Astronomers have used telescopes around the world, includingthe Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC or Grantecan) at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma, to study the asteroid 1998 KY26, revealing it to be almost three times smaller and spinning much faster than previously thought. The asteroid is the 2031 target for Japan’s Hayabusa2 extended mission. The new observations offer key information for the mission’s operations at the asteroid. “We found that the reality of the object is completely different from what it was previously described as,” says astronomer Toni Santana-Ros, a

La Fundación” la Caixa” prosigue con su compromiso con el fomento de la investigación en España a través de sus distintas convocatorias de becas. Recientemente, ha concedido 100 becas de doctorado y posdoctorado para que investigadores de excelencia desarrollen sus proyectos en universidades y centros de España y Portugal. En este sentido, refuerza los lazos con el Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) que ha recibido a dos de las cien personas becadas en estas modalidades. A través de los programas INPhINIT, dirigido a personal doctorando, y Junior Leader, enfocado en la etapa

A greedy white dwarf star in our own Milky Way galaxy is devouring its closest celestial companion at a rate never seen before, according to an international study involving the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC) and the University of La Laguna (ULL). The research, published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , found the double star, named V Sagittae, is burning unusually bright as the super-dense white dwarf is gorging on its larger twin in a feeding frenzy. Experts think the stars are locked in an "extraterrestrial tango" as they orbit each other every