGC 5195 has passed twice through the disc of the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51), in relatively recent times, stimulating star formation, and defining the structure of its arms. The research is published in the prestigious The Astrophysical Journal. The Whirlpool Galaxy M51, is a ”grand design” spiral galaxy: its spiral form is dominated by two well defined arms. Discovered by Charled Messier in 1771 M51 lies some 31 million light years from Earth, As it is face-on

During commissioning the Canary satellite ALISIO-1 proves its efficiency by observing phenomena in over 100 regions of the world The first Canary satellite, led by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), ALISIO-1, (an acronym for Advanced Land-Imaging Satellite for Infrared Observations) was launched into space on December 1st 2023 from the Vandenberg Airforce Base in California, and in only a few months has completed the commissioning phase, the verification on orbit that all its systems are working correctly. In this phase of verification the DRAGO-2 camera has been calibrated, and

A pioneering study from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) which combines laboratory chemistry with astrophysics, has shown for the first time that grains of dust formed by carbon and hydrogen in a highly disordered state, known as HAC, can take part in the formation of fullerenes, carbon molecules which are of key importance for the development of life in the universe, and with potential applications in nanotechnology. The results are published as a Letter to the Editor in the prestigious journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. Fullerenes are carbon molecules which are very big

An international piece of research, led by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has found clues to the nature of some of the brightest and hottest stars in our Universe, called blue supergiants. Although these stars are commonly observed, their origin has been an old puzzle that has been debated for several decades. By simulating novel stellar models and analysing a large data sample in the Large Magellanic Cloud, IAC researchers have found strong evidence that most blue supergiants may have formed from the merger of two stars bound in a binary system. The study is published in the

Using observations made with the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) a study led from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) has confirmed that the asteroid 2023 FW14, discovered last year, is accompanying the red planet in its journey around the Sun, ahead of Mars and in the same orbit. With this new member, the group of Trojans which accompany Mars has increased in number to 17. But it shows differences in its orbit and chemical composition which may indicate that it is a captured asteroid, of a primitive type. The results are published in