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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  • GJ 367b illustration. The planet orbits around a red dwarf every 7.7 hours. Its bulk density is close to that of iron, interior structure models predict a similar structure to Mercury’s interior. (Image credit: SPP 1992 (Patricia Klein)).
    Research news
    A dense ultra-short period sub-Earth planet transiting a nearby red dwarf star
    Ultrashort-period (USP) exoplanets have orbital periods shorter than 1 day. Precise masses and radii of USP exoplanets could provide constraints on their unknown formation and evolution processes. We report the detection and characterization of the USP planet GJ 367b using high-precision photometry and radial velocity observations. GJ 367b orbits a bright (V-band magnitude of 10.2), nearby, and red (M-type) dwarf star every 7.7 hours. GJ 367b has a radius of 0.718 ± 0.054 Earth-radii and a mass of 0.546 ± 0.078 Earth-masses, making it a sub-Earth planet. The corresponding bulk density is 8
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  • ESPRESSO
    Press release
    ESPRESSO puts the physical constants to the test
    Why does gravity have the strength it has? What exactly determines the value of the electromagnetic force? Are the laws of Physics the same in any part of the universe and at any instant in time? Measurements made with the ESPRESSO high resolution spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) have permitted the determination of one of the fundamental constants of Physics when the universe was only 40% of its present age, helping to find an answer to one of these questions. The study, in which a leading group of researchers from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) participated, is
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  • Rafael Rebolo, Diana Morant and Elena Máñez at the press conference after the IAC 2021 Governing Council.
    Press release
    Diana Morant presides over the Governing Council of the IAC
    The Minister of Science and Innovation presided, this morning, over the annual meeting of the Governing Council of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) in the IACTEC building in La Laguna. In a press conference she stressed the support of the Government for the people of La Palma, and recognized the technological and research activity of the Institute during the pandemic. As well as the minster, other attendees at the meeting were Raquel Yotti Álvarez, Secretary General for Research, Elena Máñez Rodríguez, Coucillor of the Canary Government for Economy, Knowedge and Employment
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  • M87
    Press release
    The “last breaths” in the lives of galaxies
    A team of astronomers has discovered that galaxies with an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) –hosting continuously growing black holes that emit large amounts of energy and radiation– may undergo a period of rapid star birth before shutting down completely. The research, conducted by astronomers from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), the University of Southampton and the Institute of Space Sciences, ICE (IEEC- CSIC) , was published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. The Universe is filled with trillions of galaxies, each one comprising billions of stars
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  • Some of the brightest Geminids that sky-live.tv's videomaker Daniel Padrón captured in just 30 minutes the night of Dec. 13 to 14 at the Teide Observatory of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. In the image, the European Space Agency's OGS telescope and the Teide volcano.
    Press release
    Geminids 2021: the last wishes of the year
    During the nights of 12th and 13th of December we will enjoy the peak of the Geminid meteor shower. This will be broadcast live from the Teide Observatory (Tenerife) via the sky-live.tv channel, with the collaboration with the Energy Efficiency Labs (EELabs) project, of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). During the past decade the Geminids have always bid farewell to the year by producing over 100 meteors per hour (Zenith Hourly Rate, ZHR. In 2020 produce over 130 meteors/hour) which puts them in the annual front rank of meteor showers, together with the Perseids and the
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  • GJ 367 b
    Press release
    Astronomers discover an ultra-light and super-fast sub-Earth orbiting a red dwarf
    An international team, including researchers from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), has discovered an extrasolar planet with half the mass of the Earth that takes approximately eight hours to orbit its parent star, a red dwarf just under 31 light-years from Earth. Called GJ 367 b, it is one of the lightest among the nearly 5.000 exoplanets known today. With a diameter of just over 9000 kilometres, this sub-Earth is slightly larger than Mars. The discovery not only demonstrates that it is possible to precisely determine the event the smallest, least massive exoplanets, but also
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