First evidence of the possible existence of graphene in space.
Nobel-prize winning scientists (2010), Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, synthesized graphene in the laboratory in 2004. Just seven years later, this...
First infrared spectrum of a comet nucleus obtained from earth
Observing the nucleus of a comet is difficult, because comets are normally active near the sun which means that their nuclei are hidden by their comae. 124P...
First precise determination of an exctinction curve from the optical to the far UV
Using a gravitational lens, the first precise determination of the extinction curve from the optical to the far UV has been carried out in a galaxy outside the...
First results of Herschel and the HerMES extragalactic survey.
ESA's Herschel Space Observatory was launched on 14 May 2009. After a short commissioning and performance verification period, the science demonstration...
First spectra of two extreme trans-Neptunian objects obtained with the GTC support the “Planet Nine” hypothesis
The so-called extreme trans-Neptunian objects (ETNOs) are orbiting the Sun at heliocentric distances larger than 150 AUs, and their discovery a decade ago was...
Formation of fullerenes in hydrogen-rich environments.
Thanks to the NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, bucket loads of large carbon molecules, the so-called fullerenes (C 60), have been found around dying stars in the...
Fullerenes in the IC 348 star cluster of the Perseus molecular cloud
We present the detection of fullerenes C 60 and C 70 in the star-forming region IC 348 of the Perseus molecular cloud. Mid-IR vibrational transitions of C 60...
Galactic superwinds present a filament-like structure, with strong X ray emissions, which could not be explained until now. Using hydrodynamic calculations, it...
Galaxy fusion provides an explanation for asymmetrical stellar velocities in elliptical galaxies
Using the IAC's Beowulf group of computers and the National Supercomputing Centre's Mare Nostrum, an IAC team has simulated the process of galaxy fusion by...